Footwear Insight

timely manner. I detect an optimism on behalf of my clients that appears to be continuing. People want and crave the communication with others and my clients (and all of us) want to get back to whatever 'normalcy' is." — omas Peterson, Foot Savvy Shoes & Custom Orthotics "Possibly the best highlight of the past year was receiving inventory! It's a great feeling to have what you need at the time you need it. I believe 2023 will give us a chance to get our inventory balanced again." — Michael Jones, A Proper Fit Reno The Customer Connection "One of my favorite highlights from this past year was a customer who brought a pair of shoes in to have them adjusted. I knew he bought them online and happily adjusted them for him. He also bought another pair from us. A few days later he returned with the box of shoes purchased online. I was with another customer, and he handed me the box and told me to put it in my office. In the box were two bottles of wine! He even made new labels with my name and a thanks to the Angel Pedorthist!" — Sue Orischak, Foot Solutions Scottsdale "I am encouraged to see that the 'shop local' surge that began during 2020 has continued. Customers seemed to be refreshed by the opportunity to deal with kind and courteous associates versus trying to navigate the shopping process alone and online. Even with looming possibilities of recession, I believe businesses that continue to pay attention to their cus- tomers and provide superior service will do just fine." — Loren Martin, ELM Shoes "We love the internet, but shopping in-store can be a thousand times better. Picking something out online, and having it arrive, only to find that it doesn't fit, can be frustrating. We've seen many customers become so frus- trated that they feel the need to shop in-store, and that's where we come in. Recently we've been able to rely heavily on the internet and social media to drive customers into the store for a proper fit. For a local family-owned business, obtaining new customers can be challenging. Luckily, with our web- site, social media, and other systems in place, we're starting to reach a new generation with particular foot needs." — Skyler Courtney, Mar-Lou Shoes "It's more difficult every day to have everything for every customer. Many customers come in with vague no- tions of what they want, and insist on designing their own shoes. Well, those days are over. Once upon a time, we could listen to our customers' wish lists, and come close to fulfilling them next season, oen relying on those magnificent factories in Spain. We would work with our reps and put together shoes with various heel heights and colors and fabrics that would make your mouth water. ose factories are closed now. e fact that we sometimes must tell a customer that we no longer carry their preferred style, kills us. No matter what, though, we still live our motto that 'the fit, the fashion, and the prices are right!'" — Mark Jubelirer, Reyers Shoes "[Customers] got comfortable with shopping online and many brands used their platform to generate a cul- ture that drives direct-to-consumer and showrooming. Regardless of lofty 'personal' promises and Kool- Aid driven diatribes, most brands did it and we know it. We had to put up boundaries — no specials from those brands, take the hit, bang your head against a shelf in the back, don't react when customers 'just buy it online.' A direct-to-consumer model can run numbers till the algorithm be- comes stale, but it'll never know why Gertrude's narrow heel doesn't fit — I do though, and I get to fix that problem." — Alex Maltezos, Tenni-Moc's Shoe Store "We have seen a large increase of new customers wanting to shop local. It has been wonderful seeing so many people really being conscien- tious about spending money at local shops… And I am most optimistic that with the inventory getting better and people supporting small business, that we will continue to see business grow. As long as we continue to strive for that amazing service experience for our customers." — Karly Trease, Hudson Shoes Store "e number of customers that seek me out and thank me for their ex- perience in the store is a highlight footwearinsight.com January/February 2023 ~ Footwear Insight • 15 A Proper Fit, Reno, NV. Even with looming possibilities of recession, I believe businesses that continue to pay attention to their customers and provide superior service will do just fine."

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