It doesn’t matter if you lace them, buckle them, slip them on, or kick them off—the thing that unites us most about shoes is the fact that we all wear them. Where our differences lie is another story entirely. CivicScience took a look at consumer trends in the footwear space and found out how Americans are shopping, sizing, and styling them, to boot.
As it turns out, respondents’ shoe collections are more modest than over-abundant. While more than one-quarter of folks report owning between two and four pairs, a higher percentage claim to own between five and nine pairs at the moment. More than 20% proudly own 15 pairs or more.
The size of footwear collections is largely consistent across generations, though Gen Z reports the least amount of shoes owned out of anyone. As for the most shoes owned? That goes to Gen X and Baby Boomers.
A significant percentage of participants (43%) admit to purchasing shoes outside of the current season so they’ll be ready when the right time to wear them rolls around.
Those with the biggest shoe collections tend to be the ones doing the most off-season footwear purchasing.
When compared with social media usage, those who use Instagram are more likely to invest in footwear ahead of the season than those who don’t use the platform at all.
While almost half of U.S. adults don’t care for any kind of shopping, one-quarter say shoe shopping is as enjoyable as perusing other fashion items.
Trend-conscious consumers also find the most joy in shopping for shoes, with a whopping 74% claiming that the hunt for fresh kicks is a pleasurable activity.
And to confirm a long-standing stereotype, our data show that women really do enjoy shoe shopping, especially compared to the 63% of men who can’t stand shopping for apparel or non-apparel at all.
Speaking of the gender divide, here’s a look into the maximum price each is willing to pay for different types of footwear.
While women are willing to invest more in sandals, spending is about the same for sneakers and boots between men and women. Men report a greater willingness to toss more money at sneakers and boots than women, though the boots category is where both are willing to shell out the most dough.
More than half of respondents place equal importance on brand and price when searching for a new set of kicks.
Those values also align when purchasing clothing.
Trends will come and go, but the need for shoes in modern society remains steadfast. And as long as we all keep wearing them, CivicScience will keep reporting on what’s in, what’s out, and what could be coming up next.
