GEHWOL Foot Care Trends 2020-2021: Foot care en vogue!

Women and senior citizens are not the only ones who care about well-groomed feet. More recently, the importance of foot care has sharply increased among men and in all age groups. This is shown by GEHWOL Foot Care Trends, a representative online survey among 1073 women and men aged 16 years and up. Meanwhile, satisfaction with their own feet is also at a high level. For foot care, this means that the focus is no longer just on solving problems, but on preventing them as well. And nowadays, Germans gladly take these into their own hands. Download the complete Foot Care Trends at:

www.gehwol.de/Aktuelles/GEHWOL-Fusspflegetrends-2020.

People who are dissatisfied with their feet or frequently complain about foot problems generally also attach more importance to appropriate care. However, the current GEHWOL Foot Care Trends shows: Motivation for foot care is no longer entirely dependent on (dis)satisfaction. As previously shown in GEHWOL Foot Care trends 2018, while three quarters of Germans are satisfied with their own feet, the overall importance of foot care has clearly increased. 70 percent rank foot care as important or very important. Not only is this 17 percent more than in the previous year - as it happens, this is also a new record high since the surveys began in 2014. Awareness is on the rise.

Positive trend: Keeping the feet healthy

It is no longer just about eliminating foot problems, but preventing them as well. Healthy feet are trendy; 92 percent of Germans want to have them. And the topic has even reached the younger generation, as well as men. Increasingly, participants are also using professional help: Four years ago, only eleven percent of Germans regularly obtained foot care. This figure has meanwhile risen to 24 percent, with one-fifth taking a two-pronged approach and also doing home care. More than half of Germans exclusively care for their feet themselves. This holds true for foot care fans, but interestingly enough, also for people who rank foot care as less important. These people generally have few or no foot problems.

Apart from one small fringe group: Seven percent of persons who are indifferent to foot care do not place much importance on it, even though they often have foot problems.

Foot problems are (not) a question of age, but of women.

Altogether, only 22 percent of Germans say they have not been affected by foot problems in the past twelve months. The rest are primarily concerned with dry or cracked skin, excessive callus, aching feet, and blisters. The latter are more frequent in the younger age groups up to 29 years old, as well as among women. Most of the time, the choice of footwear is responsible. Notably, inappropriate shoes, interfering seams, or certain fashion choices such as high heels encourage the development of blisters and pressure spots. Apart from these visual and painful foot problems, Germans are also concerned with a less obvious problem: 26 percent of teenagers up to 19 years old primarily complain about foot sweat and odour. Therefore, foot problems are not a question of age, but affect all age groups. However, women generally report being affected by foot problems more frequently than men.

Foot care must be able to do more than solve problems

Foot problems are as varied as the ages at which they develop. While some problems such as corns, ingrown nails or malpositions are best treated by a foot care professional, some issues can be addressed at home. These include blisters, dry skin or aching feet, among others. It is therefore not surprising that one-third of Germans are seeking a treatment or cure for a foot problem when buying a product. But foot care products can have other aspects as well. Nearly one-quarter of Germans also place importance on preventive functions. Apart from solving problems, aesthetics are the main focus for women: Foot care makes the feet presentable. Men generally decide according to needs, but tend to place more value on protection and prevention than women. Surprisingly, women and men differ only slightly in their preference for wellness effects in foot care products (16 percent and 14 percent). Nearly one-quarter of young consumers up to 19 years of age prefer a "less is more" approach. They want care products that only use as many ingredients as necessary. This is also an experimental age - product decisions vary. Overall, innovative or vegan foot care products are only slightly preferred (five to six percent).

Foot care is fresh and fruity

When it comes to foot care product scents, more than half of Germans clearly opt for the "fresh" scent. But "fruity" is also perceived as pleasant. Especially among younger people, "sweet" and "floral" are also up for debate, while "citrusy" is seen more as an alternative from 50 years and older. Women generally place more value on scent, while one-fifth of men prefer unscented care products. Few Germans want to use "spicy" or "oriental" scents on their feet.

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Source

GEHWOL Foot Care Trends 2020/21 (IPSOS Online Omnibus), June 2020, download at: https://www.gehwol.de/Aktuelles/GEHWOL-Fusspflegetrends-2020