Today a colleague shared a website with me that promotes a new concept in children’s shoes. The hook is that the shoes are designed to grow with your child’s feet. (think accordion) The company who came up with the idea is called Inchworm. As a parent of a 2 and 3 year old, my first reaction was “Wow! Less trips to the shoes store.” However, after surfing their site more in depth, I discovered a few things that took the sheen off these shoes.
1. Their selection of shoes is plentiful. The problem is that approximately 60% of the shoes, in all sizes, are out of stock. How can I impulse buy?
2. Since I could not impulse buy, I had some more time to think about the concept. The shoes retail at $79.00. You can adjust them up to 3 sizes bigger. In the amount of time it would take my son’s feet to grow three sizes, the soles of his shoes might very well be worn to the ground.
Looking at online reviews, many parents shared the same thoughts. One other frequently mentioned concern was that the shoe’s support might be compromised when the shoes are stretched to subsequent sizes.
To be fair to this new iFit technology, I have not tried the shoes out on my kids. They could be the best thing since sliced bread.
However, as my friend Chelle (ironically the one who showed me these shoes) always says, beware of being attracted to the next shiny thing.
Beth Anne Whalen
Beth Anne Whalen has 13 years of sales, sales management, and marketing experience. She has worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, First Advantage Corporation, and Raymond James.
