--- title: "HOKA vs Merrell: Which is searched more in New Zealand?" description: "Is HOKA or Merrell more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Hiking shoe brands set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-hiking-shoe-brands/compare/hoka-vs-merrell" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # HOKA vs Merrell: Which is searched more in New Zealand? Is HOKA or Merrell more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Hiking shoe brands set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: HOKA and Merrell - **Competitive set**: Hiking shoe brands - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **HOKA Share of Search**: 64.9% - **Merrell Share of Search**: 19.3% ## Is HOKA or Merrell more popular in search? - In September 2026, HOKA had more branded searches than Merrell among hiking shoe brands in New Zealand. HOKA had about 11,700 branded searches, while Merrell had 3,480. HOKA made up 64.9% of all hiking shoe brand searches we track, and Merrell accounted for 19.3%. - HOKA was ahead of Merrell in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, HOKA’s share of searches among hiking shoe brands in New Zealand moved from 69.7% to 64.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 12.2K to 11.7K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Merrell’s share of searches among hiking shoe brands in New Zealand moved from 16.9% to 19.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 3K to 3.5K. ## Top hiking shoe brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, both HOKA and Merrell showed up in all four answers. Merrell was listed before HOKA in three of them. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Merrell | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 | | Salomon | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | HOKA | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 | | La Sportiva | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | KEEN | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Columbia | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Altra | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 | ## Every AI answer about hiking shoe brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which hiking shoe brand should I buy in New Zealand?": 1. Merrell, 2. Salomon, 3. HOKA, 4. La Sportiva - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best hiking shoe brands in New Zealand?": 1. Salomon, 2. Merrell, 3. La Sportiva, 4. HOKA, 5. KEEN, 6. Columbia - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best hiking shoe brand in New Zealand for day walks?": 1. Merrell, 2. Salomon, 3. KEEN, 4. HOKA - Searched Google, AI Overview "best walking shoes": 1. HOKA, 2. Merrell, 3. Columbia Not named in any answer: Altra. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand hiking shoe brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Merrell gained share of searches among hiking shoe brands in New Zealand, from 16.5% to 19.3%. ## Month by month | Month | HOKA estimated searches | HOKA Share of Search | HOKA rank | Merrell estimated searches | Merrell Share of Search | Merrell rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 12.2K | 69.7% | 1 | 3K | 16.9% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 16.6K | 71.9% | 1 | 4K | 17.2% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 16.5K | 72.1% | 1 | 3.4K | 15% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 14.6K | 69.6% | 1 | 3.4K | 16.4% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 13.8K | 71.9% | 1 | 2.9K | 15.3% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 12.1K | 67.7% | 1 | 2.9K | 15.9% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 13.7K | 67.5% | 1 | 3.5K | 17.5% | 2 | | May 2026 | 11.6K | 66.7% | 1 | 2.7K | 15.8% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 11.6K | 66.6% | 1 | 2.8K | 16.1% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 11.6K | 64.1% | 1 | 3.5K | 19.3% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 11.8K | 65.2% | 1 | 3K | 16.5% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 11.7K | 64.9% | 1 | 3.5K | 19.3% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using HOKA’s and Merrell’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **HOKA**: Measured on the search terms “hoka”, “hoka bondi”, “hoka clifton”, “hoka clifton 9”, “hoka speedgoat” and “hoka speedgoat 6”, summed into one figure. - **Merrell**: Measured on the search terms “merrell”, “merrell hydro moc”, “merrell moab”, “merrell outlet” and “merrell sandals”, summed into one figure. - [HOKA profile](/demand/nz/brands/hoka) - [Merrell profile](/demand/nz/brands/merrell) - [All hiking shoe brands in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-hiking-shoe-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is HOKA or Merrell more popular in search? In September 2026, HOKA had more branded searches than Merrell among hiking shoe brands in New Zealand. HOKA had about 11,700 branded searches, while Merrell had 3,480. HOKA made up 64.9% of all hiking shoe brand searches we track, and Merrell accounted for 19.3%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "HOKA vs Merrell: Which is searched more in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-hiking-shoe-brands/compare/hoka-vs-merrell This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-hiking-shoe-brands/compare/hoka-vs-merrell. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.