Most Running Shoes Never Go Running

There's a piece of collective wisdom inside the shoe industry that rarely gets said out loud to customers: most athletic shoes are never used for the sport on the box. The retail analyst Matt Powell heard the claim for decades and finally tested it against NPD's consumer tracking data. The industry had it right. Only about 25% of athletic shoes purchased in the U.S. are used for their intended purpose. Running shoes score the highest of any major category, and even there only about half of buyers intend to run in them.

Powell has a name for why people buy this way. He calls it the Range Rover effect: you may never drive the truck up a mountain, but knowing it could make the climb changes how it feels to own. A running shoe works the same way. The technology is real, the buyer just doesn't need it for the checkout line at the grocery store. What the buyer needs is a shoe that feels good at hour nine.

The survey data says the same thing from the other direction. When PowerReviews asked footwear shoppers what mattered in a purchase, 93% named comfort, ahead of fit, quality, and price. Simon-Kucher's 2024 footwear study found the same ranking: fit and comfort first, price second. Buyers have understood the real job of their shoes for a long time. The industry designs for the 25% and sells to the 75%.

We see it in our own line. Although our shoes are seen as a "skate / lifestyle" shoe, we know that 95% of the people wearing our skate model are wearing them for the added comfort, the style, and the environmental benefits.

So we built the MACAW for the way shoes actually get worn. The midsole and insole are recycled performance foam with numbers Blumaka publishes: 17% more cushioning, 14% higher energy return, and cushioning rated for 1,000 miles. The upper is full-grain leather that breaks in to your foot instead of the other way around, with little to no break-in period. And the sport capability stays in the shoe. On the days it does see grass or a board, it holds, because the people who built it play both.

The industry has known for decades what shoes are really for. We just decided to build for it.

Blumaka midsole and insole, up to 85% recycled foam. Full-grain leather upper. Vibram Ecostep outsole. Designed in Costa Mesa, assembled in the Dominican Republic.