Most sneakerheads willing to miss work or school to buy new sneakers

Paul HiebertData Journalist
February 28, 2018, 3:00 PM GMT+0

Meanwhile, a third of them never wear their prize possessions

With the release of the latest Air Jordan sneakers this past weekend, a new YouGov Omnibus survey shows that 56% of sneakerheads – i.e. people who collect, trade, or sell sneakers as a hobby – are likely to miss work, school, or other daily responsibilities to purchase a pair of sneakers. Only 8% of the general public are willing to do the same.

Sneakerheads also appear confident in their ability to spot a fake pair of sneakers. Over 90% indicate that they could tell the difference between a genuine and counterfeit sneaker, compared to a third of all US adults.

Despite their desire to acquire sneakers, 33% of sneakerheads admit they never wear them. Another 22% sometimes wear them, but only indoors, while 29% frequently wear them, including outside. A mere 16% report that they always wear their sneakers.

In total, 7% of American adults consider themselves sneakerheads. These individuals are most likely to fall within the 18-34 age range and belong to an ethnic minority.

Nearly half of all sneakerheads (49%) say they mainly buy shoes to collect them, while 39% suggest they sometimes buy with the intent to keep, but sometimes the intent to resell.

Image: Getty

Read more results from this poll here

Learn more about YouGov Omnibus here