The UK footwear market is experiencing cautious growth. Continued pressure on household budgets means shoppers are still looking for a clear reason to buy, with comfort, price and durability at the heart of purchasing decisions.
The UK footwear market is experiencing cautious growth. Whilst easing inflation has helped, continued pressure on household budgets means shoppers are still looking for a clear reason to buy, with comfort, price and durability at the heart of purchasing decisions. Replacing worn-out items remains a key driver, with 36% of shoppers buying their last pair because their old footwear needed replacing.
Shoppers want purchases that feel reliable, comfortable and worthwhile, whether that means returning to a trusted brand, trying products on in-store or using digital tools to improve fit confidence online. As a result, retailers need to move beyond simply selling styles and focus on reducing uncertainty, through better fit guidance, clearer value cues and more confidence-building store and online experiences.
The Report looks at purchases of shoes for adults and children and uses ONS (Office for National Statistics) consumer spending data, which covers all retail channels – both specialist and non-specialist (eg clothing stores, department stores, sports shops, supermarkets, internet pureplayers, catalogue retailers, markets etc).
This Report covers the following footwear categories:
Excluded from the Report:
There is a grey area between sports shoes and casual footwear, although sports trainers are classified in the government’s consumer spending data under the footwear rather than the sportswear category. The latter, in terms of sports shoes, is largely confined to specialist performance shoes, such as football boots, athletic spikes or ski boots.
Also excluded from ONS spending data are figures for repair and hire of footwear.
Mintel is really good for getting a handle on a particular category quickly. If we are working on a new business pitch in an area we don’t have much experience in, it’s a brilliant way to get up to speed with what’s going on, what’s changing and what the key trends are in any category.
It’s very rare now that anyone will plough through a 200-page report – that’s why the summaries are really useful. We know they are backed up by a lot of detail, so if you need to go into something in more depth you know the information will be all there for you.
We have such a great working relationship with Mintel on lots of different levels. As an insight partner, they have helped us to develop our business planning in specific categories as well as supporting our creative process but they’ve also been super helpful with facilitating our events in their inspirational offices near St Paul’s.
They’re an innovative company, with a client-focused team that always delivers.
Working in a customer-obsessed organization means that data and insights have to be at our fingertips. Mintel’s reports help us support anecdotes with real quantifiable insights. The summary sections (which I really like) helps save time by giving a birds eye view of the content before spending time combing through the pages.
Our business review discussions are strengthened by the relevancy of the reports to help us better understand our customers. In addition, the customer service received from the team (especially in crunch periods) makes the process of understanding customer behavior even better.
When I’m investigating specific sectors I tend to use Mintel reports for their forecasting, which I’ve always found to be very accurate.
They also offer really broad and deep coverage in their reports. They are very, very detailed. For example, we were able to gain insight across a wide range of business areas from just one report, proving that Mintel is excellent value for money.
So overall, it’s the level of detail and the quality of forecasting that really stand out for me.
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
