DSW kicked off its new DSW VIP loyalty program by collecting insights into the relationship between women and shoes through a survey taken by its loyal membership. Results from the March 2018 survey, completed by 4,383 of DSW’s female loyalty members, reveals how closely their feelings about shoe shopping align with the perks of DSW VIP.
Tag: footwear
Consumers Stockpiling Outdoor Apparel, Footwear and Accessories
Core U.S. outdoor retail channels saw sales of all outdoor products increase 6.4% to $6.9 billion in 2013, the largest full-year dollar total on record, according to Leisure Trends, an NPD Group company. Sales of cold weather outdoor apparel, footwear and accessories increased 9% and make up $2.2 billion of the total $6.9 billion. An early winter and numerous deep freezes throughout the U.S. have boosted sales, outpacing industry expectations.
Footwear E-Commerce Gaining in Popularity
Multi-brand retailer sites are the most preferred websites for online footwear shopping. Females report shopping more frequently online than men and they lead the pack in terms of dollars generated but men actually do a larger share of their total footwear shopping via e-commerce. Consumers are pretty comfortable these days in the online marketplace but opportunity still exists to further develop the footwear category.
Fashion Footwear Market Beginning to Recover
Similar to results seen in the fourth quarter in the apparel market, the fashion footwear market saw the return of women in the last quarter of 2009. “While still not in the growth mode, the momentum is shifting.” noted Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, The NPD Group, Inc.,, “In 2008 women withdrew from their footwear purchases, but in 2009 evidence of “frugal fatigue,” has shown up as women began to re-enter the market.” In addition to outdoor/all-weather boots, casual styles also contributed to the growth of the fourth quarter boot business, driven by low to mid heeled, high shaft styles that complemented key apparel trends such as leggings and skinny jeans. The other major boost for the women’s fashion footwear market came from the walking category. Driven by the toning/shaping segment, walking grew 33% annually and over 100% in fourth quarter. “Holiday has proven to be a huge opportunity for footwear and primarily the outdoor boot business. This industry doesn’t typically think of itself as a holiday business, but the holiday results this year have again proven differently.”
Women Choose Shoes Over Other Accessories to Complete Their Looks
According to a new Mintel survey on women’s attitudes towards work attire, women turn to shoes and dress boots over other types of accessories. In fact, more than three in five (64%) told Mintel they rely on footwear to complete or change the look of their work clothes. Younger women are most likely to say they put their best foot forward at work with purposefully chosen shoes and dress boots. These younger women are also most likely to wear one pair of shoes into the office, then change into something more stylish at work (44% of 18-34 year-old women versus less than a third of women 35 and up).
