Occam data show that Crocs maintains an unbelievably high brand awareness of 92% (Figure 1), a testament to the lasting impact of its status as a cultural phenomenon in its formative years. Moreover, the brand’s power extends beyond mere awareness: a surprising 36% of households own a pair of Crocs footwear.

Figures 2 and 3 offer insights into the widespread appeal of Crocs. Although younger customers represent the majority of Crocs owners, there’s a substantial presence of baby boomers and Gen Xers (Figure 2). The universality of the appeal of Crocs is further demonstrated in Figure 3, where we see that ownership is distributed rather evenly across various demographic categories, including race, income, and urban density.

Figure 4 highlights household ownership of Crocs in the nine geographical Census regions. Notably, the highest penetration is observed in the New England, West South Central and South Atlantic Divisions.

Crocs often touts its commitment to developing innovative ways to personalize its products as a major driver of its growth. Jibbitz (shoe charms that you add to Crocs) have been an essential component in this strategy. 35% of Crocs owners purchase on average seven charms at $5-$7 apiece (see Figure 5), which makes it clear that customers value the ability to customize their footwear. Another growth engine (and priority) for the company has been repeat purchasing; occam shows that almost 50% of Crocs customers intend to buy a new pair in the next six months (Figure 6).

When Crocs acquired Italian specialty shoe company HEYDUDE Shoes, they cited as strategic rationale the brand’s “ideal fit with Crocs and long-term consumer trends”, as well as the potential to become a “global, scaled leader in branded casual footwear.”  After only a year, the investment is showing promise. According to occam, about 1 in 8 households own a pair of HEYDUDE shoes despite brand awareness otherwise being fairly low (Figure 7). Figure 8 shows household cross-ownership of Crocs and HEYDUDE, which is impressively high and allows synergies in marketing and distribution. While only 13% of overall households own a pair of HEYDUDE shoes, 20% of Crocs households own a pair of HEYDUDE shoes. Similarly, while overall 36% of households own a pair of Crocs, 61% of HEYDUDE households own a pair of Crocs.

Figures 9 and 10 present demographic data for HEYDUDE, similar to the data shown for Crocs. HEYDUDE’s organic and unplanned appearances in social media, combined with the brand’s “eco-friendly” mission, have made it a popular choice among Gen Zers, who represent the brand’s fastest-growing demographic, and the age cohort with the highest market penetration (Figure 9). The regional distribution of HEYDUDE customers shows concentration in the South and Midwest (Figure 10). The brand currently has a limited market, so it will be interesting to see to what extent Crocs will help HEYDUDE broaden its appeal.