Many sectors of retail have struggled during the pandemic, none more than the footwear industry. Following the stay at home please and lower disposable income, the industry has been hit hard. As we begin Q2, things are now looking up for retailers, with the reopening of non-essential retail and the easing of lockdown restrictions.
The pandemic year of 2020 could simply be a blip for both the apparel and footwear industry as they are expected to reach $2736.86 billion by 2026. This could be a result of increased brand awareness, growing organised retail and e-commerce channels along with a robust supply chain network.
What is the BOSCO™ Index?
The BOSCO™ index is a measure of how well you are exploiting your digital opportunities compared to your competitors. The index is computed 0 – 1000, with 575 being the average score for retailers.
A score of 1000 would mean a domain is the only competitor in that country and category, a score of zero would mean the domain has no offering online. Using cutting edge data science, BOSCO™ pulls in third-party data for the domains to rank and compare their paid search and SEO offering and each website’s online performance.
Here’s how we scored the brands
We ranked ten leading UK retailers in the footwear market for the months of April to May. Here’s how the top five scored on the BOSCO™ Index league table. Download the league table below to see the full results.
As a retailer that was founded almost 200 years ago, Clarks is still one of the leading shoe retailers in the UK.
Clarks have more than 1,400 stores worldwide and focus on providing quality shoes, at affordable prices, with emphasis on great customer service. On International Women’s Day, Clarks restarted their YouTube channel and interviewed several female team leaders, showing the personal side of the business, reinforcing their efforts with customer experience.
We’re seeing a big shift to sustainable fashion in 2021 and interest in brands who are environmentally conscious, Clarks highlight and showcase products that are focused on sustainability and are created from recyclable materials. As well as creating campaigns with footwear brands to empower the next generation, a target audience that wouldn’t generally be associated with the Clarks brand.
Clarks also launched a TikTok account in early April, jumping on trends and inviting popular influencers to duet with their channel.
We believe that lower scores in May could be due to many brands optimising for the easing of lockdown and return of physical retail. Shopper footfall in various retail locations showed signs of improvement but when compared to levels observed in April 2019, UK retail footfall declined by 40 percent.
The pandemic saw more consumers shopping locally and at independent stores. Initially, this could be due to the convenience during the stay-at-home plea. However, many consumers are now shopping at these stores more regularly, 65% of consumers say they support independent retailers, with 50% saying they now actively seek them out and want to find them. The pandemic has enabled smaller these independent shops and retailers to adapt and take on the bigger names like Clarks and Foot Locker.
How does your brand stack up on the BOSCO™ Index? You can find out your BOSCO™ Index for free or to book a personalised demo to find out how our analytics platform can work for you, click here.
