Nike Is Using Augmented Reality to Drive Experiential Retail in Its Stores
Those of you who have been following this article series closely will have already read about how experiential retail is providing brands in the space with opportunities to augment their core offering with additional experiences.
These experiences can take many forms, but what they all have in common is the intention to create a retail environment where customers can enjoy a kind of shopping which simply wouldn’t be possible in a 100% online ecommerce environment.
Technology has a huge role to play in delivering these additional experiences. People are naturally interested and curious when it comes to technology driven experiences and will tend to gravitate towards those innovative retailers which can offer them.
Nike
One brand which has always been dedicating to bringing the very latest sporting technology to its discerning army of customers is fitness giant Nike. And now the global sports brand is bringing the latest augmented reality technology to its instore retail experience.
Announced in January 2022, Nike has partnered with augmented reality platform providers 8th Wall and BDRG Studios to launch a prize giveaway which rewards customers for coming into its stores and playing five web-based augmented reality games using their smartphones.
Part of the sporting brand’s PLAY NEW initiative, Nike is inviting customers visiting select locations in the US to scan special QR codes hidden throughout the store and unlock the exciting games.
The games are themed around real-world activities such as football, putt putt, soccer, and basketball, plus a flower game, and reward customers with a special medallion once they beaten it. Once the player has collected all five medallions, they receive a gift with experience pack including limited edition Nike stickers and other goodies.
Thanks to 8th Wall’s WebAR technology, there is no need for customers to download anything onto their device – they simply scan the code and play the game through their smartphone’s web browser application.
"8th Wall is on a mission to make augmented reality for everyone by equipping developers, agencies and brands with tools to create web-based augmented reality," said 8th Wall in a blog post. "With the world’s largest augmented reality platform, 8th Wall's WebAR works across iOS and Android devices with an estimated reach of 3.5 billion smartphones worldwide - all with no app required to download."
Augmented Reality
However, the competition described above isn’t the only foray into augmented reality technology Nike is launching in 2022 and has also announced a collaboration with online gaming megabrand, Roblox to bring even more technology driven experiences to customers visiting its New York City Fifth Avenue store.
Dubbed Nikeland, the AR experience takes place on the first floor of Nike NYC which is decked out with visual elements reflecting the digital adventure. Viewed through Snapchat lenses, the Nikeland experience offers a range of avatars and games for customers to enjoy.
The buildings and fields inside the virtual world are inspired by Nike’s real-life headquarters in Oregon, with each space housing a detailed arena for the Roblox community to test their skills in a number of mini games. Roblox has 43.2 million daily users worldwide.
The Nikeland innovation marks the fitness giant’s first foray into content related to Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse – a market which is expected to reach $41.62 billion by 2026, according to research firm Strategy Analytics –and will no doubt prove popular with those who enjoy both technology and sports. Nike recently filed a number of patents related to the selling of virtual goods online, leading some to speculate the brand could also be preparing to step into the controversial NFT [non fungible tokens] market.
"Creators and users are also able to design their own mini games from interactive sports materials built into the world," said the company. "Visitors can take advantage of accelerometers in their mobile devices to transfer offline movement to online play. For example, they can move their device and body in real life to pull off in-game moves like long jumps or speed runs. The Nikeland digital showroom will allow people to outfit their avatars with Nike products."
Final Thoughts
Digital experiences are sure to become an integral part of the brick-and-mortar retail experience through 2022 and beyond.
Today’s customers need a reason to eschew online shopping and step through the doors of physical stores once again and those brands which can provide them with periphery innovations which augment the core shopping experience are the ones which are going to gain the biggest advantages in the post-pandemic retail environment.
Augmented reality technology is set to be a hot topic at Future Stores Seattle 2022, taking place in July at The Sheraton, Seattle.
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