Most toddlers love to do this. Just do what needs to be done - "When we go out we must wear shoes to keep our feet warm and safe." And repeat every time. Don't get into a battle in the car when you are driving, becaus you can't put them on, so it becomes a game of "Mommy is yelling about the shoes while I take them off, hee hee hee." Just be consistent. It is a game that won't last forever.
However, my daughter does have a preference for one pair of shoes. I played the card of "If you take off your shoes (red sparkly ones), then I am keeping them and putting on your sneakers." That worked!!
DIstraction with other toys like a button/sipper book or small toys or a doll with his own shoes isn't a bad idea either.
And as an aside - Please don't hit hit your child. I have lovely, onedient, smart, kind, and verbal children who have never been hit. Kids who are out of control today is from lack of discipline and rules and consistency and sturcture, not lack of hitting. And even if you are a believe in spanking, it is completely inappropriate to hit a baby who has basically just entered todldlerhood. And it is an especially offensive notion to me to hit a child for somehting I remember fondly as one of the cuter, albeit at the moment frustrating, things my daugheters did. Is taking off his shoes reallly such a big awful deal? If is part of demonstrating creativity, independence, exploration. Yeah, it's a pain in the neck, but it doesn't make your baby a bad kid!