The Future of Sneakers Has A Face And She Looks Just Like You
It’s here—we launched the world’s first women-only sneaker survey. There wasn’t any women-focused sneaker public data so we found our own. Here’s what we learned.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Big thank you to the amazing people who helped make this idea a reality. Jeff Chen, jeffstaple, Swan Sit, Elle Clay, Nai Vasha, Sandrine Charles, Maddie Schneider, Thea Hughes, Ashley Van Der Laan, Sheena Julio and all the amazing women around the world that partook in our humble survey. Thank you for helping us put a voice to the women's sneaker community.
It’s clear that women love sneakers. But beyond that, what do we know? When we started building Common Ace, we sought to create a space with all of the elements of the ideal place to shop: authentic voices, a supportive community, deep brand knowledge, and a forward-facing vision from a fresh perspective.
The sneaker world isn’t the niche subculture that it used to be but for women, it’s not as inviting as it ought to be. And we’re taking a step towards changing that.
It’s not just for women — all are welcome. But we’re a platform run and designed by women and to us, that makes all the difference.
We want to step into a future where everyone can enjoy sneakers with ease. While other marketplaces are hitting their ceiling, we’re working to fill that gap.
“This has the opportunity to introduce individuals to a world-wide community who don't necessarily get access to shopping in the mens department on our own. Ya know?”
- Leigh Gerson
SURVEY SAYS
We asked over 500 women from around their world about their sneaker buying habits.
The key to building an inclusive platform is data that covers all the bases.
We need to know the ins and outs of the sneaker shopping experience to make sure that the space we’re building addresses pain points head-on. But when we searched for public data on women in sneakers, it didn’t exist.
While we know that the current categories that separate women’s, men’s and children’s sneakers are archaic, we want to create a marketplace that optimizes how inclusive those categories can feel.
So we conducted our own survey to give a voice to the growing community of women who love sneakers — 1000 women answering 30 questions about their sneaker buying habits.
The data that we collected is going to help us build a better marketplace on Common Ace, but it doesn’t stop there. We hope that our study can ignite a chain reaction with other platforms, and that this will be the first step towards more data collected on women and sneakers.
We’re all about changing the conversation, and it’s about time that the conversation is about us.
SURVEY SAYS
We asked over 500 women from around their world about their sneaker buying habits.
The key to building an inclusive platform is data that covers all the bases.
We need to know the ins and outs of the sneaker shopping experience to make sure that the space we’re building addresses pain points head-on. But when we searched for public data on women in sneakers, it didn’t exist.
While we know that the current categories that separate women’s, men’s and children’s sneakers are archaic, we want to create a marketplace that optimizes how inclusive those categories can feel.
So we conducted our own survey to give a voice to the growing community of women who love sneakers — 1000 women answering 30 questions about their sneaker buying habits.
The data that we collected is going to help us build a better marketplace on Common Ace, but it doesn’t stop there. We hope that our study can ignite a chain reaction with other platforms, and that this will be the first step towards more data collected on women and sneakers.
We’re all about changing the conversation, and it’s about time that the conversation is about us.
SURVEY SAYS
We asked over 500 women from around their world about their sneaker buying habits.
The key to building an inclusive platform is data that covers all the bases.
We need to know the ins and outs of the sneaker shopping experience to make sure that the space we’re building addresses pain points head-on. But when we searched for public data on women in sneakers, it didn’t exist.
While we know that the current categories that separate women’s, men’s and children’s sneakers are archaic, we want to create a marketplace that optimizes how inclusive those categories can feel.
So we conducted our own survey to give a voice to the growing community of women who love sneakers — 1000 women answering 30 questions about their sneaker buying habits.
The data that we collected is going to help us build a better marketplace on Common Ace, but it doesn’t stop there. We hope that our study can ignite a chain reaction with other platforms, and that this will be the first step towards more data collected on women and sneakers.
We’re all about changing the conversation, and it’s about time that the conversation is about us.
When women shop for sneakers, they're driven by intention.
That’s to say that they don’t come across the perfect kicks through whimsical browsing, but instead, with a hunt for a specific style or look. This is clearly the case among 1/3 of women surveyed, who spend an extra 30 minutes researching their pair before deciding to buy. 3/4 of the women surveyed admitted to looking at the sneakers they’re considering up to 5 times before following through on their purchase, whereas only 8% bought after checking it out once.
The close attention to detail that women are showing proves that for sneakers, an intricately curated marketplace is ideal. Women take sneakers seriously, too. And with inventory selected with their style and values in mind, we can honour the ritual of shopping for sneakers, but make it a more pleasant process.
We weren’t surprised to find that price and product availability took the top spots as factors that determine where women buy sneakers. But the third most popular response was fascinating. Nearly half of women surveyed opt for brands with an ethos they align with above everything else. There’s a serious need in the women’s sneaker industry for a marketplace that says something. More than that, we need a space that speaks to what women want.
For us, this validates what we’ve set out to do in the first place. Our goal isn’t just to create a space to buy sneakers, but to be a hub where women who love sneakers can feel seen and heard, with a mission that they can get behind.
It’s not uncommon for women to resort to sifting through men and children’s categories to find the sneakers that they want—and this data confirmed it. Nearly 1/3 of women surveyed said that they purchase sneakers outside of their standard age and gender categories often, in hopes of finding better colorway options and a wider selection of styles. If there is going to be a binary in the sneaker world, it should at least be just as good on both sides. Knowing this, Common Ace is filling the gap so that women can cross categories as they please, not because it’s their best shot at getting what they want.
STYLE VS. COMFORT
85% of people believe that the style of the sneaker is most important, with 43% being comfort / feel.
FACTORS CONSIDERED
58.5% of people believe that price is the most important factor when purchasing sneakers online, while 50.2% prioritize product availability.
If anyone ever doubted that women are interested in sneakers, the data that we collected should shatter that.
Almost half of the women surveyed are casually interested, while nearly 30% say that sneakers are a major part of their lifestyle. That means that over 75% of women are either casually tapped in or fully immersed in the sneaker world. This is clear when we look around us, but not as easy to identify when we study the state of the industry. We want to see the sneaker shopping experience grow at the same pace as women’s interest in it and this is something that we’re most excited to lean into.
“I like the fact that [Common Ace is] not just about sneakers, consumerism, or trends — it's about uplifting and shining a spotlight on women across different communities and multiple disciplines.”
— Victoria Chiang
What this all means
There’s so much that we can take from this data, but we’re left feeling assured and excited that the time is now. We aren’t the first to enter this market, but we hope that Common Ace can be a big step forward that the masses can take right along with us.
Every obstacle we face within the sneaker industry will be a part of our mission for change. The data proves that there’s a desire for newness in the women’s sneaker shopping experience and with Common Ace, we’re setting out to prove that this is tangible. As a women-led company, we want to create an environment that celebrates a wide spectrum of identities and serves every facet of the modern sneakerhead—starting with love for the sole.
We’ll take it from here. ☺
