Canadian men discovering a love of shoes
Growth in men’s shoes outpaces that of women’s in Canada
When it comes to shopping, men are portrayed as having their feet firmly on the ground. What you don’t see is that, lately, they’re wearing suspiciously nice shoes.
Newly released Canadian data from The NPD Group, a noted market research firm, reveals that men’s footwear is currently fuelling the success of the $5.1 billion dollar industry. In fact, year-over-year sales of men’s shoes climbed by a whopping 13 per cent in 2012, compared to just three per cent for women’s shoes — a significant change from 2011, when men’s footwear was on the decline.
“We’re always quick to assume that women impel the success of the footwear market, but what we’re experiencing instead in Canada is a complete takeover of the shoe closet by men’s footwear,” said Tracey Jarosz, executive director for Canada Fashion at NPD.
“Year-over-year growth is higher for men, in both dollars and units.”
Though women’s footwear continues to boast higher worth — $2.6 billion to men’s $2 billion (children’s shoes represent the remaining share) — this is the first time in recent history that the male segment has outpaced its female counterpart in terms of growth.
Jarosz attributes it to a “natural evolution” in male style as a whole.
“We saw it start with apparel; it was all about men purging their closets and adding new looks as they tried to remain relevant, feel young, look young,” she said, recalling 2011 year-end sales figures in which menswear was the only fashion segment to post growth (three per cent). “And now we see the casual shoe following that trend.”
“The casual shoe is picking up sales.”
Tracey Jarosz
In-store shopping continues to account for the majority of sales across the industry. But NPD notes that online purchases increased by fully 25 per cent in 2012, suggesting that Canadian consumers are taking advantage of the web’s lower overhead and resulting discounts.
“The categories that are really driving growth are men’s fashion boots, sandals and non-athletic shoes,” said Jarosz. “Sneakers are in the top five but it’s really more the casual shoe — the one that helps complement the wardrobe — that’s picking up (sales).”
The research draws on a proprietary panel of 100,000 Canadian consumers, with data aggregated and projected to reflect the general population.