Comfort Revolution In The Shoe Industry

Extra-wide women’s shoes are rapidly becoming the norm as more young women choose footwear that is both practical and fashionable.

Recent research reveals that 65 percent of consumers are likely to go for athletic shoes, while 53 percent opt for casual footwear. In contrast, just 34 percent of buyers fancy dress shoes.

Young buyers are the biggest reason behind the trend, with women aged 18-34 making up 37 percent of buyers who have bought shoes leaning on comfort.

Nowadays, casual styles are one of the most sought after shoes, even among younger buyers. Young consumers aren’t solely choosing shoes for comfort, but also because comfortable shoes are now deemed cool, with style and comfort becoming highly synonymous. We see a trickle-down effect from the elite fashion world, which features more casual footwear styles now.

This surge has forced more brands to incorporate comfortable footwear in their collections and is indicative of the rise in casual apparel becoming more common in work settings.

Several mainstream retailers and companies have featured comfortable shoes like sneakers and slides as part of their collections, making comfort the new cool. The increased acceptance of less formal shoe options reflects the growing trends in relaxed dress codes, casual fashion, and flexible office situations.

The study also revealed that the sales growth for men and women’s footwear (like extra-wide width heels) has been growing fast- with purchases increased by 17 percent during the past five years - reaching 63.2 billion dollars in the year 2017.

A positive outlook is in store for both categories of comfortable footwear, with consistent growth expected from both men’s and women’s shoes over the next five years. Experts think consumers are becoming more comfortable shopping for shoes online, despite in-store shopping being the historical preference.

Comfort Revolution In Lingerie

For ages, lingerie has remained a secret and concealed piece of women’s attire. But, today’s women are making bold fashion choices and stocking their closets with spunky lingeries, modern bralettes, and making space for a sturdier and comfortable support system- a sports bra. According to the NPD Group’s Consumer Tracking Service, the lingerie business has been booming in recent times and has witnessed the most significant sales growth in the past three years.

New-age women are finding sports bras more comfortable. And his drastic change in the lingerie business has caused startups to pivot toward the athletic sports bras. Even celebrities can’t seem to resist the ease and comfort and are bringing sports bras to the red carpet.

For instance, the supermodel Emily Ratajkowski recently wore only a sports bra to a breakfast outing, paired with leggings and an open blazer. And as the saying goes, age is only a number; young women are also choosing sports bras instead of the traditional lingerie options.

Many corporate offices and professional settings are now easing restrictions on dress codes to kick comfort up a notch. You can have many different styles of bras, but the essence of a sports bra is the desire to be comfortable. A big name in fashion, Victoria’s Secret, has also joined the bandwagon to manufacture comfy lingerie pieces of the new-age women. ”They are in the business to sell bras to please the “male gaze.”

How The Corona Pandemic Is Affecting Comfort

Comfortable, flat shoes had been gaining popularity well before the spread of coronavirus — think back to pictures of college-goers on nights out, with women matching their favorite clubbing apparel with a pair of trainers.

However, since the lockdown, the number of people leaning toward this style of footwear has exploded. Flats, pumps, flip flops, and extra-wide shoes for women have become the go-to options, while heels are collect dust at the shoe rack.

In the short-term, even when restaurants and clubs reopen, social distancing restrictions indicate that people will be meeting up for quick meet-ups instead of long, drawn-out dinners and nights out. That's also going to affect people’s choice of outfit, making it highly likely, that they'll stick to the more lax wardrobe that has been favored in the past few months.