With footwear being a popular product to purchase over the internet, what are the pros and cons of setting up a website selling shoes?
The major downside is the competition – it's very strong and getting stronger all the time. With Amazon recently launching their dedicated footwear and accessories website, Javari, it shows that they are taking footwear seriously.
Most of the high street chains of shoe shops have also upped their game in terms of their ecommerce offerings, so launching a new venture, especially for a small business, can be extremely difficult.
There are several other issues to bear in mind if you are considering setting up your own footwear website. Product returns are high and, depending on the types of shoes you sell, you should plan for a customer returns rate of at least 8-10%
The stock levels are also a major consideration. Many style of shoes are available in several different color options. You also need to hold stock in all of the sizes, otherwise you run the risk of losing sales as customers can not find the shoes they want in their size.
The footwear industry typically works six months in advance. That means you'll generally need to pre-order items. Deliveries for Autumn / Winter which will arrive to you from July, are usually placed no later than February of that year.
Some brands keep items in stock, but the major of the major brands do not. This puts the emphasis consistently on you, the retailer to ensure you have the correct levels of stock. Too much and you'll probably need to dramatically reduce prices (and your margins) to clear the stock – too little and you'll lose customers.
As with all businesses, you need a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for your website to prosper. It's no good just trying to mimic an existing site, and competitiveness on price alone is unlikely to work – the big players can always be cheaper than you, as a small business, can be.
Instead you should think long and hard about what difference you can make. If you have an existing bricks and mortar store, how about offering a same-day delivery service to your local area? This is something that is not easy for all websites to do, but if you have a presence in an area already, you've got a head start on them.
You may also choose to only stock footwear within a niche market. Wide-fitting shoes, industrial shoes, dance shoes, golf shoes, shoes for weddings and eco friendly shoes , are all examples of potential niches that you could target.
With footwear being one of the most competitive markets on the internet, it's a tricky area to enter. However, if you do something different to other people, there's no reason you should not be successful.
