For stores that sell multiple product categories, shoes are what bring people into the stores or to their website. Over 50% of those stores’ traffic can be attributes to shoe related searches. Shoe sales are up in Q3 for many brands and retailers best known for their comfort; Sketchers, Asics, Under Armour, Foot Locker, etc while those who typically specialize in fashion experienced a down quarter (Macy’s, et).
The days of keeping up with current fashion trends via cramped flats or exhausting heels may be behind us, and for those dealing with bunions, this is some seriously relieving news.
2014 saw a slight dip in fashion footwear in its first 10 months. On the other hand, work and outdoor shoes sales increased – more specifically, work/occupational/safety footwear saw a 14 percent increase in sales and outdoor footwear sales increased by 7 percent. Cold-weather casual boots saw a double-digit sales increase while hunting and fishing boot sales increased by three percent.
Americans seem to have switched their shoe of choice to work-related footwear over the stereotypically uncomfortable fashionable footwear. For those who don’t know where to attribute this change in sales, they might want to look at the overall transformation of fashion among millennials.
Preps are out. Hipsters are in. And hipsters tailor their fashion choices to the work garb choices of their grandparents – thrift shop shirts, Levi’s and Clarks. For the wallets and comfort of those looking to stay in the flow of fashion, this is good news.
For those afflicted by bunions: You’ve been instructed to avoid narrow, cramped shoes and instead lean toward footwear with spacious, box-shaped toes. And while you try your best to abide by these restrictions, it leaves you looking longingly at the top-trending footwear and wishing you could wear it without worsening your condition.
If this sounds like something you struggle with, now is your time. Feel free to stock up on Clarks, combat boots and Sperrys. They’ll keep your feet comfortable and respect your bunion-induced boundaries – and all without compromising your fashion-forward thinking.
Still, some shoes which aren’t getting any more comfortable also aren’t going out of style anytime soon. This said, there are ways to prevent worsening your bunions even while you’re getting blisters in those nude pumps you love so much.
Bunion Booties are thin, flexible and easy to hide under just about any style of shoe. While they effortlessly slip into your Clarks, they’ll also do the trick beneath more fashionable shoes with less coverage. They prevent friction between your bunion and your shoe and help realign your big toe to relieve it of pain and tension.
Bunion Booties allow you to follow fashion trends wherever they go. Enjoy the space and comfort of today’s work-shoe-inspired hipster fashions as well as the more-fitted and less-flexible fashion footwear.