The number of people shopping for shoes has dropped by 5.5m since 2007, according to independent retail analysts Verdict.
Verdict’s footwear retailing in the UK report found that the number of consumers that actively shopped for footwear fell by 13.9% between 2007 and 2011. Some 66.7% of the adult population shopped for footwear in 2011, compared to 73.3% in 2007.
Specalist sales have been impacted by fewer shoppers and lower levels of spending, combined with increased competition from clothing retailers and grocers as they expanded their footwear offer.
C&J Clark, Shoe Zone Group and Brantano were among some of the companies hit by increased competition. However, Barratt Priceless had the largest impact as its market share slipped to 2.5% in 2012 from 4% in 2007.
Between 2007 and 2012, specialists’ share of the footwear market will fall by 5.1 percentage points to 39.4% or GBP141.50m (US$222.1m).
Growth of just 0.4% or GBP23.3m in the UK footwear market in 2012 will be the second lowest in 12 years, rising to GBP5.8bn.
Honor Westnedge, senior analyst at Verdict, said: “Recovery in footwear shopper numbers and spend per head will be gradual, with significant improvement forecast from 2014, as consumers will stay cautious due to more pressure on their disposable incomes.
“However, the increasing interpretation of fashion trends in footwear will help to encourage shoppers to spend as retailers refresh their offer more frequently.”
