Statistic,Value,Unit,Geography,Sex,Sample,Year,Source,Evidence tier,DOI or PMID,Primary source URL,Note
Foot scans analysed,1200847,scans,"North America, Europe, Asia",All,712 stores,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,Cleaned dataset; Nov 2017 to Aug 2018
Scans from North America,1105508,scans,North America,All,"Men 494,833; women 610,675",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,92% of all scans
Scans from Europe,74534,scans,Europe (22 countries),All,"Men 43,064; women 31,470",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
Scans from Asia,20805,scans,Asia (7 countries and territories),All,"Men 10,072; women 10,733",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,India not included; 1.7% of scans
Most common foot-length class,270,mm,North America,Men,"494,833 men",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,Most frequent 5 mm class; includes boys (age not recorded)
Most common foot-length class,245,mm,North America,Women,"610,675 women",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,Most frequent 5 mm class
Most common foot-length class,270,mm,Europe,Men,"43,064 men",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
Most common foot-length class,245,mm,Europe,Women,"31,470 women",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
Most common foot-length class,255,mm,Asia,Men,"10,072 men",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
Most common foot-length class,235,mm,Asia,Women,"10,733 women",2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
"Foot width, 270 mm length class: narrowest",84.1,mm,North America,Men,270 mm class,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
"Foot width, 270 mm length class: 5th percentile",94.4,mm,North America,Men,270 mm class,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
"Foot width, 270 mm length class: mean",102.0,mm,North America,Men,270 mm class,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
"Foot width, 270 mm length class: 95th percentile",110.2,mm,North America,Men,270 mm class,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
"Foot width, 270 mm length class: widest",127.2,mm,North America,Men,270 mm class,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
Width span of the middle 90% (270 mm class),15.8,mm,North America,Men,270 mm class,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,95th minus 5th percentile
Largest share of the 270 mm class fitted by one shoe width,40.1,percent,North America,Men,270 mm class,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,
US shoe width increment,4.76,mm,USA sizing system,All,Stated by authors,2019,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,Discussion section of the paper
Shoe widths needed per length size to fit 90% of customers,3,minimum count,North America,Men,270 mm class,2017-2018,"Jurca et al., 2019",A,DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-55432-z | PMID 31844106,https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6914786/,Authors' conclusion
Scans in fit analysis,90720,scans,Store scans,Women,"841 women's running styles, 14 brands",2021,"Jurca and Dzeroski, 2021",C,DOI 10.15221/21.51,https://proc.3dbody.tech/papers/2021/2151jurca.pdf,US 9 medium styles
Mean ideal foot length for a US 9 medium,249.1,mm,"Store scans, US sizing",Women,841 styles,2021,"Jurca and Dzeroski, 2021",C,DOI 10.15221/21.51,https://proc.3dbody.tech/papers/2021/2151jurca.pdf,Used in UrbanStyle size-equivalent estimate
US 9 medium styles that fit as a true US 9 medium,60,percent,"Store scans, US sizing",Women,841 styles,2021,"Jurca and Dzeroski, 2021",C,DOI 10.15221/21.51,https://proc.3dbody.tech/papers/2021/2151jurca.pdf,Women's running only
Gap in ideal foot length between two US 9 medium styles,6.7,mm,"Store scans, US sizing",Women,251.7 mm vs 245.0 mm,2021,"Jurca and Dzeroski, 2021",C,DOI 10.15221/21.51,https://proc.3dbody.tech/papers/2021/2151jurca.pdf,More than one US half size (4.23 mm)
Participants wearing shoes that did not fit (low end),63,percent,Multiple countries,All,"18 studies, 3,205 participants",2018,"Buldt and Menz, 2018",A,DOI 10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z,https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z,Definitions of fit vary by study
Participants wearing shoes that did not fit (high end),72,percent,Multiple countries,All,"18 studies, 3,205 participants",2018,"Buldt and Menz, 2018",A,DOI 10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z,https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z,
Women wearing shoes smaller than their feet,88,percent,USA (not confirmed),Women,356 women,1993,"Frey et al., 1993",A,PMID 8454237,https://researchdiscovery.drexel.edu/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/American-Orthopaedic-Foot-and-Ankle-Society/991022201577404721,Average 1.2 cm too small; older survey
Foot length increase between early pregnancy and about 19 weeks postpartum,2 to 10,mm,USA,Women,49 women,2013,"Segal et al., 2013",A,DOI 10.1097/PHM.0b013e31827443a9 | PMID 23117270,https://iro.uiowa.edu/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/Pregnancy-Leads-to-Lasting-Changes-in/9984548859302771,Largest after a first pregnancy; small sample
Online footwear return rate (median),19,percent,United Kingdom,All,BFA members; sample size not stated,n/a,British Footwear Association,C,Trade survey,https://britishfootwearassociation.co.uk/footwear-return-rates-bfa-member-survey/,Range 2% to 31%; in-store median 5%
Online retail sales returned (all categories),19.3,percent,USA,All,Estimate for 2025,2025,"NRF and Happy Returns, 2025",C,Industry projection,https://www.nrf.com/research/2025-retail-returns-landscape,Projection; not footwear only
Consumers who abandoned a footwear purchase because their size was out of stock,65,percent,USA,All,"1,006 consumers, March 9 to 23, 2026",2026,"AlixPartners/FDRA, 2026",C,Industry survey,https://www.alixpartners.com/newsroom/alixpartners-spring-2026-footwear-survey/,Reported as a 91% increase year over year