How Britain Shops Footwear provides a detailed overview of the shopping habits of consumers. It examines, who shops for footwear, where they shop, whether they are satisfied with their current store and what stores should do to satisfy customers more.Thorough analysis of how customers shop for footwear. Profiles 12 footwear retailers, including: Clarks, Primark, Brantano, Shoe Zone and TescoVisitor and main user share data, conversion rates, customer loyalty rates and reasons for loyalty/disloyaltyData is segmented regionally and by demographic and socio-economic group.Historic data is provided so trends can be analysed over a five year periodFor the second consecutive year the footwear sector has suffered a decline in the share of shoppers, with the percentage of UK consumers shopping for footwear having fallen year-on-year by 1.6 percentage points to 73.4%. As discretionary purchases become much more considered, it is clear that retailers will need to work hard to drive footfallThe 65+ age group has maintained the top position as the most loyal customer group with a score of 90.0%, as they tend to be less willing to shop around unlike younger shoppers who will search for the most attractive prices or new brands and ranges available, giving them the lowest loyalty score of 85.6%Convenience, service and ambience have gained as loyalty drivers since customers are looking for added value in their purchases so staff knowledge and service, the store environment and the ease of shopping – whether instore or online – are vital features where retailers can make an impact and improve the loyalty of customersHow Britain Shops is one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind drawing on a nationwide survey of 6,000 shoppersUse this report to understand what drives the loyalty of your customers and find out where else they are shopping - and whyChannel investment for maximum return by knowing which aspects of your retail proposition most need improving in the opinion of your customers
Footwear Industry in the United Kingdom
Executive Summary
Verdict view
Key findings
Main conclusions
Shopping for footwear declines
16–24s take over from 55–64s as age group shopping for footwear most frequently
Clarks stays on top as the leading footwear retailer
Sports Direct breaks into Top Five with fourth highest main user share
Little change in the average conversion rate, but a big drop for JJB
DEs shift from most loyal to least loyal
Service, ambience and ease of shopping are where retailers can make an impact
Retailer highlights
Asda's visitor share rises, while main user loyalty also improves
Brantano has the lowest visitor and main user share of all footwear retailers
Clarks remains the market leader
JD Sports drops to eighth from fifth for main user share
JJB Sports conversion rate too low as it struggles to improve main user share
Marks & Spencer's main user loyalty drops
Added space at New Look benefits visitor and main user share
Next's new shopfit attracts young males to raise main usage
Primark's prices drive relentless move up the footwear league table
Shoe Zone's share of main users slips to fifth from third
Sports Direct excels with loyalty hitting a high and conversion at record level
TK Maxx raises main user share slightly
SECTOR SUMMARY
Share of shoppers
Fewer consumers shop for shoes
Penetration of footwear shoppers
16–24s take over as most frequent shoppers for footwear
Retailer usage
Clarks holds on to footwear top spot
Main user share by region
Conversion rates
Recover just 0.3 percentage points
Shopping around
Shopping around stays level
Loyalty
Improves for third consecutive year
Drivers of loyalty/ disloyalty
Price becomes more important but range continues to be the top driver of loyalty
ASDA
Larger ranges pull in shoppers
Footwear footfall rises with visitor share up to fourth …
… but conversion remains low …
… and main user share remains ranked in the bottom half despite reclaiming high point
Loyalty continues to soar, rising 12.3 percentage points in five years
Visitors
Rise for third consecutive year
Main users
Reclaims high point of six years ago
Conversion rates
On uptrend
Loyalty
Takes another step higher
Competitors
Main users shop around slightly less
BRANTANO
Faces stronger out-of-town competition
Visitor share stays flat for second year as shopper profile ages
Increases main user share to 2.3%, but continues to prop up Top Dozen
Big shift in loyalty towards women even though instore has yet to improve under new owner
Shopping around declines, placing Brantano in third place
Visitors
Level for three years, but profile gets older
Main users
Women push main user recovery of 0.4 percentage points
Conversion rates
Conversion rates reach highest level for six years
Loyalty
Women become more loyal than men
Competitors
Brantano main users now joint third least likely to shop around
CLARKS
Clarks remains the market leader
Stays on top with highest visitor and main user share
Continues to rebuild conversion rates
Regains loyalty leadership
Shopping around stays level, with main users visiting just 0.9 other footwear stores
Visitors
Footfall down slightly but stays way out in front of competitors
Main users
Improves for the second consecutive year
Conversion rates
Leads the way in converting visitors into high spending customers
Loyalty
Regains loyalty leadership from Next
Competitors
Shopping around levels off, with Clarks customers shopping around the least
JD SPORTS
Needs to work hard to increase the loyalty of shoppers
Overtaken in footfall by one trio – with another in hot pursuit
Main user share drops off by 0.5 percentage points
Loyalty picks up after two year decline
Range and price are drivers of loyalty and disloyalty
Visitors
Share drops off after two year rise
Main users
Drops to eighth place from fifth
Conversion rates
Conversion drops off for third successive year
Loyalty
Loyalty improves, but JD's main users are least loyal
Competitors
Main users shop around more
JJB SPORTS
Buyout could rescue conversion rate and main user share
Conversion rate is main problem
Main user share declines once more to 2.4%
Rise in visitor share an irrelevance unless conversion can be improved
Loyalty score improves
Visitors
Visitor share moves up the rankings from seventh to fifth place …
Main users
… but main usage continues to collapse due to an extremely poor conversion rate
Conversion rates
Rate slumps to worst level of profiled retailers
Loyalty
Five point rise takes JJB Sports to second place
Competitors
Shopping around at same level
MARKS & SPENCER
New strategy should raise loyalty and lower disloyalty scores
Visitor share remains second highest
Main user share rises in 55+ demographic
Loyalty of main users falls, positioning Marks & Spencer in seventh place
Range is the main driver of disloyalty
Visitors
M&S continues to be ranked second to Clarks
Main users
Little change
Conversion rates
Partly recovers from previous 3.8 percentage point fall
Loyalty
Loyalty of main users falls to seventh place
Competitors
Main users shop around slightly less
NEW LOOK
Larger stores benefit footwear performance
Store rollout contributes to rise in visitor share
Main user share rises 0.3 percentage points, maintaining sixth position
Loyalty improves for the third consecutive year
Dorothy Perkins ousts Primark as most preferred store
Visitors
Visitor share rises once more
Main users
Remains in sixth place behind Shoe Zone
Conversion rates
Drops two places to sixth position
Loyalty
Loyalty rises 13.9 percentage points in three years
Competitors
Shopping around drops, but New Look continues to have the worst score alongside Primark
NEXT
Young males generate main user recovery
Main usage recovers thanks to higher conversion rate
Visitor share falls, but stays in the Top Three
Loyalty down overall but store refurbishments improve some scores
Shopping around declines, but remains high against sector average
Visitors
Third highest footfall of profiled footwear retailers
Main users
Holds on to third position as young males push recovery in share
Conversion rates
Rate recovers once more
Loyalty
Drops to ninth from first position
Competitors
Shopping around remains high
PRIMARK
Improved quality could keep some customers from returning to pre-recession haunts
Footfall continues to rise but growth slows
Higher conversion boosts main user growth
Loyalty score is the third lowest, ahead of just Brantano and JD Sports
Joint worst score for shopping around
Visitors
Footfall growth slows
Main users
Outperform growth in footfall
Conversion rates
Recover partly
Loyalty
Third lowest score
Competitors
Joint worst score for shopping around
SHOE ZONE
Value sector competition toughens
Slight increase in footfall …
… but conversion eases and it drops to fifth from third for main users
Loyalty rises once more
Primark joins Asda as most visited other stores
Visitors
Slight increase in footfall
Main users
Share drops to fifth from third position
Conversion rates
Third highest of profiled 12 despite two year decline
Loyalty
Rises by 1.3 percentage points with price only driver scoring above average
Competitors
Shopping around stays low
SPORTS DIRECT
Low price credentials appeal to shoppers
Conversion rate best yet for Sports Direct
Takes fourth place for main user share
Footfall grows 1.1 percentage points, moving it up to eighth
Price drives loyalty and disloyalty
Visitors
Visitor share rises once more
Main users
Relentless advance takes it into fourth place
Conversion rates
New high for Sports Direct – second only to Clarks
Loyalty
Loyalty improves for third consecutive year
Competitors
Shopping around drops after previous rise of 0.4
TK MAXX
Raises main user share slightly
Visitor share falls ranking it second from bottom
Main user share grows 0.1 percentage points year-on-year
Rises a place to fourth for loyalty
Shopping around drops to mid level
Visitors
Rising trend stalls
Main users
Share doubles in five years
Conversion rates
A rise in conversion rates places it fifth between Brantano and New Look
Loyalty
Fourth highest
Competitors
Shopping around falls to middle ground
APPENDIX
Methodology
Selection of parliamentary constituencies
Selection of enumeration districts
Selection of respondents
Post survey weighting
Ask the analyst
Global Retail FreeView
Verdict Research consulting
Disclaimer
