Sole stories: Uncovering consumer profile identities within sneaker culture and community
Abstract
Sneaker communities have increasingly become a category of interest in consumer behaviour literature, driven by a culture and group commonly referred to as Sneakerheads. While the topic of Sneakerheads has been assessed in previous studies, few to date have investigated the unique behaviours and identities of this group to identify distinct consumer segments. Uncovering these consumer segments is instrumental to brands targeting this group, as it may lead to enhanced market segmentation, cultural targeting and stronger brand positioning. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to develop in-depth consumer segments using model-based clustering to uncover subgroups within the Sneakerhead community based on personal characteristics, preferences and behaviours. Specifically, the variables of self-esteem, community belongingness and life satisfaction were assessed. The results of the analysis reveal two key Sneakerhead consumer segments: partially committed enthusiasts (PCE) and highly invested enthusiasts (HIE). The findings suggest that while both PCE and HIE profiles play a vital role within the sneaker community, the two groups may engage differently and have different preferences within the community. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Dr Delisia Matthews is Associate Professor at North Carolina State University in the Wilson College of Textiles within the Textiles and Apparel, Technology and Management Department whose research explores consumer behaviour and trends, sneaker culture and the cultural meanings behind consumer decision making. With an industry background in marketing research and retail at companies like Procter & Gamble, Nordstrom and Walmart, she blends industry insight with scholarship. An award-winning educator, Dr Matthews uses qualitative research to centre consumers’ voices, tell their stories and advocate for the communities behind the culture. Dr Matthews’ awards and honours include the Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 2020 Best Paper Award in Apparel, Textiles and Merchandising, the 2019 African American Cultural Center Faculty Fellowship and numerous ‘Thank A Teacher’ recognitions. Dr Matthews earned her BS in Marketing from Tuskegee University, her MBA from the North Carolina Central University, and her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Dr Qiana Cryer-Coupet is the BSW Program Director and an associate professor of social work in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Her research programme explores the motivations for health and wellness among fathers and the impacts of father involvement and engagement on child, caregiver and community well-being. Dr Cryer-Coupet’s work has been funded by the Fatherhood Research and Practice Network, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. She has served Mathematica Policy Research as a technical work group member for the Fathers and Continuous Learning in Child Welfare Project and the KEEP Fathers Engaged Project. She is also a Father Wellbeing and Involvement Working Group member with the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University. Dr Cryer-Coupet is co-editor of the textbook Social Work Practice with Fathers: Engagement, Assessment, and Intervention. Dr Cryer-Coupet earned her BA in Psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University, her MSW from the University of Maryland-Baltimore, and her PhD from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Dr Nimet Degirmencioglu is Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Design within the College of Fine and Applied Arts at Appalachian State University. She earned her PhD in Textile Technology Management in 2020 at North Carolina State University and her MPS at the Fashion Institute of Technology. During her graduate studies, she explored business and marketing strategies in the global retail landscape. For her dissertation, she explored the motivations and practices of fair-trade companies in the United States. Prior to joining academia, she worked in textile fabric production as a textile engineer in Turkiye and then spent more than 10 years in the home textile industry in New York. She has Six Sigma Green Belt certification and is proficient in predictive statistical analysis and visualisation. Her current research spans from niche and unique consumers in retail, the impact of visual influencers and local textile communities in the Blue Ridge region in NC.
Dr Sneha Rani is a data scientist at FocusKPI, where she collaborates with Walmart on measurement science projects focused on evaluating the effectiveness of in-store advertising. She earned her PhD in Textile Technology Management and an MS in Statistics in 2024. Her doctoral research examined consumer behaviour in the textile industry, integrating quantitative analysis with insights from marketing and consumer science. During her academic career, Dr Rani worked on several interdisciplinary projects involving machine learning, statistics and artificial intelligence to broaden her analytical expertise. Prior to her doctoral studies, she spent five years in the Indian textile sector with companies such as Welspun and D’Decor Home Fabrics Pvt. Ltd., gaining comprehensive experience in product development, supply chain management, marketing and B2B operations. Her research and professional interests include consumer analytics, marketing measurement and data-driven decision making within the textile and retail domains.
