A survey has been conducted in America that reveals the average woman owns 17 pairs of shoes, with ½ of them owning more than ten pairs, and many owning double that figure. It isn't just the quantity of shoes that women appear to be buying that is truly indicated in this survey, but the things they are willing to put up with for these shoes.

ShopSmart's magazine survey asked 1,000 women several questions, which gave these averages for just how shoe obsessed the ladies of America seemed to be. It was found that the average woman is buying three new pairs of shoes a year (not too bad one might say), and at a rough cost of $49 a pair....a necessary investment you might say. However, the 31% of shoeaholics at the other end of the scale were spending over $100 on just one pair of shoes.

Perhaps more surprisingly was the 65% of women who were favouring flatter shoes, or those shoes that had a heel of 1 ¼ inches or less. Although, a third of women chose their higher heels. Despite only a third preferring high-heels, slight more women are shoe fanatics, with 40% of women describing themselves as a 'shoe person'.

Now it comes to the real dedication of women to shoes, with the amount of pain they are willing to put up with. 60% of women interviewed admitted that they frequently got blisters, and a whopping half of them have had an evening ruined by uncomfortable shoes. What is more worrying is the amount of people that are falling over, with 24% of women saying they have fallen over in ill-fitting shoes...and the rest that haven't admitted to it!

Lisa Lee Freeman, ShopSmart editor, relates to women's relationship with shoes, being a shoe addict herself:

'No matter how much weight you gain, you can always fit into your shoes. They're friends through thick and thin. A lot of us go shoe shopping to cheer ourselves up.'

Freeman seems to have hit the nail on the head with this comment as the women surveyed shows that 28% of women find their shoes the most important part of their outfit. However, in stark contrast, nearly half of the women admitted that they sometimes don't put much thought into their shoes, often purchasing an ugly pair for comfort.

Online sales of shoes are also on the increase with nearly a third of women having bought a pair of shoes online. Up 15% from 4 years ago.