Shoe Stores in Salem, OR

“I cannot give these guys higher praise. I went in last summer looking to get fitted with a pair of shoes and Yesenia helped me find a great one and I loved them so much. Eventually, like all shoes, they wore out. So, I went back to get another pair recently and they didn’t have the same ones from before, so she hooked me up with a different pair. Unfortunately, my knees and feet did not agree with this pair. I tried for like 3 weeks to break them in and they were so bad on my knees. I thought at this point there was no returning them, I didn’t even have the box anymore. I’ve seen so many comments about the outstanding customer service and thought you know what? I might as well call and see if there is something I can do. Apparently I was still in my return window and it was Yesenia once again helping me. This pair was returned with very little (and very valid) questions asked, and this time the first pair I got were back in stock so I got them and I was on my way. It’s difficult to find businesses that provide this kind of customer service here in 2026 and I don’t say this about every place I go to, but I will be a returning customer for as long as I live in the area.”

“Very helpful and friendly staff, they didn't have what was needed but they had a good selection for most everyone else (we had larger feet to shop for). If we had time to order items, I'd rather have kept our business with them.”

“Great experience getting fitted for pointe shoes here! Highly recommend! My fitter listened to exactly what I wanted and what I didn’t want in a pair of pointe shoes. Thank you again!!”

“Ang was super helpful and knowledgeable about the non-slip shoes I was looking for. She even explained the inner structure of the shoe compared to others, and how it would better support me with the way I roll my foot outwards when I walk/stand. Even though I didn’t end up buying them today, she treated me no different, and wrote down all the information so I could get them another time. 10/10 customer service!”

“Malls are dying. We all know this. I mean, the Lancaster Mall here in Salem is all but closed; the stores on the periphery are all accessible only from the exterior (I discovered this by literally walking face first into a locked door as I was distracted talking to my son while trying to enter. I'm amazing.), making it essentially a strip mall in a circle.

This is the third time now in as many years that we've shopped here. Each time has been a great experience, but this most recent trip made what could have potentially been an incredibly frustrating ordeal into an absolute gem of a time.

First off, Famous Footwear has all sorts of brands, and a rather large Clearance section. Clearance items at the time were buy one get one 50% off, so of course we started looking there. Unfortunately, while I found a pair of shoes that fit me just fine, nothing fit that my boys enjoyed the style of.

So we got to looking. I'll skip my youngest (by two minutes) son, who found a pair that he liked the look of almost instantly, in his size, and felt like they fit perfect. That took him roughly four minutes to accomplish.

My other child is more...dramatic about his life choices. The first few pairs were sized to what his foot should have been, based on the shoe size he was wearing and the little metal doo-dad thingie for feet. But it didn't seem to fit. So I asked the woman working if she could help and see if I was doing his sizing wrong. Her name was Taylor and if there was one specific reason I'd come back to Famous Footwear for shoes, it was her.

She checked out both his feet and determined the right size. She then listened to what styles he was interested in (he hates solid colors and likes more playful, colorful, varied designs). He tried on style after style after style, color and color and color, size and size and size. We looked at basketball shoes, running shoes, tennis shoes, whatever shoes. Some didn't fit his toes. Some didn't fit his bridge. Some didn't fit his arch. One pair had too low of a heel. The New Balance pair that had the perfect color, fit, design, and feel...except the tongue was made part of the top of the shoe, not separate, and that bothered him too much to overcome.

Taylor stuck with us, putting away boxes that we didn't need, but also coming around with new styles in sizes that would fit him and ask him what he thought, get ideas on WHY he didn't like a thing in particular, and never tried to show off anything like that. We were there long enough that several customers came in while we were doing this. Taylor would go and help them, sometimes for quite a while, because we were still going back and forth. But invariably when she finished with someone else, she'd come back to see how we were doing and get right back into the search. She showed absolutely no impatience or annoyance at how long and how thorough my son was being. Instead, she roamed the store looking for the right pair of shoes.

And she found them! She came by with a pair, showed them to him and got his approval. She adjusted the size of the shoe between his sizing (taken for men but it was a women's sizing) and what size the shoe was.

They fit, they were comfortable, and he liked the look of them. He went for a run around the perimeter of the store, which is a thing he does before he settles on a pair of shoes. He declared that they were the right pair.

Two hours for two pairs of shoes, and they cost me about 135$.

The largest part that this was successful, though, was because of how much time and effort Taylor put into helping us. She could have hung out at the front register, looking at her phone, or sighing impatiently every time we grabbed another box, but she didn't. She was right there making sure we got what we needed.

Useful, since my son ”

“I was helped right away and sized. Abby asked me questions about my history and pain and found several shoes for me to try. They gave me a discount for being in health care also. I will be back.”

“4 stars on the one on Lancaster and 3 for the one by Kohls. They are a bit overpriced. When I was due a refund I waited 2 weeks and the one by Kohls was not helpful at all. They blamed someone else. I just wanted my credit.”

“i got some banger shoes from there and got some help from jaylynn. super great and helpful experience,, they were also super patient and worked with my indecisiveness ❤‍🩹”

“I don't have a footlocker in my town so I had to travel about and hour. They didn't have my size so I had to deliver them to my house. I was grateful for that. However, they still didn't fit so I had to go back. That was my fault.”

“We were in the store to get some new shoes for my teenage son who is always really picky about shoes. We not only were able to find two pairs he really liked, but when there was an unexpected issue at checkout at the register, both Emma and Thomas were wonderful at dealing with the issue with customer service over the phone and we got us out the door as smoothly as possible with that little unexpected bump in the road. Would definitely shop here again.”