UK men spend more on shoes than women, trainers are key

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 12, 2017

The average UK man now owns as many shoes as British women do and his footwear collection is worth more than that of women, according to a new survey. A poll of 2,000 adults by fashion e-tailer Spartoo found that men own 19 pairs of shoes on average with a value of £861, compared to a value of £789 for women.

The survey showed that those 19 pairs include eight pairs of trainers, five pairs of smart shoes, two pairs of boots, two pairs of sandals or flip flops, a pair of football boots, and a pair of rubber rain boots.
 
Those aged 25-34 were the biggest spenders in the last 12 months, followed by the 35-44 age group.

The research comes as recent Mintel industry data shows men’s footwear sales continue to rise while women’s sales have fallen marginally. On average, men have bought three pairs of shoes in the past 12 months compared to two for women.

But while women are increasing their purchases of trainers, the key difference between men’s and women’s shoe collection remains the fact that men own a larger number of trainers. On average they have five more pairs. The growth for both genders is being boosted both by the athleisure trend and the increasing casualisation of UK workplaces and of event dressing.

This trainer obsession has also been aided by special edition sports footwear collections and celebrity collaborations.

However, despite the growing shoe collections, Spartoo said 78% of respondents overall confessed to wearing the same three pairs of footwear on a regular basis.
 
And 82% of consumers admitted to owning a pair of shoes that they have never worn, with 69% saying the shoes not fitting properly was the main reason for leaving them in the box.

And the box is where many of them tend to stay. While women are the most likely to sell-on items from their collection, only 32% have sold at least one pair of shoes in the past 12 months, and only 17% of men have done so.