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Seven years after actor Alyssa Milano's tweet launched the #MeToo movement into the global consciousness, attitudes towards sexual harassment and assault have shifted in many countries. A new study shows that the movement's impact doesn't stop there. The findings are published in the journal Management Science.

INSEAD professors Frédéric Godart and David Dubois, alongside Clément Bellet of Erasmus University Rotterdam, found that #MeToo triggered far-reaching changes in consumer behavior. Sales of stereotypically feminine shoes like high heels dropped significantly weeks after the #MeToo movement swept the media in October 2017.

The researchers analyzed data from a leading fashion retailer across 32 OECD countries, focusing on women's footwear purchases between January 2017 and December 2018. They observed a 14.4% decrease in stockouts for stereotypically feminine shoes, such as pink high-heeled pumps or red platforms, compared to more neutral styles.

This average effect is driven by markets more exposed to the #MeToo movement—in particular the Nordic countries and France—where stockouts of such products fell by 25%.

That's not all. The team also found consistent declines in stockouts for pink or red items for three women's product categories: lingerie, dresses and handbags.

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