Sportswear brand Nike has announced plans to grow its e-commerce operations, an example of another high profile brand who is seeking a more direct relationship with its consumers. Meanwhile, Adidas reports that online sales have grown almost 80% in the last year.
Last week, Nike reported a 9% increase in revenues for the three months to February, fuelled by a 33% growth in online sales, and is the latest brand to attempt to forge a deeper connection with consumers. Using e-commerce in addition to selling in-store is a way for brands to gain more access to shopping behaviour and transactional data, insights traditionally held by the retailer.
Nike has said it will be simplifying the user experience across all of its e-commerce sites over the next quarter to make it easier for shoppers to find and buy products. Mark Parker, Chief Executive of Nike, announced that the business is bringing ‘urgency’ to how it introduces more innovation into the shopping experience.
Meanwhile earlier this week, Adidas reported that global web sales had increased by almost 80% in 2012, although the sports brand is less than half way to achieving its e-commerce goal of $651 million in sales within 2 years. To achieve that goal, Adidas says the company will continue to launch more international sites with the aim of being in 20 countries by the end of the year. CEO Herbert Hanier stated, “The success of our e-commerce strategy rests on our ability to attract, convert and retain the consumer in a crowded marketplace.”
Deloitte’s recent report “Connecting with today’s consumer: Building brand value” explains the benefits of a brand selling and communicating directly with its consumers:
- Two way dialogue with consumers can lead to increased consumer engagement, deeper affiliations with the brand and increased consumer loyalty
- Insight and data on consumer trends can aid analytical decisions on product portfolios, innovations and customisation
- Instant consumer feedback can drive the product development process, providing a better indication of current and future product performance
- Consumers can connect with each other, resulting in augmentation of product/brand awareness; 14% of consumers trust messages provided by the brand, whereas
90% trust brand messages from friends and peers.
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