Sensible shoes. It’s not a phrase to send pulses racing, but it does send shoppers to the checkouts.
While heels may look nice, they can play havoc with the feet and spine as weight is shifted onto the ball of the foot and toes. The result can be bunions, hammer toes and even a shortened Achilles tendon.
Latest research by Mintel reported a 27% footwear sales growth worldwide in 2020, worth £3.6billion, driven by comfort wear including slippers, which are now the second most purchased type of women’s footwear.
It’s true that 2020 was a year like no other for retail and so it is no surprise that Mintel also reported a decline in the formal footwear market.
However, the desire for comfortable shoes was a trend long before the move to homeworking.
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Hotter Shoes, which specialises in “customised comfort and precision fit” is now the UK’s biggest footwear manufacturer, selling more than 1.3 million pairs of shoes a year and growing.
During the pandemic, its sales of casual shoes nearly doubled, but even as lockdowns have lifted, the trend has continued with sales of active and outdoor shoes jumping up by 65% in July 2021 compared to July 2019.
Thanks to the likes of Hotter, Dune, M&S and others, shoes can look good and still be comfortable.
Victoria Betts, chief commercial officer at Hotter, said: “Customers want to look and feel fantastic in their footwear. Flat, comfortable shoes or loafers can absolutely be styled up for an evening out but similarly they can be worn for casual walks with friends too.”
