# FOOTWEAR PURCHASING PATTERN DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

## TL;DR

This study explores how Brazilians bought shoes during the pandemic, finding that women preferred online purchases for comfort and style.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into Brazilian online footwear purchasing behavior during the pandemic.

## Key findings

- 44.34% of participants purchased shoes online during the pandemic.
- Women were more likely than men to buy shoes online (p<0.001).
- Comfort and beauty were the main reasons for online purchases.

## Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the increase in online sales, however there is a lack of research on the shoe purchasing pattern among the Brazilian population.

To investigate the shoe purchasing pattern.

This cross-sectional study comprises individuals from a Foot and Ankle Outpatient Clinic. A total of 500 individuals were invited to respond to a digital form using the Google Forms tool. Stata® software version 13.0 was used for statistical analyses.

433 individuals were included, 86.37% of whom were women. Purchasing shoes online was reported by 44.34% (n=192/433) of individuals, and 13.39% (n=58/433) said that the choice of digital platforms was due to the practicality of purchasing online. There were differences in the shoe purchasing pattern according to female and male gender (p<0.001).

Although most of the individuals surveyed are not used to buying shoes online, most purchases were made by women, mainly aiming for comfort and beauty. This study highlights the need to develop tools that help people purchase shoes online.
Level of Evidence I; High-quality prospective study.