• With flat discretionary spending, the average consumer will spend $35 less on footwear this year than in the last 12 months.
• Most consumers (80%) have noticed recent price increases, but their average observed price increase of 30% is substantially higher than the Consumer Price Index increase of 1.5%, indicating an extremely heightened consumer sensitivity to price changes.
• In fact, when faced with just a 5% increase in footwear costs, 70% of consumers would halt their purchase, opting to compare prices elsewhere or wait for discounts. And on average, consumers expect a 33% discount during a promotion.

> Pricing architecture across the assortment within the portfolio and discount depths for promotions are critical levers for brands in driving consumer consideration and conversion.

• Top categories are: Athletic (74%), including cross-training, running, and basketball shoes, and Casual (42%) shoes.
• Fit and comfort lead as consumers’ top criteria when shopping for footwear, a preference advanced by the Covid-19 pandemic and prevalence of remote work and illustrated by major comfort footwear brands dominating market share.
• Despite consumers' preference for shopping from online retailers like Amazon, buyers of athletic and comfort shoes favor in-store experiences.

> Brands must ensure they maintain seamless cross-functional connectivity across innovation, design, channel-specific assortment, and merchandising to meet current trends and demand.

• Price-conscious youths are outspending older consumers. In fact, millennials are the biggest buyers of multiple pairs of shoes and spend 36% above the average household.
• In order to purchase the volume of shoes they desire, Gen Z and millennial shoppers are willing to work for their discounts. When faced with a 5% price increase in footwear, 30% of Gen Z would wait for a discount, compared to 40% of Baby Boomers and older consumers who would. Instead, Gen Z would look for footwear on discount websites, seek a cheaper brand, delay their purchase, or shop for a different shoe entirely.
• See other demographic insights, like how males buy more shoes and spend more on footwear than women, and which categories of shoes are most popular among lower or higher household incomes.

> As consumer personas and priorities have shifted massively in the past two years, brands must continue to adapt to changing purchasing behaviors and regularly review their segmentation strategies.