Sports giant Nike has built a new shop in NYC that’s queue-free and phone-led – it’s barely like shopping at all. Our Head of Retail Performance Steve Lister can’t wait to visit…
Nike has really pulled out all the stops with its new flagship store on the corner of Fifth Avenue in New York City. The Nike House of Innovation 000 promises to woo and wow people who don’t like real-life shopping.
Spanning six floors and 68,000 square feet, the phygital store is packed with brand-new customer experiences and spaces that are personal, responsive and customisable.
The Sneaker Lab features the world’s largest collection of Nike shoes – from “performance” stilettos to much-loved classics. While the Nike Speed Shop is dedicated to grab-and-go buying, using local data to re-stock its shelves based upon whatever is selling best online.
“Imagine the website, live,” John Hoke, Nike’s Chief Design Officer, tells FastCompany. “The future of retail is going to be less fixed, more fluid, and hyper-responsive to consumer trends and needs.”
The Nike app and Nike Plus – a free digital membership program – allow customers to interact with the store, bringing the physical and digital worlds together. NikePlus members enjoy perks such as free courier delivery for purchases at the store, and can reserve items via their phone to pick up from an in-store locker with their name on.
The app adds a whole new level of convenience, enabling you to scan the QR codes on mannequins to have whatever they’re wearing delivered to a nearby fitting room. It also allows you to instantly check out on your mobile and walk out the store, with kiosks to drop off the hangers and pick up a shopping bag.
Customise in the real world
The most fun element, however, is the two maker’s studios, filled with a bounty of laces, fabrics, decals – and more – to jazz up and customise your shoes to your heart’s content.
Creating engaging retail environments that excite and delight customers will continue to push brands and retailers in almost every sector. There is no doubt that in these challenging times, every retailer will need to improve its customer experience online and offline, and continue to evolve its physical stores. Nike has created something that's right at the forefront in NYC. It's full of new ideas and I'll be visiting as soon as I can – I've just got to try out these hyper-convenient features.
Like many others from Amazon Go to Miguided’s first-ever physical store, it’s exciting to see Nike paving the way for the future of retail. It'll be interesting to see how this new all-singing, all-dancing store will impact upon brand loyalty and all-important sales.