Archived The best shoes for working retail

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What shoes do you find are the best for working on your feet all day? Have any favorites? Heard from other team members that _______ are the BEST shoes you can have? I'm looking to get some really good shoes so my feet won't hurt so much at the end of the day!
 
I personally go with any kind of shoe more geared toward hiking because they are built to take abuse better so I find they last longer and are more comfortable than an ordinary sneaker.
 
i LOVE my new balance shoes.. i went in and got fitted and talked to the guy and i've never had such good shoes!
 
New Balance, Merrels, and Skechers. Something on the lines of cross-trainers.

If would also suggest a firm orthodic insert. Those gel inserts only make feet hurt more.
 
When I was waitressing we were required to get non-skid shoes. Got em at payless for like $20. Loved em, but they don't hold up for long. If you're working p-fresh or your team has a tendency to spill things and not clean them up (cough cough)(or your floor scrubber leaves lovely wet streaks behind it because it sucks) you might want to try them out.
 
Bought some Dr. Scholls shoes with reinforced toes and inserts a couple of years ago.
They work perfectly, saved my toes a couple of times too.
 
I love my sanuks!! Sidewalk surfers are the best ever!! There's zero arch support but I litteraly have no arch so I don't need that. They are the same bottoms that flip flops are made out of but the top is canvas. So if you looooove sandals/flip flops like me you'll love these!!
 
I had the worst foot and back aches during my first couple shifts. Instead of buying new shoes, I just used the gym shoes that I already had and bought those new Dr. Scholl's custom fit orthotics. They were pretty expensive ($50), but definitely worth it. It was incredibly hard just to walk the day after my shift and with the inserts, the foot and back problems have been completely eliminated.
 
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I love my hiking boots! Three years old and they have seen a couple thousand hours of work and the bottom of the Grand Canyon twice and they still have life left in 'em!!!! Plus they have great support!!!!
 
I have Clarks and they are amazing. I recently just got them because of the same issue. I went and tried on countless pairs of shoes and those seemed the most comfortable when walking around in.
 
K oh'l sells black New Balance work shoes that I love! They are a bit wider than a normal tennis shoe. I still replace them every 4 or 5 months as soon as I think the bottom is starting to wear down.

Take it from someone who has had heel spurs and plantar fasciitis. Cheap shoes are never worth it!
 
Merrels are excellent shoes. Been wearing them for years. All my jobs have been long hours on my feet on hard floors and these shoes make it easy. One pair lasts me nearly a year before they start to wear out. A bit spendy, but the length of time they last makes them worth it.
 
I wear my Clark's Unstructured black flats most days whether I am working or not, but I have a pair of cheap tennis shoes with surprisingly good arch support that I wear once in a while.
 
So I may have spare shoes in my drawer at work. I have Nike sketchers and dr scholls and then I have a pair of cheep target flats in my drawer for when my feet just need to be free gym shoes are so constricting
 
What shoes do you find are the best for working on your feet all day?

As long as you buy them anyplace else
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I get my undies at Wally-World - I get a perverse sense of irony just knowing that
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What shoes do you find are the best for working on your feet all day? Have any favorites? Heard from other team members that _______ are the BEST shoes you can have? I'm looking to get some really good shoes so my feet won't hurt so much at the end of the day!

Sometimes a shoe with too much support can be as bad as one with not enough, depending on your foot shape, how high your arch is, how acclimated you are to going without shoes at home, etc. I mostly wear name-brand "cross-training" or "court" style athletic shoes (which tend to lose their shape and springiness after about a year of wear, even when rotated) at work, and generally go without shoes outside of work.

In the past at my store, we've had at least one sales floor TM wear soft-soled Indian mocassins (essentially padded leather socks), and at least one cashier who worked a shift in a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. I wouldn't recommend either choice if you're in leadership, or need to be mobile and visible all over the sales floor, though. Probably a more reasonable choice for unstructured "natural" footwear would be something like the New Balance WT20 Minimus, which is like the Five Fingers, with a minimal Vibram sole, but with a more conservatively-styled contiguous toebox.
 
Welcome back, Parker.
I concur on the "too much support" after several folks recommended a certain type. I tried 'em & they hurt so bad I was nearly on my knees. I'm rotating between New Balance & Reeboks right now.
 
One of our SrTLs wore those toe shoes for one shift, although there was some question over whether he should.
 
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