Nike Launches Smart Sneaker That Will Deliver Athletic Tips

Nike has found a new way to lure new customers with an attractive smart sneaker, which has found a new way to capture more information about the customer, allowing the company to give the customer, athletic tips and also sell them company’s other products. The new shoe which is named as Nike Adapt also tracks performance in real time, but needs regular charging.

Nike unveiled the new shoe concept at the global show, “Future of Footwear”. Michael Donaghu, Nike's director of global footwear innovation said, “It’s the start of a new day. It’s like we’re moving from footwear to firm wear”. The shoe, which has the data-tracking capability, also gives a choice of privacy to the customers. But if the customer doesn’t opt to share data, they are going to miss out a lot of the product’s capabilities. The company is starting with basketball shoes, which will sell for $350.

The shoe has no laces but self-tightens to the athlete’s preference and is adjustable through an app. The product also carries sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes that can give Nike a full, personalized snapshot of its customer performance and for maintaining all these features working for you, it needs recharging every two weeks. Michael Martin, Nike’s global head of digital products, says, “It’s like having two smartphones strapped to your two feet”.

Nike stores are also going digital globally, as the company calls for new flagship locations, which were unveiled two months ago in New York and Shanghai known as “Houses of Innovation”. They also blend online shopping with the in-person experience. To get the full experience, one has to download the Nike app. The shoe’s technology can be updated at a regular interval through the app.

Nike is also in the middle of a digital transformation. The company is trying to get more of its customers to make them members of the Nike Plus loyalty program. In a survey, the company has found that the members spend three times more than nonmembers when they shop online at Nike.com. Though Nike has seen rapid growth in apparel sales, its shoes still account for 61% of the company’s $36.4 billion in revenue in the last fiscal year.

Nike’s auto-lacing shoes are available since 2017, when the company sold a limited number of special sneakers for $720, the most expensive shoes Nike has ever released. Now the new shoes will be available through Nike’s direct channels and through retailers and are going to make its debut in the NBA on the feet of Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum later this week.