01
Consumer experiences
What wearing barefoot shoes is actually like.
State of Barefoot 2026 · Research in progress
A clearer picture of
the barefoot industry.
Understand the people buying the shoes, the businesses making and selling them, and how the picture differs across countries. State of Barefoot 2026 brings those perspectives together to help you see where your business fits—and where opportunities may lie.
Expected release: late January or early February 2027.
A report on the year just gone, published once the year-end catalogue and January industry survey are in. Research is underway; findings will follow at publication.
Minimal-listResearch
State of
Barefoot
2026
People. Footwear.
The industry behind them.
First edition · In development
Notify me when the report is released.
Be ready to explore the findings when they’re published. Leave your email and we’ll let you know.
See beyond your own customers.
Learn from the wider industry.
Your customers tell you part of the story. This report brings in the experiences of other buyers, brands and retailers, alongside the footwear available in the catalogue. Use that wider context to question assumptions, compare experiences and decide what deserves a closer look in your own business.
The research behind the report
Buyers, businesses and the choices between them.
02
Community preferences
The shoes and brands people recommend.
03
Catalogue snapshot
What the market offers at year end.
04
Industry Pulse
What invited businesses are seeing.
One report. A wider perspective.
Each source stays clearly labelled.
The experience behind the purchase
Hear from the people wearing barefoot shoes through a short, optional survey after Golden Toe voting. Their experiences add context to the favourites they choose.
The shoes people recommend
See which shoes and brands participating Golden Toe voters recommend. The awards capture community preference across ten categories, from everyday footwear to running and kids’ shoes.
What buyers have to choose from
Compare those preferences with a year-end snapshot of the Minimal-list catalogue. Explore how the footwear on offer lines up with the choices people make.
The view from inside the industry
Hear from invited brands and retailers with direct industry experience about the final quarter of 2026. The January 2027 Industry Pulse aims to explore demand, orders, costs and business outlook. Learn from the experiences of other brands and retailers alongside your own.
Run a barefoot brand or specialist shop?
The Industry Pulse brings the business perspective into State of Barefoot. Join the quarterly panel to share what you’re seeing and receive an Exclusive Panelist Report in return.
Become a Panelist →Panel participation is separate from report-release emails.
What you can learn
Compare markets. Ask better questions.
How does the picture change by country?
Explore country differences in community preferences, catalogue choice and business responses where enough people take part. Useful context when you’re looking beyond your home market.
Where do preferences meet what’s available?
Look at community favourites alongside the catalogue’s supply. That comparison can help you spot questions about gaps or crowded categories worth investigating.
This first edition also creates a starting point for future reports: a way to compare how community preferences and business experiences change over time.
You’ll be able to see who took part, how the research was collected and what each finding can support. Consumer responses, award votes, catalogue records and business responses will stay clearly labelled. The report covers our participants and catalogue—not the entire market. Award preferences are not market-share estimates.
Free industry benchmark. Deeper intelligence for your business.
The public report — free
Get the main findings, charts and what they mean, free to read and cite. The public report includes sample sizes, methods and limitations, so you can judge the evidence for yourself and share the useful findings widely.
The Industry Intelligence Pack
The professional layer for brands, retailers and organisations that want to use the research in planning and presentations. Go deeper with expanded charts, benchmarking and more detailed country, category, cohort, catalogue and industry analysis where the sample supports a useful comparison.
US$199 per organisation.
Both are planned for the same release window. No identifiable responses or raw personal datasets will be shared. Commercial support has no influence over the findings.