Shoe shopping online becomes more fashionable

Shoe shopping conjures up the image of stacks of shoes in different styles, colors and sizes — pumps and flats, gym shoes and sandals.

But that image has changed: to women and men, sitting at home, in their pajamas, in front of the computer.

That image was a fantasy a decade ago. Critics said shoppers wouldn’t want to buy a shoe they couldn’t touch and feel, let alone try on. And how would you ever return a wrong-size pair?

But shoe Web sites appear to have worked out the kinks, just as online shoppers have become more savvy. During this back-to-school shopping season, parents have gone online to buy their children’s shoes more than they have in previous years, according to many of the sites, signaling that it has become mainstream.

It makes sense. Parents can click to sites such as Shoebuy.com, Endless.com, Piperlime.com, Zappos.com and Yahoo Shopping, find a shoe and pick the size. Shipping is almost always free and the shoes arrive the following day. Wrong size? Send them back for free

“It makes the most sense from the mom’s point of view,” said Catherine Beaudoin, senior vice president and general manager of Piperlime.com, Gap Inc.’s shoe site. “It’s so much easier to buy kids’ shoes online and return them than to haul two or three children into a shoe store.”

Online footwear sales are expected to nearly double from $2.8 billion in 2005 to $5.5 billion by 2010. Forrester Research and Shop.Org attributed an expected 21 percent increase in online apparel, accessory and footwear sales this year mostly to shoes.

“The continued implementation of features such as rich imaging, rich Internet applications and product configurators have also helped push customers online, making them comfortable with otherwise difficult and complex online transactions,” according to the report, which was released in the spring.

Shoebuy.com expects to reach a record of 4 million unique visitors this month; shoes were the No. 2 item in Yahoo searches behind the Nintendo Wii, and Piperlime reported a “significant” uptick in back-to-school shoes.

Free overnight delivery and free returns have practically become standard now on shoe Web sites. Shoe descriptions have improved — some sites even include customer reviews — to the point that fewer shoppers return their goods, according to the companies. Even imaging has become more sophisticated so that the shopper can zoom in and see details more clearly or switch colors with just one click.

Traditional bricks-and-mortar stores have slowly started to respond. Payless ShoeSource sells its products online, but offers free shipping only for purchases of $50 or more. DSW Inc. doesn’t sell online.

Most of the sites target women from about 22 to 50 years old, but that figure is creeping upward as more shoppers try online shoes.

“What we didn’t expect is the extent the older generation is making their purchases online,” said Scott Savitz, chief executive officer of Shoebuy.com. “They’re more cynical, but when you do live up [to the promises], they’re an extremely loyal purchaser.”

Men are going online to buy shoes, too.

“Men seem to gravitate toward athletic wear on our site,” said Tracy Ogden, spokeswoman for Endless.com, Amazon.com’s handbag and shoe site. And “the site is perfect for men who know they need brown, nice shoes, size 11 and his wife will only let him spend so much.”

As shoppers get used to buying online, the number of returns have declined, according to some of the sites.

For instance, about one out of every five to six pairs of shoes are returned at Shoebuy.com, Mr. Savitz said.

“We consider it part of the promise,” he said, adding that part of being an Internet retailer is building trust with consumers. “If you can build a level of trust, that the value proposition is real, then you do see this huge acceptance.”