Footwear Insight

TRENDINSIGHT Shopping Behavior and the Evolving Consumer We surveyed 400 consumers. Here is what they told us. T he past two years have seen several shis in consumer shopping behavior. In recent months, we've seen some behaviors shift back in the other direction… and some that haven't. In our latest survey, we asked consumers about the types of stores they prefer to shop for footwear in, what type of service they appreciate, and how their footwear style choices may or may not be changing and evolving. We compared some responses from this year to last year. Not surprisingly, we did see a jump from 2021 to 2022 in respondents who said they prefer to shop online for footwear, including a rise in those who admit browsing in a store and then leaving and purchasing online at a site not affiliated with the store (62% vs. 53% a year earlier). However, shopping in-store at independent shoe stores, footwear chains and sports specialty stores remained very high on the list of responses, as well. In choosing to shop at independent stores, consumers reported that the most important reasons they do so include — in order — selection, price, location and service. An element rising in importance for consumers is brand and product assortment, with 35% saying it's the in-store element that makes the biggest impression on them. As far as casual vs. dress trends, the responses we received were mixed, with 47% saying their footwear style shied towards more casual/comfort over the past two years and 50% saying it stayed the same. And as restrictions have lied and events have returned, we asked if style and fashion is now becoming more important. Of those surveyed, 21% said their footwear choices are now shiing more towards style/fashion, while 67% said their choices have stayed the same. This survey conducted by MESH01 included 400 respondents, men and women active and outdoors. Trend Insight is a feature within Footwear Insight that delivers research conducted on the MESH01 Platform. MESH01 collects data from a select panel of active and outdoor enthusiasts. If you shop at an independent shoe store... How would you rate the quality of assortment? Excellent Excellent Poor Poor Very Good Very Good Adequate Adequate Good Good <1% 1% <1% 4% 10% 13% 12% 16% 19% 39% 39% 30% 24% 41% 43% 35% 28% 12% 25% 10% 1. SELECTION 2. PRICE 3. LOCATION 4. SERVICE 6. SPEED 5. ATMOSPHERE How would you rate the level of knowledge of sales associates vs other types of stores? Rank the following in terms of importance... S E I Z E T H E T R E N D ! CARPE TRENDEM Where do you most frequently shop for your footwear? Footwear Specialty Chain Online Not affiliated with any store Mass Merchant Independent Shoe Store Online Affiliated with your favorite brick and mortar store Department Store Online Single brand specific Sports Specialty Store Sporting Goods Store Single Brand Store n 2021 n 2022 n 2021 n 2022 n 2021 n 2022 45% 42% 42% 38% 41% 41% 41% 35% 38% 41% 37% 45% 35% 36% 33% 40% 33% 26% 20% 26% 18 • Footwear Insight ~ July/August 2022 footwearinsight.com

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