Buying cycling specific shoes can represent the first step of commitment to taking cycling seriously, however it's important that you know the differences between them and then knowing what type of cycling shoe is going to be best for you and your riding.
Riding clipless pedals will make you 30% more efficient with your power so its absolutely a worthwhile change to make. Of the main pedal brands, you have Shimano, Look and Speedplay. Each of these brands has their own shape of cleat and you'll need to ensure the pedals use the same system. Often if you're buying pedals at the same time as buying shoes, the pedals will come with the correct cleats.
Shimano and Look both use the same three bolt pattern while Speedplay uses a 4 bolt pattern, however Speedplay do provide an adapter plate so you can use their cleats on any normal road shoe.
