Choosing the Best Footwear Store Theme: Putting your Right Foot Forward

The best business is the one that is always in demand!

Did you know the global market size of the footwear industry was $365.5 billion in 2020? Several media reports suggest that it will reach $530.3 billion in 2027 with a CAGR of 5.5% during the same period. The numbers manifest one essential fact: The footwear business is a lucrative one!

On average, an individual buys at least two pairs of shoes yearly. It is not a luxury purchase that someone can put off for a later date. Shoes are essential for everyone. As a business in the footwear industry, you can generate a substantial profit. However, it is necessary to cater to the needs of your customers.

Selling More Shoes: Get Online to Get Ahead of Competitors!

To get a larger share of the growing global footwear industry, you must be online and build an e-commerce brand. It is more profitable than a physical store because it lets you reach more customers. And, as trends and fashion change quickly, you need higher sales to avoid an unsold stock situation. Creating a successful online presence will save you a lot of money in-store overheads and provide you the freedom to manage your business from anywhere you desire.

When you want to sell more shoes online, you have three avenues:

1. Social Media

With the success of influencer marketing, a hoard of businesses is flocking to Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp for selling products. Many small businesses opt for payment wallets, credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, COD, etc., to seek payments from buyers.

For selling on social media, make use of eye-catching content and collaborate with influencers to sell shoes to your followers. Usually, visitors on social media websites are looking for entertainment. And, so you must schedule engaging content regularly to win the algorithm.

Selling solely on social media presents the following problems:

a) Reliance on the algorithm for providing you visibility.

b) Inability to grow more following organically and high cost of paid promotions.

c) Lack of reliable influencers and low ROI on influencer marketing.

d) Customers do not indulge in conscious buying.

It means that social media cannot be the only source of selling shoes over the internet. It can lead to increased sales numbers with the help of impulse purchases, but it cannot guarantee sustainable success.

2. Online Marketplaces

Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Craigslist are not the only online marketplaces available today. You can choose to be on several platforms. Though, consider your business USP, goals, and needs. For example, if you sell handmade shoes, Etsy can be an option for you. Alibaba is an excellent choice for B2B business. For capturing the Asian markets, consider Rakuten, the global marketplace based in Japan.

Choosing the right marketplace will reduce your marketing costs and allow you to reach more overseas customers. Additionally, being available on reliable online marketplaces will build trust among your buyers.

Marketplaces provide several incentives to sellers for joining their platform. For example, Amazon provides FBA (Fulfilled-by-Amazon) business model to help sellers deliver products to buyers.

However, you cannot choose an online marketplace exclusively because of the following reasons:

a) A high commission on every sale can cut your profit.

b) High advertising costs on online marketplaces.

c) Restrictive terms and conditions of different marketplaces can hamper your growth.

d) Branding your business and messaging becomes difficult because you have to adhere to the rules of the shopping portal.

e) Also, several sellers on marketplaces increase competition.

f) The problem of fake reviews can affect your business negatively.

When you want more repeat orders and want to convey the brand message your way, an online e-commerce website is the way to go.

3. E-commerce Website

A website should be the primary mode of selling shoes online. It is because you can curate the content as you like. With the changing seasons and demands of customers, you can easily upgrade the content on your website and make it relevant.

A reliable online store built with the help of a customizable e-commerce platform will provide you with a good user interface, secure payment options, and an exceptional customer shopping experience. The main reason for choosing a website is that it will enable you to get better search engine visibility. And, buyers often do their conscious shopping on search engines. It means you will be able to convert more casual visitors into paying customers.

Why build an E-commerce Website for selling Footwear?

In addition to social media and online marketplaces, it is necessary to build an e-commerce website for selling shoes to a wide range of customers. Here’s why:

1. Scalable – An e-commerce platform such as Magento will enable you to scale the features and functionalities of the website according to the changing needs of the business. For example, if you currently sell only a handful of products, you can create a smaller product catalog. But, as you expand your portfolio and add more products, you can extend the product catalog online. Thus, the e-commerce website will grow with your business.

2. Flexible – An e-commerce website is flexible. Whether you decide to cater to the needs of wholesale buyers or you desire to sell shoes, sandals, and sneakers to retail customers, you can choose a flexible, trustworthy, and robust e-commerce platform.

3. Customizable – The main advantage of choosing the Magento platform is the wide range of extensions available to customize the website. Whether the customization is aesthetic or functional, you can find different modules at affordable prices to personalize the online store.

Are you Overwhelmed about building an Online Footwear Store?

Understandably, you are anxious about creating an e-commerce store for selling more shoes. The lack of technical expertise in building and managing the website can overwhelm the best of us.

To put the right foot forward and build your online presence successfully, choose a footwear theme. It provides a consistent visual design and layout to the website without affecting your freedom to customize and scale the online store according to your will.

For example, a reliable Magento shoe store theme is available for under $100. The amount is cheaper when you consider hiring an in-house website development team that builds a website from scratch. There are many other benefits to choosing a readymade footwear theme:

a) E-commerce website development companies create industry-specific themes after thorough research and understanding of what works for your customers. It guarantees the success of your website.

b) Modern, responsive footwear themes deliver high-end features such as daily deals, advertisement banners, layered navigation, one-page checkout, RTL support, blogs, newsletters, etc.

c) You can finish building a website quickly when you have the page layouts ready, and you have to choose from the tried-and-tested options.

d) The development companies also provide installation and store setup services at a minimal cost. Additionally, they can customize the color scheme to suit your brand.

You will find several website themes online. To find a shoe store theme that is the perfect fit for your business, consider evaluating the different footwear themes on the following criteria:

a)Learn about the theme features in detail.

b) Is there a money-back guarantee if you are dissatisfied?

c) Will you receive any free support from the development company, or is it paid?

d) Choose a fully responsive footwear theme that is accessible on all devices.

e) Find out how many layout options and header/footer styles the company will provide.

f) Will you be able to customize the theme completely?

g) A powerful backend is a must for easy management.

h) Ensure superior SEO-friendly features for better search engine rankings.

i) Is there any discount? Will you get access to other extensions for choosing the theme?

j) Find out about browser compatibility.

A footwear theme can make your life simpler and help you to get your business online quickly. However, we should never forget the adage: haste makes waste. Appraise different shoe store themes and choose one that is the perfect fit!