Shoe shine

Workplace attire has steadily been moving towards more casual wear and this is no more apparent than in footwear.

According to Shoeaholics, two in three Britons now wear trainers to work. Trainers have also gained greater acceptance in formal settings. With their growing functionality, the average person in the UK now owns at least seven pairs of trainers and has a trainer wardrobe worth £474.

Have formal shoes had their day?
Before the pandemic, many women kept a collection of "under-desk shoes" in the workplace, which they would switch into from the flat shoes worn for their commute. Pandemic-induced closures saw sales of high heels plummet by 45% in 2020. However, in the two weeks after the ease of lockdown, sales of heels by Bottega Veneta and Amina Muaddi (seen above) shot up by 70% on Matches Fashion - pointing to there still being a demand for heels for special occasions. However, evidence of a resurgence in men's formal shoes is less obvious – pre-pandemic, the men's dress shoe segment had contracted by 12%, before plummeting 79% in the second quarter of 2020.

Shift to online
Formal shoe sales have historically shown some resistance to moving online. From a consumer perspective, this is principally due to sizing: according to Mintel, 63% of footwear shoppers would feel more confident buying online if greater sizing advice was available. Issues with sizing generates an online return rate in footwear as high as 35% - three times as high as general e-commerce – damaging both consumer satisfaction and brand profit margins, which are already impacted by footwear's higher shipping costs vs. other apparel, due to its need for chunky cartons.

Sizing concerns appear to play less of an impact on online trainer sales, perhaps due to the higher general comfort of the show style. In 2019, 50% of JD sales in the UK were committed online. During the initial closure period of the pandemic, JD retained 70% of its combined store and online revenues from the previous year through its digital channels. Those figures rose to 100% during the second lockdown period. The acceptance of e-commerce as the primary sales channel for trainers has also been shown by Allbirds, which started as an e-commerce only business; while now having a growing brick-and-mortar presence, online sales still account for 89% of revenue, highlighting a physical presence that drives brand awareness, rather than direct sales.

Resilience of brick-and-mortar
As online gains market share in the footwear market, in-store experiences will need to be elevated to move beyond a transactional nature. Exemplary showcases include Nike's New York flagship store, which contains a basketball half-court, a football trial area, and a treadmill in front of a jumbotron that simulates outdoor runs. All of these features have cameras set up that record movement and provide customers with bespoke recommendations on shoes. Outside of trainers, Dr. Martens' flagship in Camden contains a music room, where live gigs and DJs are hosted. The store also showcases one-of-a-kind memorabilia telling the brand's history, a personalisation bar where shoppers can customise their Dr Martens, and exclusive products only available from the store.

Experiential has been in the vocabulary of apparel retailers for some time now. As footwear shifts away from functional work purchases and has a growing online presence, experience looks to be the key to keeping customers coming in through front doors.

Bikram Sandhu