Has Covid changed footwear purchasing behavior?

ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY - Sabot's study

Purchasing behavior represents a collective phenomenon that can be examined through the observation and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data concerning a group of individuals; therefore it lends itself to statistical studies. Through the investigation carried out in this case studied by the Sabot.tv team, we want to understand if and how consumer purchasing behavior in the footwear sector has been modified due to the pandemic. Based on what emerged from the literature search, there are no studies in this regard, given that it is a recent phenomenon, in progress and which, unfortunately, has not yet ended. The experimental research aims to detect and measure individuals' attitudes towards their purchasing behavior transformed by the pandemic. It does not aim to carry out huge surveys, but in any case we want to achieve the most objective results possible.
A random sample of subjects was identified, who made themselves available to answer a questionnaire, which has the aim of identifying whether the purchasing behavior that exists now will be definitive or not, or even how many purchasing methods that have transformed during the pandemic will be maintained and to what extent. The sample can be considered representative of the population in terms of gender, age, educational level and occupation.
The questionnaire was therefore used as a data collection tool, asking a series of questions to the responding subjects. There are various types of questions in the questionnaire. The first and most used is the closed answer, some of these questions are dichotomous, since they only provide two answer modes, others are polytomous, i.e. they provide only one answer among three or more options. For the purpose of the research, closed questions have various advantages, including the comprehensibility of the answers, the comparability of the results and, with respect to any sensitive data, they are more appropriate. Furthermore, it will be easier for the interviewee to provide the answer. Also among the closed answers there are Likert scales, both numerical, i.e. constructed so as to be odd and symmetrical with respect to a value that is considered central in an order of preference, and verbal. These numerical and verbal scales are named after their author, Rensis Likert, a scholar of psychometric statistics, who in 1932 created this tool to translate individuals' opinions and attitudes into a numerical scale. This tool is related to several aspects, since it is able to make certain statements respond on a numerical scale. A fundamental element of these types of questions is that they must be formulated in a clear, unambiguous and understandable way, so that when people answer, they do so without misunderstandings. The quantitative relevance is placed in a unipolar way, i.e. the central part represents neutrality and the outer sides are symmetrical and clearly antithetical. Over the years it has been found that this type of unipolar measurement is more reliable than bipolar ones, which focus on two aspects of the same phenomenon and lead the subject to have to express himself on two attributes at the same time. Precisely due to the presence of a central pole, the levels in the Likert scale must be odd. The advantage of this measurement consists in being able to quickly and clearly calculate the results of the investigation, transcoded into numerical values. With respect to the timing of the survey, it is a prospective and occasional longitudinal study, as it is conducted only once. The observation part was passive, since during the questionnaire, there was no type of external intervention. As regards the purpose, it is an explanatory study, the aim of which is to verify the research hypotheses, i.e. the presence of a relationship between the pandemic and the change in purchasing behavior in the footwear sector. The variables studied during the research are both qualitative (sortable and disconnected) and quantitative, expressed through natural numbers divided into classes. The source of the data is primary: the information is collected from scratch via a computerized questionnaire with the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) methodology. The questionnaires were self-completed by 289 subjects. The subjects who responded to the questionnaire were contacted via invitations on social media (via our page @sabotcalzatureaccessori ), word of mouth and newsletters relating to various activities belonging to the footwear sector. The questionnaire tool was chosen for the survey, since it is a versatile modality that allows obtaining easily measurable information, even in an impersonal modality: whoever does the research does not directly influence the interviewee. The questions begin with generic themes, mostly focused on identifying and categorizing the individuals who respond to the questionnaire (gender, age, place of origin, profession and educational qualification). We then go into the merits of online purchasing behaviour: if the interviewee declares that he has not bought virtually, we access a dedicated branch of the questionnaire, in which we try to understand the reasons that led him to this type of behavior and we they investigate the aspects that could lead them to change their attitude, for example more competitive prices, the presence of telephone assistance or greater ease in proceeding with the return and other reasons. It was decided to study its intensity with a level 5 measurement scale. Subsequently, we try to understand the failure to purchase shoes on the web, proposing some problems that prevent subjects from having a positive attitude towards this channel. Finally, we investigate what could be the aspects that could lead the individual to buy footwear virtually, also measuring their intensity and relevance on the basis of the previous scale. If, however, the respondent bought online during the pandemic, the questionnaire branches into a section dedicated to those who buy online. They will be presented with a question asking the category of products or services purchased and how often. The category of greatest interest for the topic covered is fashion, including clothing, footwear and accessories.
After which we ask whether there has been an increase or decrease in virtual purchases during the health emergency and the intensity of the change. We try to observe post-pandemic purchasing intentions, asking whether the habit of buying online will be maintained in the future. We then move on more specifically to the footwear sector being studied and also in this case there is a bifurcation depending on the type of answer: if the interviewee buys footwear online he goes to a dedicated page, where he is asked how much the last year this expense as a percentage. After which the questionnaire continues with specific questions relating to the footwear sector and consumer purchasing behaviour.
In the event that the individual has not purchased footwear on the web, we try to investigate the motivation, asking exclusively the last two questions in the section dedicated to those who do not purchase online in general. The questionnaire submitted to the interviewees was prepared in a standardized way for all the units surveyed, but also followed, as described above, a conceptual path, on the basis of which, depending on the answer provided, different ramifications open up. This methodology is called “jump logic”, meaning the next question varies based on the answer given to the current question. In this way it is possible to personalize the survey based on the answers provided: in the case in question the first conditional ramification occurs in question number 6, which asks whether online purchases were made during the pandemic. In the event that the subject responds negatively, the questionnaire moves to a section dedicated to subjects who do not make purchases on the web. The second branching logic presents itself in question number 12 of the section dedicated to those who purchase online, which asks whether virtual purchases of footwear have been made during the pandemic. In the case of a negative response, a further ramification of two questions is presented in which the motivation for this behavior is ascertained and what could lead the subjects to change their mind. Through this type of question, it is possible to make the questionnaire more streamlined and dynamic, since interviewees only see the questions that concern them. In this way the subject takes less time to answer the questions without being confused. Thanks to this, the compilation is smooth and the interviewee will be more inclined to complete the questionnaire itself. The questionnaire was created via the Survey Monkey platform, which provides cloud -based software and allows the development of various customized solutions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE - Sabot's study

To study the phenomenon relating to the behavior of individuals, one can proceed by analyzing all the units under investigation or through a partial survey. This choice must allow us to obtain results that can be representative of the entire community being investigated. Sampling represents a very important tool in statistical investigation, as, instead of studying the entire population, it allows the phenomenon under investigation to be analyzed with less time and cost. The sample in fact represents a subset of the population, composed of a group of elementary units, which in the case in question are individuals. Indeed, the sample can allow greater accuracy than the study of all the units, since it allows you to go deeper into the research. The target population is made up of all Italian consumers, while the sampling units are represented by individuals who made themselves available to answer the questionnaire. The sample has a size of 289 statistical units interviewed in the period between 15 May and 5 July and was created in this way so that it could have a low cost. This is a non-probability sample, as the units were not drawn randomly, but in any case it is unplanned, in the sense that not all the subjects who responded to the questionnaire were personally chosen. It therefore represents a convenience sampling, as it is based on criteria of convenience and gratuitousness: the selection, as has already been said, is not purely random and could present systematic statistical errors. One of the advantages of the convenience sample lies in the fact that it can study trends without the difficulties of building a probability sample. This type of sampling is usually applied for experimental research, since it allows you to study a phenomenon, without huge investments, and then, possibly, decide whether to deepen the research with probability sampling. The questionnaire was sent to individuals through social media, word of mouth and newsletters of businesses belonging to the footwear sector, without specifying the subject of the survey, as it was believed that this could influence the responses.
There was positive interest in the research, as approximately 85% of the people who opened the link then completed the questionnaire. The people contacted were divided by age group, gender, city of residence, profession and educational qualification. Regarding gender, 67.82% of the respondents (196 individuals) are female. This percentage could probably be justified by the fact that the topics covered in the questionnaire are more attractive to the fairer sex.

The questionnaire represents one of the most used tools in the study of social phenomena and is useful for collecting information in a standardized way.
In analyzing the online purchasing behavior of individuals, a specific path was followed which can be outlined through certain phases. First of all, the objectives of the research were defined, namely understanding the online purchasing behavior of consumers in the footwear sector, analyzing the changes that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic and trying to understand whether these changes will be temporary or long-lasting. Subsequently, the target was defined and a convenience sample was constructed that was as representative as possible in terms of gender, age, educational qualifications and occupation. The themes under investigation were identified, analyzing the above-mentioned objectives through a series of questions. Once this was done, the questionnaire was drawn up, paying attention to the fact that it was not too long and verbose and to the order in which the questions were presented, starting from the general and then going into the specific. Clear and direct language was used, so as to avoid any misunderstandings and ambiguities. The questions in the questionnaire are mainly closed and a maximum length has been established. Whenever possible, the answers to the questions were structured on a Likert scale.
Furthermore, filter questions have been inserted to allow you to skip one or more subsequent questions based on the answers provided. In this way it was possible to reduce the time required to complete the questionnaire and thus increase the response rate. It was therefore decided to create the questionnaire online, through the Survey Monkey platform. Once created, it was tested with the aim of verifying its correct functioning, compilation times (which turned out to be 3 minutes on average) and its clarity.
The final version was therefore formulated, the questionnaires were administered ensuring respect for privacy, the response rate was monitored and, finally, the data were processed. After the questions relating to the characteristics of the sample, we moved on to the actual survey. The first question asks whether online purchases were made during the pandemic: it appears that 92.73% of respondents (268 units) bought on the web during Covid-19, thus demonstrating that the pandemic has changed purchasing habits, at least in the short term, and caused the e-commerce boom . The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development conducted a survey on 3,700 individuals from nine different countries, including Italy, to understand how much consumers have turned to e-commerce. It emerged that much more than half of those interviewed have changed their consumption choices in favor of virtual channels. Returning to the survey carried out, among those who have not made online purchases, 70% appear to be over 50. For those who responded negatively to the above question, a ramification opens up that leads them to the path created for those who do not purchase online. First, they were asked to rate certain statements on a Likert scale. The scale starts from the number 1, which means "completely disagree", up to the number 5 which represents "completely agree". The central pole is naturally represented by indifference. The first statement concerns the lack of reliability and trust in websites and 33.33% of respondents expressed indifference towards this issue.
Around 30%, however, appear to be quite in agreement, highlighting that a certain impeding attitude towards online purchasing can be generated by this aspect, so much so that the relevant graph presents an asymmetrical tail towards those who fully agree on their lack of trust to websites.

The second statement concerns the lack of confidence in making online payments. In this case it is even more evident that people prove to be quite and sometimes completely insecure in making payments on the web, in fact 66.66% agree with this issue. It therefore appears that the lack of trust in making online payments is greater than the general absence of trust on websites: this obstacle could be overcome with a more widespread use of cash on delivery, provided that shipping companies reduce the rates of this type of service, which for now is partially paid by the buyer.

One of the brakes on the consolidated expansion of e-commerce is the fear of running into scams, so it is important to be aware and know which payment methods are the safest. The most traditional and widespread ones for online payments are the credit card and the debit card. Nowadays it is essential that consumers can purchase with high security standards, guaranteed in this case by systems such as SecureCode or Verified by Visa, which require the use of temporary passwords to complete virtual purchases. Other rather widespread alternatives are cash on delivery and bank transfer. In particular, the first option is the one adopted by those most fearful of falling for money theft on the web, even if, as explained above, in recent years all forms of payment have taken on very high levels of security. The third statement relates to a lack of confidence in the originality of the products being purchased. In this case it can be seen that a large part of the individuals, precisely 35.29% of the units, are indifferent to this, while approximately 48% of the respondents overall do not agree on the fact that the originality of the products is a factor that pushes them not to make online purchases.

The fourth assertion concerns the complexity of procedures in general, which could push people not to buy virtually. In this case there is a perfect symmetry between those who completely agree and disagree and between those who somewhat agree or disagree and indifferent. This can be seen from the following graph:

The fifth statement compares shopping to the feeling of pleasure associated with purchasing in a physical store: the interesting fact is that no one was indifferent to this issue, in fact around 62% completely agreed that they do not buy online because they want to being able to experience the emotional experience of purchasing in a physical store. The health emergency certainly caused retail sales to decrease drastically. In fact, at the end of 2020 it is estimated that they decreased globally by around 500 billion dollars. In particular, during the various closures of physical stores, there have been transformations that could lead to
business to consumer e-commerce towards new horizons. Many websites have been created and made operational in the last year, virtual consultations have been implemented, social and sponsorship channels have been improved and finally deliveries have been strengthened. E-commerce no longer represents a niche phenomenon and has changed the purchasing and consumption habits of a large portion of the population, also involving the less digitalized part. In 2020, in Italy, purchases of goods made online grew, resulting in the highest increase ever and reaching a value of almost 24 billion euros. The sixth statement, however, attests to opposition to online purchases, since there are too many alternatives on the web, which are confusing during the act of purchasing. In this case, 47% of respondents declared themselves to be somewhat in agreement. We are faced with the so-called paradox of choice theorized by Barry Schwartz, an American psychologist, which represents the abundance of choices and alternatives as one of the greatest sources of psychological suffering. Therefore technology, in the beginning, had the aim of reducing the time of choice and purchase, but today we are somehow forced to choose from an extremely vast number of options.
The problem is that, if we have a greater number of alternatives, we risk making incorrect decisions more easily: in fact, each choice requires greater commitment, mistakes are less rare and the psychological suffering resulting from such errors is greater. The seventh statement concerns failed online purchases caused by one's own or acquaintances' negative experiences: the majority of individuals proved indifferent to this issue.
Again on a 5 Likert scale, they were asked how much they would be induced to buy online by some aspects, the first of which is represented by greater reliability and transparency guaranteed by the sites. 66.66% of respondents positioned themselves between "somewhat agree" and "completely agree", while 28% were indifferent to this. As scholar Rachel Botsman states, trust matters more than technology, in fact, without the former, the latter loses meaning. The concept of trust, defined as "social glue", is at the heart of the collaborative economy on which Botsman bases its studies , which believes that online trust will transform our attitudes in the real world and will lead us to be extremely responsible in the future : Trust could be the currency of the new economy.
The next statement concerns greater knowledge of how the virtual world works. The majority of respondents appear indifferent to this aspect:

We then went on to ask if lower prices could change the minds of those who don't purchase virtually: in this case the answers were overwhelmingly affirmative. In fact, those who declare to be somewhat or completely in agreement with this topic represent 63.13% of the respondents. It already often happens, specifically in the footwear sector, the main subject of this study, that the prices charged online are lower than in a physical store. This is due to the higher fixed costs that a physical store has to bear, from the fixed costs of stock , to the fixed costs of equipment, sales staff, rent and many other costs, which do not allow for a different promotion to be carried out every day. It is important, therefore, to try to integrate offline and online sales channels, without forgetting that the heart of every sale is the customer experience . Two other statements welcomed by the respondents, to start purchasing online, concern effective telephone assistance and greater simplicity of the returns procedure. In the first case, 50% of the respondents completely agreed, while in the second, 72.2% completely agreed. The return represents a guaranteed right when making virtual purchases, since we want to give greater freedom and tranquility to the buyer who cannot observe the product live, but only rely on images and descriptions. In recent times, the practice of refunding the purchases of dissatisfied parties and not requesting the goods back has been expanding among the largest virtual shops. Even if it rarely happens, this phenomenon, combined with free returns, could become an unsustainable cost for many companies, especially the smaller ones. Two final questions were then asked for the 21 individuals, who did not purchase online during the pandemic. These refer to the possible presence of a reason why these subjects do not buy shoes online and to some possible aspects that could lead them to buy them. These two questions will, for ease of reading, be analyzed later, as these questions will also include those who, despite making virtual purchases, do not buy footwear. The responses provided by those who did not purchase online during the Covid-19 pandemic have now been analysed: we now move on to all those who have purchased online, who make up approximately 93% of the total respondents (268 units out of 289 individuals) . In fact, also according to research by the B2C e-commerce observatory of Netcomm and the Polytechnic of Milan, virtual purchases increased by 26% in 2020. If in the period before the pandemic the driving sector of online commerce was tourism, in the two-year period 2020-2021 e-commerce moved to other sectors, such as food and beverage, marketing, fashion and publishing. The first question posed to them concerns the main type of online purchases made during the health emergency.
The three most selected and chosen businesses are represented by the food sector, the fashion sector (clothing, footwear and accessories) and the publishing sector, as can be seen from the following graph:

We then try to understand whether virtual purchases have increased during the health emergency: it emerges that for 23% of respondents online purchases have "fairly increased" and that for 43% they have increased "very much". For 30% of interviewees, however, they remained unchanged compared to the pre-Covid period. Only for 12 individuals did online purchases decrease.

The question of how far virtual purchases have entered consumers' lifestyle habits is less strong, although still affirmative. The question is always set as closed on a Likert scale: the central pole in this case takes on the meaning of "enough", while the other values ​​take on the meaning of "not at all", "a little", "a lot" and "in ascending order". very very much".

We then try to understand whether consumers intend to maintain the current level of online purchases post-pandemic. It emerges that 74.81% of the sample believes they will continue to purchase online as much as during the health emergency. E-commerce has grown exponentially in the last two years, as people, forced to remain inside their homes, have been somehow forced to make online purchases. The research conducted by IZI and Comic&Partners on a sample of 1037 individuals of Italian nationality states that approximately 60% of those interviewed will continue to purchase virtually, even after the health emergency. From this survey it is possible to draw interesting conclusions: for the purposes of this research it is more notable that in the fashion sector more than 80% of Italians went to physical stores to shop, while today around 60% would do so. Furthermore, the frequency of online purchases by respondents was considered important: it emerges that the majority of individuals interviewed (52.43%) make purchases once a month.

Idealo, a price comparator of various websites, has carried out interesting research into the frequency of online purchases by digital consumers. The information taken into consideration and analyzed highlighted that 85% of Italian digital consumers make, on average, a purchase every month. There is an increase of five percentage points compared to 2020 and it is clear how the virtual market is strongly dominated by those who can be defined as regular buyers. The research also shows the most searched for products in 2020 in Italy within the platform: in first position are smartphones, in second are sneakers and in third are televisions. Regarding the purchasing method during the pandemic, Idealo administered a survey in February 2021 and it emerged that approximately 85% of respondents did research online before going to make the purchase in store, particularly in the footwear sector . 73% of individuals who purchased online, however, first went to a physical store to directly observe and try the desired product. At this point, the question we decided to ask enters the heart of the research: from general questions the focus increasingly shifts towards the sector taken into consideration, that of footwear. The question was therefore whether shoes were purchased online during the pandemic or not. 56.3% (151 individuals) bought shoes online during Covid-19, the remaining part, made up of 117 individuals, did not purchase footwear online during the pandemic period. Of the 151 individuals who responded affirmatively to the question cited above, 23 are under 20, 54 are those in the 20-29 age range, 50 units are aged between 30 and 50 and 24 are those over 50. Of the 117 individuals who have not purchased footwear on the web, 11 are under 20, 41 are those in the 20-29 age group, 28 are those aged between 30 and 50 years and 37 for those over 50. The only age group for which those who have not purchased shoes online are greater in number than those who have purchased is precisely the latter, that represented by individuals over 50 years of age. They appear more reluctant to this purchasing behavior, probably not even Covid-19 was enough to eradicate very solid habits. For respondents who do not purchase footwear in the virtual world, a branch dedicated to them opens, containing two questions that were also asked to those who do not purchase, in general, online, as specified in the previous pages. We therefore ask ourselves what the reason is that pushes us not to buy shoes online: the most popular answers are related to a difficulty in perceiving the right fit, the pleasure of making purchases in physical stores and the need to do the test to understand how they fit the style.

The last question on a Likert scale, proposed in this logical path, has the intention of understanding whether, when there are innovations or improvements, those who do not buy footwear online can be induced to change their mind. The question is organized like the majority of the previous ones on a Likert scale, in fact we have statements and each respondent will have to choose their relevance. The central pole takes on the meaning of "indifferent", while the other values ​​range from "completely disagree" (1) to "completely agree" (5). The first statement is aimed at understanding whether a technological solution capable of verifying the adaptability of the fit to the foot can convince the most reluctant to make footwear purchases on the web. The majority of respondents stated that they somewhat agreed. We have been hearing about the introduction of technologies that can facilitate foot scanning and the subsequent digital purchase of footwear for several years, however it is in the last year, due to the pandemic, that companies have started to focus heavily on it. One of the obstacles for consumers who want to purchase shoes on the web is precisely the difficulty of buying with confidence, knowing in advance that the fit is right for their foot. The size, in fact, only indicates a length reference, which varies from one manufacturing company to another and which cannot take into consideration all the existing conformations of the foot. This is where artificial intelligence comes into play, on which many companies have strongly focused, including Snapfeet , which has implemented a system to understand whether or not a shoe has the correct fit. In this case, the artificial intelligence recreates the morphology of the foot framed through a 3D camera and subsequently simulates a comparison with the models present in its database. If developed correctly and made known to everyone, these technologies could revolutionize an entire sector, also reducing the problem of returns. The next idea he came up with to increase online footwear purchases concerns the presence of more competitive prices on the web. Also in this case, the respondents appear to be quite in agreement in the belief of digitizing their purchasing habits in the event that online prices were lower than in physical ones. The third and fourth statements aroused indifference in the responses of individuals. The third concerns a question of greater peace of mind when purchasing: from this perspective, each brand should display all authorized online retailers on its website. Usually this does not happen and it often happens that manufacturers are the first and strongest competitors for physical stores. However, respondents are indifferent to this in most cases, which also happens in the fourth statement. Purchase packages with coordinated accessories do not convince consumers, demonstrating the fact that they want as much simplicity and speed as possible when purchasing. The fifth and final statement concerns the presence of personalized offers, i.e. discounts and benefits based on the level of loyalty. 33.59% of those interviewed appeared to somewhat agree, 22.14% were indifferent, while 19% completely agreed. This question concludes the journey for those who do not buy online and for those who buy on the web, but not footwear. Respondents who purchase shoes online are naturally given a different ramification. First of all, they are asked how many shoes they have purchased online in the last year, therefore during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. What is most sobering is that Italians have not given up the desire to buy online, even after the easing of restrictive measures. From the 2021 report by Casaleggio Associati it emerges that 16 million Italians believe that the change in habits in favor of online purchases is irreversible. Another interesting aspect is that more than 30% of Italians who have purchased footwear online prefer multi-brand virtual stores. In relation to the brand, the consumers interviewed were asked how important this is when purchasing footwear on the web. For the vast majority of respondents, the brand is very relevant when purchasing footwear online.
This result also emerged from the results of the survey carried out by BVA Doxa, European Opinion Tracker , which more than 1000 European consumers underwent between 7 and 13 December 2020. Taking Italian consumers into consideration, it can be stated that the quality and brand are the most important characteristics for online purchases. They were then asked what type of footwear is mainly purchased online: 101 out of 151 respondents prefer purchasing sneakers.

During the pandemic, the sectors most affected were those of classic shoes with a 30% decrease in quantity, while for sneakers the decrease was more limited and around 15%. For this reason, traditionally elegant brands have had to adapt to the market and create more sneaker variations, to the detriment of more classic footwear. After sneakers, some interviewees said they buy pumps, sandals and amphibians. The other typologies were chosen to an almost irrelevant extent. He then asked himself whether the pandemic had led individuals to increase their online shoe purchases: approximately 70% of those interviewed declared that they had increased their amount of online shoe purchases.

According to the Fashion Consumer Panel of Sita Ricerca for Assocalzaturifici, in 2020 the share of digital shopping went from 14.1% to 21.4%: this is a very strong increase destined to increase, considering that in 2013 footwear purchases online covered approximately 3.5% of footwear spending per family. With regards to online purchases, respondents are asked whether they intend to continue purchasing online even after the pandemic: around 85% respond in the affirmative, demonstrating how footwear purchasing habits have really and strongly changed. The online footwear sector is among the most dynamic, despite having ample room for improvement and evolution. These excellent results in the online fashion sector can be traced back to two factors in particular, price and service: there are greater savings opportunities by purchasing online and multiple services, such as the possibility of returns, short delivery times, telephone assistance and many others . 36% of those interviewed expect to continue purchasing footwear online as much as during the pandemic period, approximately 27% believe they will purchase less, while 33% are unable to make predictions. The residual part, around 5%, will want to buy more shoes online compared to the pandemic period. Almost all respondents appear to be satisfied with their purchases, demonstrating how the virtual path to purchase has improved, which together with the products offered, determines customer satisfaction .