Following up on its commitment to galvanize its digital model, Nike (NKE +1.01%) is launching the next stage of its digital transformation in the form of a new store concept called Nike Rise.
A customized shopping experience
The idea behind the store is to link the digital and in-store shopping experience with the customer's preferences and the community's sporting habits. The first Rise store is opening July 9 in Guangzhou, China.
Image source: Nike.
The concept is powered by data supplied by customers through Nike's apps, combined with information about real-time sporting events in the customer's city. These factors affect how the store looks and feels to the customers as well as how the digital options are presented.
These are some of the ways Nike Rise customizes the experience for each customer:
- A new app called Nike Experience links the customer to weekly sporting and fitness events in the city and also provides access to special workshops and events hosted by Nike athletes, experts, and influencers.
- A new personalization bar called Nike By You allows customers to personalize an assortment of products with home team design elements.
- Nike is introducing its Nike Fit technology to this market, where a worker can scan the customer's feet for exact measurements and make the best recommendations for shoes for a perfect fit.
Building up digital
In Nike's fourth quarter, which ended May 31, sales decreased 38%, but digital sales grew 75%.
On a conference call, CEO John Donahoe reiterated the company's commitment to expanding what it could offer with digital. "We aren't settling for our current leadership position with consumers or in digital," he said. "We're pursuing even further separation. We're transforming Nike faster to define the marketplace of the future."
