2015 Global Footwear Business Data Report Summary

FUNG GLOBAL RETAIL & TECHNOLOGY, a subsidiary of Hongkong's retail giant Feng Shi Group, recently released the report on the global footwear electricity supplier data in 2015. The key conclusions are as follows:

2015, global Shoe shoe and clothing class Online retailers Sales grew by 22% over the same period last year, of which China is the largest market.

Customization, personalization and the preference of the millennial online shopping have become the main factors to stimulate the growth of e-commerce.

Leisure sports and a healthy lifestyle drive the demand for sports shoes.

The cost of trying and returning goods has become the main factor restricting the development of shoe business.

　 Basic data of global shoe business

The report quoted Euromonitor International data as follows: in 2015, the electricity business accounted for 12% of the total sales volume of footwear sales of 3400 billion (US $41 billion), and the global sales of shoes and clothing e-commerce increased by 22% over the same period last year. Compared with the same period, the footwear industry grew by only 6% over the same period last year.

China is the world's largest footwear and clothing business market, with sales accounting for about 21% of the world's total (Figure 1). The growth rate of 41% is the world's largest (Figure 2). The German and British markets are mature and sales account for 18% and 17% of the world's total sales respectively.

According to PWC's data, in the year ending February 2016, 83% of China's clothing and footwear consumers had at least one online shopping.

(Fig. 1)

(Fig. 2)

In 2016, PWC surveyed 23 thousand consumers in 25 countries around the world. The results show that at present, the purchase proportion of physical stores is higher than that of search, while the proportion of PC web pages is higher than that of purchase. (Fig. 3)

According to the April research conducted by Body Labs, a clothing technology company, women consumers are more interested in online shopping than male consumers. (Fig. 4)

Custom and leisure sports craze

Customization, personalization and the preference of millennial online shopping have become the main factors to stimulate the growth of e-commerce.

Customized footwear is not only for aesthetic considerations, but also caters to the needs of consumer shoes and sizes. 3D printing heat has a profound impact on shoe customization. Mainstream sports brands such as Nike, Adidas New Balance and Under Armour have successively applied this technology to provide customized service for sports shoes for consumers. With the improvement of technology and the decrease of cost, future consumers are likely to design their own shoes at home.

Adidas announced that it will set up a shoe factory operated by robots and will be able to customize a pair of sneakers in the next 15 minutes. The first robot shoe factory Speedfactory will be in Germany.

According to Bain consultancy data, although consumers who buy customized products are less than 10%, 25%~30% consumers expressed their desire to participate in the product design process. Customization provides many brands with the opportunity to raise prices, while reducing the pressure on inventory and discount.

Besides, leisure sports and a healthy lifestyle promote the demand for shoes.

According to data from Ou Rui International and Hongkong TDC, sales of global sports shoes increased by 14% over the same period in 2015. The American leisure sports shoes market increased by 8% over the same period, and the Chinese sports shoes market increased by 7% annually.

　 Try out technology to reduce return rate

The cost of trying and returning goods has become the main factor restricting the development of shoe business. According to the data of Fitcode, an apparel technology service provider, the annual cost of return on electricity providers is as high as 2600 billion. But with the progress of new technology, consumers can also choose the right size products online, which greatly saves the cost of businesses. True Fit, Fitcode and other fitting technology greatly reduce the return rate.

Feng's previous research shows that the return rate of multi-channel fashion retailers is 15%~20%, but the return rate is higher for retailers with single mode of electricity supplier: the return rate of Zalando for clothing and shoes is 50%, and the return rate of AS0S is about 30% in recent years. There are also some providers offering free return service, and cross-border business is facing high freight and return costs.

Jessica Murphy, co-founder of According to True Fit, said clothing and shoes are the two highest return rates. The average conversion rate of shopping on the web is 2%, but True Fit can increase the proportion to 8%. The company recently raised $25 million, and has already worked with many fashion retailers such as ALDO, DSW, Sperry, Clarks, Saucony, Cole Haan, Jet, Brooks, Stuart Weitzman, Brooks, and so on.

According to the research conducted by Body Labs in April this year, the average return rate of online shopping shoes for American consumers reached an average of 20%, while the return rates of physical stores and online clothing were 13% and 23% respectively. The main reason for the return is that the size is not suitable, other reasons include: poor quality, style do not like, do not want and so on. (Fig. 5)

According to Accenture's data, 76% of consumers will check the return provisions before buying online. Body Labs said that 57% of online shoppers said they would only choose to determine the brand or style they could wear.

To this end, Amazon, the US electricity supplier giant, acquired Shoefitr, a Pittsburgh based startup last year. Shoefitr has developed a 3D shoe testing technology to facilitate consumers who buy shoes online to buy more suitable shoes. After the acquisition is completed, the technology will be applied to Amazon's flagship shoe business website Zappos, a major shoe supplier.

There are various models of shoe retail, including shoe shop, clothing store, department store, discount retailer and sports brand chain store. In recent years, a number of Shoe Retailers and clothing retailers have started to emerge, including Zalando, Sarenza and Spartoo.

Zalando

Founded in 2008, the German shoe shoe business was initially extended to other categories of clothing and accessories for professional shoe retailers. The company's market is facing 15 European countries, with a market share of 5% in Germany. There are more than 1500 brands, and more than 150 thousand commodities. In terms of sales revenue, Zalando is currently the largest fashion retailer in pure electric business in Europe, with 18 million 800 thousand active customers and 3.3 customers a year. Rate of return on investment

Sarenza

The French shoe electric business, founded in 2005, has more than 750 brand names, with an inventory of 5.5 million items, and sales in 2015 increased by 21% over the previous year, about 226 million US dollars. Sales in Western and Eastern Europe account for more than half of those outside France.

　 Spartoo

Founded in 2006, the French shoe electric supplier Spartoo has more than 1500 brands and 100 thousand stocks, including more than 20 countries including France, Germany, England, Italy and Spain. The number of visitors per month is 14 million. At present, the company has accumulated $51 million in financing.

Other pure electricity providers of this category include: Amazon, the US electricity supplier Zappos, and Canadian electricity supplier Shoes.com.

Innovative shoe business start-ups include: Australia shoe shoe customized Shoes of Prey, American sports shoes second-hand trading platform Stadium Goods, luxury electric business Farfetch, French electric supplier S Zane and American Internet fashion brand Everlane.

Multi channel Shoe Retailers include: Adidas, Nike, American discount retailer DSW.