Shopping Blog

Approximately 19% of footwear purchases occurred online in October and online footwear purchases are up 14% year over year, the 23rd month of consecutive double digit growth! (Mastercard) The online channel is increasingly influencing footwear shopper decisions leaving many footwear brands and retailers asking, "How do I best reach these shoppers online?".

We’re excited to announce that Google and Compete recently completed a custom study on the footwear industry, investigating how digital and mobile influences footwear purchase decisions. Here are 6 key insights and recommendations on how marketers can better reach these shoppers:

Digital is core to the footwear purchase process: 37% of people who have researched footwear online solely rely on online resources when shopping for footwear. This means that they did not use other sources like TV, Magazines or even advice from family & friends while researching/shopping for shoes.

Recommendation: Ensure digital is core to your media mix and that your digital campaigns align with your offline campaigns or you'll miss reaching a large portion of footwear shoppers.

Footwear buyers cross-shop online before purchasing: Prior to purchasing online, footwear buyers visit an average of 2-4 competitive sites and 45% wait to purchase 2 weeks or more after starting their research.

Recommendation: Re-market to customers who don’t immediately convert on your site and adjust your attribution windows to capture those that are starting their research 2 weeks prior to conversion.

Shoe shoppers use search throughout the shopping process: 43% of shoe shoppers use search throughout the purchase process and 39% of online footwear sales from searchers came from clicks on search ads.

Recommendation: Implement paid search coverage throughout buying process, optimizing ad text to drive immediate sales.

Footwear shoppers search in thousands of different ways: Footwear shoppers conducted 25K+ unique query paths using category, manufacturer and retailer queries. However, we found that 18% of all query paths only contained category terms (ie shoes, boots), meaning these shoppers never searched on manufacturer or retailer terms. If footwear retailers and brands aren’t appearing in search results on category queries, they are missing nearly 1 in 5 footwear shoppers! Footwear Category terms also drive online purchases. In the study, they represented almost 20% of online purchase assists and 15% of last click purchases.

Recommendation: Invest in footwear category terms to acquire undecided customers. Manufacturers and retailers should partner and dedicate co-op funds to assist in achieving a high position in paid search results. These ads should push manufacturer brand sales at retail via ad text messaging and landing page. It's a great strategy because both manufacturer and brand will increase awareness among undecided customers while splitting the cost of the CPC!

Searchers are more likely to purchase offline than non-searchers: 43% of searchers said they ended up making a purchase in-store while only 36% of non-searchers purchased in store.

Recommendation: Measure search influenced in-store sales and incorporate into your ROI metrics

Mobile allows pureplays & manufacturer online stores to compete in-store: 24% of respondents who used their mobile device to shop for footwear, used it in the store. While shopping in-store on mobile devices, price comparison and coupon searching were the two primary uses for mobile devices.

Recommendation: Ensure your site is optimized for mobile phones and use mobile ads to influence customers across channels.

For more information on our footwear shopper study, download the full presentations here:

• Footwear Path to Purchase and How Shoppers Search
• Online Cross Shopping Behavior for Footwear
• How Search Drives In-Store Sales for Footwear
• Category Insights on the Footwear Shopper

Posted by Eva Barbier, The Google Retail Team

At the end of October we revealed the top apparel trends by looking into our “crystal ball”, Google Insights for Search. Today we will be focusing on footwear and accessories, the perfect holiday outfit bonus.

It looks like holiday 2011 is (again) going to be the year of the boot. Across the board, Google searches for [boots] are way up over the same time last year. And when general search volume is consistently high, as it is with a large product category like boots, a strong uptick in searches spells big holiday demand.


Digging into Rising Searches, some top picks are [combat boots] (for girls and guys), [riding boots], and [lace-up boots]. We plugged in these gainers along with a couple top terms to see relative popularity. Searches for [cowboy boots] are headed off the charts already, and searches for [polo boots], last year’s breakout, are also ramping quickly.


Once you’ve scored a pair of boots to give away (or to keep, if you’ve been nice), you’ll need accessories to complete the look. Whether the gifts you’ll be giving are suited for cocktail parties or the snowball fights, rounding off your shopping haul with some well-chosen accessories can help stretch your holiday budget and give you a reputation as a great gift giver.

Searches for [scarves], [beanies] and [earmuffs] are headed up, but “gloves” look like a must-have every year. Shop now while inventory is strong and before the masses start looking.


We hope we have inspired you to dress to impress with our “Insights” this Holiday season.

Happy shopping!

Posted by Benson Dastrup, The Google Retail Team

When deciding to sell your company, timing is everything.

Three top executives, who all recently sold their respective companies, shared their stories at the 2011 FN CEO Summit in Miami on Friday. Tina Aldatz, Founder and President of Foot Petals, who recently sold to R.G. Barry Corp., Sam Edelman, President of the Sam Edelman Division at Brown Shoe Co. and Jim Tarica, Co-President of Footwear for LF USA covered topics ranging from reasons for the sale, to finding the right partner and adjusting to the change of reporting to someone else.

Edelman discussed that for him and his wife Libby, it was important to have a succession plan in place. "I wanted to see the brand have a real future," he said. "When I was introduced to Brown Shoe it was the perfect match at the time."

Meanwhile Aldatz said it was important for her to find a partner that allowed for her to still be heavily involved in the business. "My objective was not just to sell, but to create a strategic partnership, I wanted to do something that would leave a legacy," she said, adding that after 10 years in business it has been a rocky transition at times. "I'm a very dominant personality and there is a whole language barrier when it comes to working with a corporation, but it's exciting because I'm learning."

And Tarica said that while the deal was four years in the making, the timing finally felt right when LF discussed the option to keep all of their employees and asked both Tarica and his brother Larry Tarica to stay on board for another 10 years. "[The company] made it very clear they wanted Larry and I [involved]," he said. "We gave him our vision of where the company was going and he agreed."

Karen Goodman, Managing Director at Financo Inc. also weighed in on the M & A activity within the industry and the importance of timing. "You have to be emotionally ready," she said.


Posted by Footwear News, The Editorial Staff

Emerging celeb designer Nicole Richie said she decided to enter the fashion world when she knew she could give it her all - and it's clear she's doing just that.

At the FN CEO Summit second night’s address, Richie, who designs House of Harlow 1960 and Winter Kate, described her customer as "a woman who wants to have fun with fashion and wears everything with ease and comfort."

Between working and being a mom, Richie said she has to find styles that can work for all day wear, although she loves high heels. "Comfort is the number one factor for me—I have great shoes that I don't ever wear."

Comparing her role as designer to her former experience singing, acting, or working on TV, she said it's been challenging in ways she hadn't expected. "In those other areas you can just be an artist but when it comes to design, you're forced to know everything from shipping to linesheets to pricing."

As for top trends, Richie declined to list of-the-moment styles, opting for a style mantra that says "It's important to know your body and what looks good on you."

Richie highlighted the importance of press in growing a young brand, but said she hasn't yet tackled a strong push with stylists and celebrities. Instead, she has focused her efforts on connecting directly with consumers on Twitter, Facebook and at Personal Appearances, which she feels are the best opportunity to have face time with her customers. "PAs are great and I see them as my chance to see what [the customers] are drawn to, what they want me to do and get feedback."

Richie confirmed she does all her own tweeting to her two million plus followers. "I love talking to people directly to keep them in the loop and get their feedback." Although she started off tweeting about her business to share the process and get feedback, Richie said she can't resist the occasional cheesy ‘knock knock’ joke or personal post. "For me, it's very important to know my customer and connect with them directly. I love that," Richie said.

Posted by Footwear News, The Footwear Editorial Staff

Getting TV viewers to buy something they can’t readily touch, taste or smell isn’t easy. And when you’re selling, say, footwear or perfume, the challenge is even more daunting.

But HSN has found a formula that works.

Mindy Grossman, its CEO, earlier today told a crowd of footwear and executives at the 2011 FN CEO Summit in Miami that consumers will splurge if retailers create experiences that go well beyond just selling product.

Merchants must deliver the “joy and excitement of new product everyday,” she said.

One simple way to do that, she suggested, is by creating experiences that come to life for the potential buyer.

For instance, when legendary crooner Rod Stewart was set to release a new album last fall, the giant TV retailer partnered with his record label to present a live on-air concert. The end result? More than 30,000 CDs were sold in an hour.

It proved, Grossman said, the music business wasn’t dead; it just needed fresh thinking. It also gave HSN a 20 percent spike in new customers.

“We need to create appointments to view,” she said.

HSN will take a similar approach next month when it debuts new music from Randy Travis.

Posted by Footwear News, The Editorial Staff

Three of the industry’s rising design stars and one celebrity footwear newcomer opened up about their growing businesses at the 2011 FN CEO Summit during a special panel this afternoon.

Nicholas Kirkwood, Jerome Rousseau, Alejandro Ingelmo and Yeardley Smith (the voice of Lisa Simpson from the “Simpson” series) talked about everything from their first big break in the business to the things that frustrate them most about the industry, including knockoffs.

It’s clear these four are determined to take their brands to the next level.

Ingelmo, who is nominated for a CFDA award this year, talked about opening his first store in New York last year, and how that has helped his brand become instantly more recognizable. Similarly, Kirkwood is debuting a London boutique, his first location, next month, and has plans for retail in New York, Asia and the Middle East.

Rousseau, who lives in Los Angeles, sounded off on the power of celebrity. “Early on, I got in with two young stars, Kristen Stewart and January Jones, and that really helped me at the beginning,” Rousseau said.

And Smith weighed in on leaping from Hollywood to footwear.

“I like to do things that people tell me I can’t do,” Smith said, of her new footwear venture, Marchez Vous YS. “I started acting at 17, and people told me I wouldn’t make it. Well here I am [all these years later].”

Posted by Footwear News, The Editorial Staff

Men’s designer John Varvatos kicked off the 2011 Footwear News CEO Summit on Wednesday night with a message of innovation.

As he recounted his childhood in Detroit and rise at Ralph Lauren — first in sales and later in design — Varvatos said he decided to be a designer at 29. After a stint at Cole Haan, a longer run at Calvin Klein and a return to Ralph Lauren, he started his label in 2000 with a focus on originality.

“[Back then] there was a lot of sameness,” he said. “And I thought, ‘This is the time for someone to do something different.’ I wanted to create a lifestyle brand, something with personality.”

And Varvatos said innovation continues to be important. “Our mantra is to create new designs and never copy,” he said.

The designer said 2010 was a record year for the company in revenue and profits. He just renewed his contract five more years for his collaboration with Converse.

And the company is looking at new ways to market, including streaming new music on its website and offering tickets to concerts before they are available anywhere else.

“We are hell bent on creating an experience,” he said. “In our 11th year, we kind of feel like we are just getting started.”


Posted by Footwear News, Editorial Staff