Shoes Speak Louder Than Words?

A recent survey has revealed that Koreans spend an average of 300,000 won every year on shoes. (Image : Kobizmedia / Korea Bizwire)

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent survey has revealed that Koreans spend an average of 300,000 won every year on shoes.

ABC Mart, a discount shoe store, conducted a survey in collaboration with GfK, a market research company, asking 1,000 men and women between the ages of 15 and 49 about their shoe consumption. The respondents bought an average of four pairs of shoes every year, and spent an average total of 330,000 won on them.

Respondents had an average of 11.6 pairs of shoes. When analyzed according to gender, the average for men was 8.4 pairs, and for women, 13.7 pairs. The type of shoe that was most possessed among men was sports shoes (2.4 pairs). Women tended to have more dress shoes (3.7 pairs).

Hiking boots were the most expensive item consumers recently bought (an average of 122,000 won). Dress shoes ranked second at an average of 108,000 won. Interestingly, even though men had fewer pairs of dress shoes than women, they bought more expensive shoes.

Consumers selected their shoes based on features (59 percent), and then design (26 percent). Price was not a big consideration (9 percent).

The features consumers were looking for varied among types of shoes. Consumers tended to seek comfort in sports shoes, durability in hiking shoes and a cool design in sneakers, boots and dress shoes.

By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)