The Shoe Clinic has received Canstar Blue’s 2014 Most Satisfied Customers Award for Sports Shoe Retailers.

The store received a five star rating for overall satisfaction, range and accessories and service.

The store also received four star ratings for value for money and range of shoes and brands.

Other stores that rated well in the Canstar Blue survey were Number One Shoes with five stars for value for money, and Smith’s Sports Shoes with five stars for its shoe and brand range.

The Canstar survey found that Kiwi shoppers prefer to purchase their sports footwear from a physical store rather than online, with three quarters of them citing specialised service as the main reason.

While 88 per cent of shoppers enjoy the experience of stepping into a bricks and mortar store, nearly a quarter of shoppers do so only to gather recommendations, followed by the purchase of the same item online for a cheaper price.

Aucklanders, Gen Ys, and Gen Xs are the most likely to conduct real store research before heading online to purchase their sports footwear.

“Ultimately it is personalised, specialist advice that attracts three quarters of kiwis to footwear retailer stores, and this is something that you simply can’t find online,” Derek Bonnar, Canstar New Zealand GM, said.

For those going online to buy their sports shoes, purchase rates from local and offshore retailers are similar, with 25 per cent buying from local online stores, and 22 per cent from offshore retailers.

The survey found that differences existed between the main centres in the rates of instore versus online purchases.

Of consumers from the Waikato, 92 per cent were most likely to buy their sports footwear from a store, with just 13 per cent likely to have previously purchased sports footwear from an offstore retailer.

Aucklanders were the most likely to shop in a sports footwear store, with 81 per cent choosing the instore experience.

They were also the most likely to visit a store for recommendations followed by the purchase of the same item online for a cheaper price, with 47 per cent of Aucklanders likely to choose this option.

Aucklanders were also more likely to purchase their sports footwear online from a NZ retailer, with 46 per cent shopping locally, while 38 per cent were most likely to have previously purchased from an offshore retailer.

Consumers from Canterbury are less likely to purchase their sports footwear from a NZ online retailer, with just 17 per cent opting for this channel, equal with consumers from the Bay of Plenty.

Footwear purchases from Otago are the least likely to like the specialised treatment they receive instore, with 66 per cent appreciating the experience.

Visiting instore and purchasing online at a cheaper price is less likely to be a choice with people from the Bay of Plenty, with 10 per cent choosing this option.

People from the Bay of Plenty are also least likely, along with those from Canterbury, to purchase their sports footwear from an online NZ retailer (17 per cent of people), and least likely to have purchased sports footwear from an online retailer offshore (13 per cent).

The Canstar Blue survey findings were from 983 people who had purchased sports footwear from a NZ online or physical store retailer in the past 12 months.

The margin of error was +/- 3.2 per cent.