Title: A Study on Types of Footwear and Customer Preferences
Author: Rituparna Prakash Baliarsingh
Introduction:
Footwear plays an important role in everyday life by providing comfort, protection, and support to the feet. Over time, footwear has also become a significant element of fashion and personal style. With changes in lifestyle, work culture, and fitness awareness, the demand for different types of footwear has increased.
Footwear is generally classified into casual, formal, sports, and ethnic categories, each designed to serve a specific purpose. Casual footwear is mainly used for daily wear, formal footwear is associated with professional and official settings, sports footwear is designed for physical activities and performance, while ethnic footwear reflects cultural and traditional values.
This report aims to study the various types of footwear and understand their features, usage, and consumer preferences. It also examines the factors that influence footwear purchasing decisions, such as comfort, design, price, and brand, to gain insight into the footwear market.
Objective:
To analyze consumer preferences across different types of footwear.
Literature Review:
Abbas, Qamar & Shahzad (2020) conducted a quantitative study to investigate the key determinants of consumer preference when purchasing footwear brands, focusing on a sample of 150 respondents drawn from students in health-related departments at Dow University of Health Sciences in Karachi. The research explored five primary independent variables — price, product quality, brand loyalty, brand consciousness, and store location — and examined their relationship with the dependent outcome: consumers’ preference for footwear brands. Using tools such as correlation, ANOVA and regression analysis, the authors found that price and product quality had statistically significant effects on consumer preference, with product quality emerging as particularly influential in shaping buying decisions. The findings suggest that consumers who perceive higher quality in footwear brands are more likely to prefer and select those brands, often even over lower-priced alternatives, reflecting a shift in modern consumer behaviour toward quality-driven choices in the context of fashion and utility. The study also integrates prior research showing that brand consciousness and brand loyalty influence purchase decisions, as seen in broader consumer behaviour literature where these factors are linked to stronger brand preference (e.g., Girma & Mulugeta, 2016; Al-Salamin & Al-Hassan, 2016) and psychological price perceptions that shape buying behaviour. The authors recommend that footwear manufacturers and marketers should focus on product quality, brand naming strategies, and targeted marketing communications to enhance brand recall and meet consumer expectations — underscoring the importance of integrating quality, pricing and branding strategies to influence purchase preference in competitive marketplaces.
Goet & Kharel (2023) examine the relationship between factors of brand preference and customer satisfaction specifically in the shoe market of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The study adopts a descriptive and causal-comparative research design using primary data from a sample of 390 shoe users, selected through convenience sampling. Through correlation and regression analysis, the authors explore how various dimensions of brand preference — including Product Quality, Design, Store Environment, Service Quality, Promotion, and Brand Image — influence customer satisfaction outcomes. The findings reveal that most brand preference factors have a statistically significant positive impact on customer satisfaction, indicating that consumers are more satisfied when shoes score higher on perceived quality, design attractiveness, supportive store environments, effective promotions, and strong brand images. Interestingly, Brand Name itself was not found to have a significant effect on satisfaction in this context, suggesting that for Kathmandu Valley consumers, the functional and experiential aspects of brand preference may matter more than the mere renown of the brand. This research aligns with broader brand equity and consumer behaviour literature, which shows that brand image and perceived product attributes often play critical roles in shaping satisfaction and loyalty, beyond simple brand recognition alone (e.g., Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993). The authors’ use of quantitative techniques to isolate which brand preference components truly matter offers useful empirical insight for marketers seeking to enhance customer satisfaction by prioritizing quality, store experience, and promotional effectiveness.
Data Collection:
To understand customer preferences for footwear, four statements were designed using a Likest scale. A Google Form with a linear rating scale from 1 to 10 was created, and respondents were asked to rate their preferences. 45 students of Operations in ITM University were surveyed and data was downloaded as Excel Sheet. Anova (Single factor) is calculated.
Data Analysis:
Anova: Single Factor
SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
Casual Footwear 45 257 5.71 8.39
Formal Footwear 45 246 5.47 6.53
Sports Footwear 45 256 5.69 8.13
Ethnic Footwear 45 254 5.64 9.23
ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 1.66 3.00 0.55 0.07 0.98 2.66
Within Groups 1420.4 176 8.07
Total 1422.06 179
H0: All are same
H1: Any one of this is different
We observe p value, as p value is greater than 0.05 accept null hypothesis (H0) meaning all are same.
Conclusion: From data analysis it is conclude that all are same.
Reference:
Abbas, A., Qamar, S., & Shahzad, M. (2020). Factors influencing consumers’ preference for purchasing footwear brands. UW Journal of Management Sciences, 4(1), 40–52. https://doi.org/10.56220/uwjms.v4i1.23
Goet, J., & Kharel, K. (2023). Impact of shoes brand preference on customer satisfaction. KIC International Journal of Social Science and Management, 2(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.3126/kicijssm.v2i1.62484