Expensive Running Shoes Are Not Better

Talking about people’s tendency to purchase expensive shoes, the founder of RunRepeat.com Jens Jakob Andersen says, “People buy three times as expensive shoes to get eight percent less satisfied. This makes me question the consumerism we are experiencing towards premium running shoes.”

“We did the study to inform consumers, not to promote or hurt any specific brands. We are an independent institution that pursues the vision of sharing the truths of the running shoe industry, and to help consumers choose the right running shoes.” Say Jens Jakob Andersen, founder of RunRepeat.com.

Key conclusions from the study:

1. The higher the list price, the lower ratings the running shoes get.
2. The 10 most expensive running shoes (avg. list price: $181) are rated 8.1% worse than the 10 cheapest running shoes (avg. list price: $61).
3. Running specialist brands are rated 2.8% higher than running shoes from broad sports brands.
4. The top three best rated brands are: #1 Skechers, #2 Saucony and #3 VibramFiveFingers, while the three worst rated are #22 New Balance, #23 Adidas and #24 Reebok. Adidas Group owns both Reebok and Adidas.
5. The three most affordable brands are #1 Skechers, #2 Vivobarefoot and #3 Puma, while the three most expensive brands are #22 On, #23 Newton and #24 Hoka One One.

RunRepeat.com is an ad free and cost free website driven by a community of runners that review running shoes at the website. It has more than 100,000 user reviews and 2,500 expert reviews. The site is the World’s largest review site in running. The full study incl. graphics is available here.

Mr. Jens Jakob Andersen is the founder of RunRepeat.com, and the lead researcher on this study. Previously, he was a competitive runner and lecturer in statistics at Copenhagen Business School. Recently he dedicated his career to help runners choose the right running shoes at RunRepeat.com.