Mobile apps – Nike in 3-digit growth

Nike likely boosted usage of its apps after dropping the subscription fee for its NTC Premium service in March, as pandemic lockdowns went into effect in many countries, including the U.S.

Run and running

According to the 29. September article by Retail Dive, Nike did not leave its consumers alone during the quarantine period. Nike helped consumers stay in shape thruogh smartphone apps. The Nike Training Club (NTC) app was popular even before the epidemic, but in recent months, a record number of users have begun to move, do yoga, and live healthier lives through it.

Amid a consumer shift to digital and mobile amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Nike Run Club app posted its fourth consecutive month of more than 1 million downloads as more people followed its audio-guided runs. More women than men completed runs on the app for the first time in company history.

Nike saw an almost 200% increase in demand for its commerce app, the Nike shopping app with “triple-digit” growth in monthly active users.

The growth in demand for its mobile apps has helped to support digital sales growth of 82% for Nike-branded products.

Campaignes

Nike has run a variety of mobile-based campaigns this year to help support its digital sales channels worldwide. In July, Nike published a custom magazine in Japan that let readers color black-and-white drawings of its Air Max sneakers and see their work in a 3D augmented reality (AR) experience on their smartphones.

In May, Nike set up a microsite that asked Brazilian customers to raise their phones to the sky to see an AR cloud shaped like an Air Max sneaker. After finding the digital cloud, they were given a chance to unlock exclusive digital content. The campaigns were a sign of how Nike has embraced mobile-based experiences to drive sales growth.

Digital is the sales engine

Digital sales were a bright spot for Nike, whose revenue slipped 1% to $10.6 billion in the most recent quarter from the prior year. Its net income grew 11% to $1.5 billion, as digital channels added $900 million in incremental revenue from last year. That increase met Nike’s goal of reaching 30% of revenue from digital channels three years ahead of schedule. As stores reopened in China, Nike introduced a concept store called Nike Rise that supported brand interactions on mobile devices, such as the Nike Experiences feature in its app.

With the consumer at center and bolstered by a Member-first approach, the first Nike Rise door, Nike Guangzhou, curates a 1-to-1, personalized shopping journey that connects consumers to sport, their communities and one another. Nike Rise is the newest member of Nike’s innovative portfolio that includes the year’s recent pilot concepts of Nike’s flagship House of Innovation (New York), which provide a peek behind the curtain of Nike’s biggest innovation moments, and Nike Live (Los Angeles), a locally curated shopping experience for members.