Launching Your Footwear Brand in Korea? 👉 Don’t Miss Insights from +500,000 Korean Feet

Introduction

Footwear is a $500B global industry — yet one simple truth remains: people’s feet are not the same everywhere.

At Perfitt, we have collected and analyzed over 500,000 real Korean foot scans from our platform. The results reveal distinct patterns in foot length, width, and size preferences compared to customers in Europe, the U.S., and Japan.

For brands and retailers planning to design, launch, or expand in Korea, these differences matter. They influence product design, inventory allocation, and even marketing.

This blog shares a glimpse of those insights — and how they can translate into real business value. For deeper data and full analysis, we offer a detailed Foot Data Report / White Paper available upon request.

1. What 500,000+ Korean Feet Tell Us

• Korean women in their 20s average ~243mm in foot length, compared to ~250mm in their 40s. As age increases, foot width also expands by ~3mm, showing that feet not only grow longer but also gradually broaden over time.

• Korean men’s feet show less dramatic change in length across age groups, but width consistently averages over 101mm, making width a more critical factor for comfort and fit.

• Aging also tends to flatten arches and expand the forefoot, meaning that even within the same nominal shoe size, older consumers may require wider toe boxes or different last designs.

• Compared to European or U.S. consumers, Korean feet tend to be shorter but proportionally wider, while compared to Japanese feet, they are generally longer and slightly narrower.

👉 These subtle but important differences directly impact fit satisfaction when foreign brands enter the Korean market without adjustments. Designing lasts or sizing curves without considering these realities often leads to higher return rates and lower customer loyalty.

2. Why This Matters for Brands & Retailers

• Product Development: Shoe lasts designed primarily on Western foot data may not align with Korean consumers. Small differences in length-to-width ratio can increase returns.

• Inventory Optimization: Understanding actual size distribution (not just sales history) helps avoid overstocking unpopular sizes while ensuring coverage of “missing” ranges.

• Marketing & Positioning: Highlighting “tailored for Korean fit” or emphasizing inclusive sizing can improve conversion and brand affinity.

3. Quantifying the Impact (Simulation Example)

Imagine a global brand entering Korea with a best-selling European sneaker line:

• Without local foot data: Return rate ~30% (industry average).

• With Perfitt’s Korean fit data applied to size curves & inventory:

  • Returns reduced by 20–25%

  • Sell-through rate improved by 10–15%

  • Annual CS cost savings for a 100K-pair launch ≈ $150K–200K

This is not theory — it’s the measurable difference precise fit data can make.

4. How to Access the Full Insights

This blog only scratches the surface. Our Foot Data Report (500,000+ Korean scans) includes:

• Detailed distribution by gender, age, and region.

• Cross-market comparisons (Korea vs. EU, US, Japan).

• Implications for last design, sourcing, and marketing.

The full report is available upon request — and can be customized for your category (sports, lifestyle, kids, luxury).

Conclusion

As footwear goes increasingly digital, fit is no longer just a comfort issue — it’s a business driver.

At Perfitt, we believe that helping people find shoes that fit them best is not only good for customers, but also the smartest strategy for brands. With data from over half a million real Korean consumers, we can help global brands design smarter, plan inventory more efficiently, and market with confidence.

✨ Interested in accessing the full dataset? Contact us to learn more about our Foot Data Report / White Paper — and start making fit your competitive edge.