Soft shoes are the modern replacement for the knitted bootee. Feet can easily get cold especially with the modern trend of putting the car seat on the chassis. The soft shoe is something that sells in shops, as an impulse buy, as a gift. It is not something that a customer is going to see and then say, I'll get it on the internet. The market is growing fast - well every child has feet. According to Jeremy Minchin, Shoo Shoos have significantly increased sales every year since they were launched six years ago. This is a market everyone needs to be in.

So what are the important selling points? Safety is important. For babies, it is vital that any footwear is soft and gives plenty of room for toes to wriggle and for the foot to grow. Shoes must not restrict the foot in any way. They are a covering for the foot rather than what we traditionally understand by the word 'shoe'. A shoe with a hard sole is not needed until the child is old enough and confident enough to walk unassisted outside which is generally when the child reaches the age of two. Selling these sorts of shoes is the province of the shoe shop that can measure and fit. The soft shoe is for the nursery trade. Some soft shoes are made of nylon and can sell for as little as £5 and there are very expensive, designer ones. But there is a wide choice of soft leather shoes which retail at around £16 - a price which is easily affordable.

The practical selling points are features such as breathability and the fact that the child cannot pull them off. Pulling off footwear and throwing it away is a favourite pastime of many babies. Then there are the 'aah' factors. Many of these shoes are very attractive both in terms of the look - pink with a flower, or blue with a car - and the soft feel to the leather.

Many children have two or three pairs, just to ring the changes. Many parents buy these shoes for tiny babies but there is a significant increase in sales when the baby starts to crawl and again when the toddler takes his or her first steps. Many of these shoes are fine for the occasional sortie out of doors and can put off the day when expensive 'proper shoes' are needed. One point worth mentioning is that when a child begins to walk the shape of the foot changes quite significantly. If hardsoled shoes are bought too early, they will be outgrown very quickly and these sort of shoes are not cheap!

Finally, perhaps the biggest incentive is that profit margins on soft shoes are excellent, 50% is not uncommon and there is no VAT!