Retail Technology Proposal - Nike

GY

ECHN OLO

IL & T

RETA

PRO POSAL

NIKEINC. Nike, Inc. belongs to one of the most famous brands in the world. It produces a wide range of sports equipment.

Its first products were track running shoes. The brand currently also makes shoes, apparel and accessories for a wide range of sports. It is world’s largest supplier.

The company was founded in 1962 in the United States and has 74,400 employees, worldwide nowadays. In addition to the main brand Nike, the brands Air Jordan, Converse and Hurley also belong to Nike Inc. (En.wikipedia.org, 2019).

Nike’s mission is to do everything possible to expand human potential, by creating groundbreaking sport innovations, by making their products more sustainably, by building a creative and diverse global teams and by making a positive impact in communities where Nike lives and works. By observing the world’s best athletes, and using their insights, it creates products that are beautiful and useful for everybody.

To make big leaps, the brand takes big risks.

Incremental change is not going fast enough. Nike sees everyone as an explorer and athlete. “If you have a body, you are an athlete” (Nike, 2019).

To make communities tangible, Nike created the Nike+ app which plays a strong role in its branding strategy. The app includes a Nike membership which connects the consumer to the brand. Members have access to exclusive shoes, special events, athlete stories, and running/training programs. With this, Nike helps consumers to reach their athletic goals and/or allow them to track their statistics.

The social part of this app is in creating a personal profile which includes data such as: name, location, age, height, weight or adding friends. Users are able to motivate or share with each other. Reslinger, 2016), (Nike, 2019).

Niks shows a high level of innovation in-store.

You take a step into the future when entering

People take a step into the future when entering one of them around the world. Experiences such as: - In-store Sport Fields: to test products (Future Stores Seattle 2019, 2019) - Media Wall: to give live social media updates (Demodern Digitalagentur, 2019) - The Nike Bootroom: gives customers information about the products (Demodern Digitalagentur, 2019).

- Personalization: customers can create customized products in-store (O’Brien, 2018).

Several stores around the world are selected as exclusive and one of a kind which are only accessible when having a Nike+ membership.

- Within ‘The Nike Maker’s Experience’ store, customers can design their own Nike shoe by making use of augmented reality. Using this, consumers can see their own shoe design projected on the shoe they wear (Adformatie, 2017).

- Nike also opened ‘The Live store’ in Los Angeles. This store is intended to unite online and offline retail and acts as a ‘Service Hub’ that is specifically adapted to the region or neighborhood and based on big data.

For example, consumers can order an item online and can pick it up in the ‘Live store’ with the use of a special QR code to open the locker (Slot, 2018).

- At last, Nike recently (November 2018) opened the ‘House of Innovation’ in both Shanghai and New York City. These stores have an innovative, personalized and digital shopping experience which creates high interaction with the consumer (Nike News, 2018).

Furthermore, there are two ‘Maker’s Studio’s’ in which customers can personalise their products (Terra, 2018).

THE REVOLUTION NEVER ENDS.

ONLINE THE ISSUE Nike’s offline stores can be defined as innovative and one of a kind. So, there is less to modernize. But when taking a look at the website/webshop, there is lots of potential. The brand highly values innovation which can be seen offline, but barely online. Its website/webshop is almost the same as every other.

There is a feature to personalise your own shoe but besides this there is no excitement or uniqueness.

Moreover, Nike’s business plan highly focuses on the omni-channel retail. In 2022, 30% of its sales has to derive from online purchases (Slot, 2018).

Due to 140 million people worldwide using the Nike app, there is a lot of data available which can be used in a more efficient way (Slot, 2018).

RETAILTRENDS Nowadays, technological developments can not stay behind. There are several trends noticeable but there are two trends that really stand out: big data and personalisation. Technological developments make the border between online and offline fade, which makes it crucial for companies to marry both, which then results in a memorable experience.

- Big data such as personal information, buying patterns and online behaviour (website/social channel visits) will be gained.This data is very useful for companies.

With this, they can create more personalised products and services (Harvey, 2018).

- Personalisation is essential nowadays, to let the consumer feel even more special. Consumers even expect a more personalised approach on both online and offline channels (Lettinga, 2018), (Schoonis, 2018).

IDEAS The retail and technology proposal for Nike is focussed on improving the website/webshop. The online experience needs to be on the same level of innovation as the offline channels. With this, the focus is on making everything even more personal and innovative at the same time. Therefore, both the ‘Virtual Wardrobe’ and ‘Virtual Avatar’ are created.

1. VIRTUAL WARDROBE The ‘Virtual Wardrobe’ is a digital closet based on the consumer’s interests and preferences. Nike is able to do this with the use of big data, whereby personal information, buying patterns and online behaviour is gained and processed. This feature is available on the

THEPROPOSAL

website and app, when logged into the Nike+ account.

This is how it works: I. The consumer logs in with its Nike+ account.

II. A virtual closet pops-up in their screen III. In this virtual closet they will find clothing pieces or total outfits which matches their personal preferences based on color, fit, material, activities and trends.

IV. The chosen items can be dragged into the shopping chart.

With this, Nike creates the service of a virtual stylist, which is now also available on the online channels.

Customers also have the possibility to chat with a stylist.

This creates a personal and emotional connection. The ‘Virtual Wardrobe’ provides a unique service.

The advantage of this approach is that it saves time for the consumers. They do not need to scroll through the website to look for certain items but will find them on their personal page within seconds. It creates a small online experience for consumers, which helps to increase online sales even more.

1. VIRTUAL AVATAR The ‘Virtual Avatar’ is a digital version of a Nike consumer. This avatar is made with the use of their personal information such as height, weight, body measurements, etc. Consumers are able to dress their avatar with the items they like, seen on the webshop.

Nike will also assist them by finding the right size, based on their unique measurements. With this feature, consumers can figure out how a certain item looks on their specific body and what size to buy.

Furthermore, the system will also provide consumers with notifications about the fit of the garment on their body. For example, “armhole is too tight”, “waistband is too big”, etc.

The advantage of this approach is that consumers will make less returns than before, due to Nike making sure they buy the right size and fit.

CONCLUSION With the new features ‘Virtual Wardrobe’ and ‘Virtual Avatar’, Nike will take a big step by making its online channels as innovative as the stores.

Besides all benefits of big data, people have lots of questions about this subject because it takes away their privacy. Problems may concern: data privacy, data security and data discrimination. With further research these problems will be covered, which will then only improve and strengthen the proposal even more (Marr, 2018).

WRITE THE FUTURE.

APPENDIX

Adformatie. (2017). Toekomst van retail volgens Nike: ontwerp en print je schoen binnen een uur. [online] Available at: https://www.adformatie.nl/commerce/toekomst-van-retail-volgens-nike-ontwerp-en-print-je-schoen [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Demodern Digitalagentur. (2019). Nike Digital Retail Experience. [online] Available at: https://demodern.com/ projects/nike-digital-retail-experience [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Nike, Inc.. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc. [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Field research(2018). Observation Nike shop , Utrecht Future Stores Seattle 2019. (2019). Nike’s New Flagship is a Powerhouse of Experience-driven Retail. [online] Available at: https://futurestores.wbresearch.com/nike-new-flagship-powerhouse-experience-driven-retail-ty-u [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Harvey, C. (2018). Top Big Data Use Cases. [online] Datamation.com. Available at: https://www.datamation. com/big-data/big-data-use-cases.html [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Lettinga, G. (2018). 5 trends uit het rapport ‘Het Nieuwe Winkelen’. [online] Inretail.nl. Available at: https:// www.inretail.nl/kennis-en-inspiratie/retail-en-winkelen-in-de-toekomst-1/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Marr, B. (2018). 3 Massive Big Data Problems Everyone Should Know About. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/06/15/3-massive-big-data-problems-everyone-should-know-about/#c6cb0b461862 [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Nike News. (2018). Nike’s New NYC Flagship is the Face of Living Retail. [online] Available at: https://news. nike.com/news/nike-nyc-house-of-innovation-000 [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Nike. (2019). Nike Member Profile. [online] Available at: https://www.nike.com/member/profile [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Nike. (2019). Read Nike’s Mission Statement and find information about NIKE, Inc. innovation, sustainability, community impact and more. [online] Available at: https://about.nike.com/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

O’Brien, M. (2018). How Best Buy, Nordstrom and Nike bring personalization to physical stores. [online] ClickZ. Available at: https://www.clickz.com/best-buy-nordstrom-nike-personalization/220948/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Reslinger, M. (2016). How Nike Just Do It With its Nike+ Community. [online] Potion.social. Available at: https://potion.social/en/blog/nike-case-study [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Schoonis, J. (2018). Retail: deze ontwikkelingen staan ons te wachten in 2018 - Frankwatching. [online] Frankwatching. Available at: https://www.frankwatching.com/archive/2018/01/05/retail-deze-ontwikkelingen-staan-ons-te-wachten-in-2018/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Slot, O. (2018). Nike+: biedt Nike de ultieme customer experience?. [online] Emerce.nl. Available at: https:// www.emerce.nl/achtergrond/nike-biedt-nike-ultieme-customer-experience [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Terra, C. (2018). Kijken: Nike opent House of Innovation in New York. [online] Fashionunited.nl. Available at: https://fashionunited.nl/nieuws/retail/kijken-nike-opent-house-of-innovation-in-new-york/2018112040534 [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].