Nike thinks youre probably wearing the wrong size shoe. Heres what its doing to fix that CNBC

Nike, the biggest sneaker maker in the global, desires to resolve a problem it knows a ways too many human beings have: Which length shoes will suit?

Many buyers have gone on-line and ordered a couple of pairs of the same style shoe, in distinctive sizes, making plans to send returned what doesn't healthy. The motives are simple. Consumers frequently discover they in shape into exceptional sizes — maybe a 7.5 ladies's here, an 8.5 girls's there — relying on the brand and style. So, when it comes time to shop for a new pair, there is quite a few guessing going on.

It's really, very possibly you do not even recognize what your authentic shoe size is. Your feet could also be two entirely extraordinary sizes.

"Fit is such a big friction point for our customers," said Michael Martin, the global head of digital products at Nike. "We reached a point of realizing this was not just the biggest problem but biggest transformational opportunity that we have. ... No matter how good the shoe is, if the foot doesn't fit well within the shoe, you're not going to get peak performance from it."

Now, Nike says it has a solution. The company will launch Nike Fit, a service being added in North America this July to its mobile app and in stores. Nike Fit will scan customers' feet and tell them what size shoes they should be wearing.the service will roll out to Europe in August, moving to other international markets soon after.

Nike Fit is all part of Nike's bigger push to sell more products directly to consumers through its own shops, website and mobile app, relying less on wholesale partners than it has in the past. And so Nike is opening new stores like its House of Innovation in New York, and Nike Live in Los Angeles, designed specifically for those markets and selling items visitors can't find anywhere else.

In2019, Nike said its direct sales were up 12%, thanks to strong e-commerce growth and the opening of new stores. And it said direct-to-consumer revenue ended the year representing roughly 30% of total Nike brand sales, up from 28% in the prior year.

Nike Fit may also assist the store better control stock, reduce down on returns and even entice shoppers to shop for greater shoes, early beta trying out of the technology showed.

At its middle, Nike Fit will work when a customer opens the Nike app, selects a shoe to buy, and then instead of selecting a numerical size, the shopper will be presented with the option to scan his or her foot straight from a smartphone. A scan can take less than 15 seconds. And then Nike Fit will recommend a size, for that particular shoe in consideration, based on the scan. That information — like the width of the shoppers' foot, down to the millimeter — will be saved for later purchases, too, as Nike says its Air Jordan shoe fits differently than another lifestyle shoe or a running shoe.

In stores, Nike will have a similar experience, but a sales associate will do the scanning for a customer.

It's brilliant, information show, how many humans are both squeezing into a shoe too small, or have one falling off the foot.

At any given time, three out of five people, or roughly 60% of consumers, are wearing the wrong shoe size, based on industry research, Martin explained. And the biggest reason for shoes being returned — whether they were purchased in store or online — is them being the wrong size, he said, adding that Nike receives more than 500,000 calls each year to its customer-service line related to sizing.

It's been estimated that return deliveries of all merchandise will price outlets $550 billion by way of 2020.

And, worse news for consumers, wearing the incorrect length footwear can cause accidents that may sideline them from playing a recreation or from going to the gymnasium. Foot injuries also can preserve you from going to paintings. At least 60,000 foot accidents are responsible for retaining people inside the U.S. Out of the office each year, in keeping with information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In2019, Nike spent an undisclosed amount to acquire Invertex, a computer-vision firm based in Tel Aviv, Israel, to make Nike Fit possible. Years before this deal was finalized, Invertex had already begun working on a way to scan feet via a smartphone and make sizing recommendations, using machine learning.

Invertex CEO David Bleicher said numerous companies were approaching him and his colleagues by2019 for their technology. But Invertex ultimately chose to work Nike, viewing the retailer as an "innovation powerhouse," Bleicher said. Bleicher now heads up a digital studio for Nike in Tel Aviv, where he says Invertex is working to solve "many other challenges" in the footwear industry. "The bigger vision is to [help Nike] create better shoes," he said.

The rollout of Nike Fit isn't the first time Nike has tried to tackle the sizing issue, either.

Back in 2000, the company launched its Air Presto shoe — designed by Tobie Hatfield, the brother of well-known Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield — in sizes like "small," "medium" and "large," mimicking how t-shirts are sized, not using numbers. But it was more of a test to see how shoppers reacted to both the stretchy material in the Presto shoes and the T-shirt sizing. And Nike eventually went back to numerical sizing for the Presto about three years ago.

But numerical sizing can still be vague — and is top notch outdated.

The shoe sizing gadget is archaic, dating again to the 1330s. It's relatively of an urban legend that the reigning King of England in 1334 desired a couple of footwear custom made for him. And after they failed to suit, he grew irritated and decided to make some fashionable system of size, because nothing existed like it on the time. The legend is going he declared three barleycorns, or grains of barley, have been equal to an inch. And so 21 barleycorns have become equivalent to a size 7 shoe, as an example.

Fast ahead to 1925, and the brannock device turned into made. That become an strive through Charles Brannock to ideal the barleycorn technique, including a width size. You understand, that (horribly uncomfortable) silver, metal tray that you slide your foot into, transferring round little bars, to discover your shoe size? That equal brannock continues to be found in Macy's shoe departments, Foot Lockers and DSWs across the us of a these days.

"It was all well-intentioned, and it all had a good purpose," said Bill Tippit, a senior engineering director at Nike, about the brannock. "We still use it today, but it really is the thing that just destroyed fit."

Then, there are a handful of up-begin sneaker makers that have been searching out methods to resolve this problem, too.

A Brooklyn-based totally company called Atoms, that is presently most effective promoting its shoes to people via invitations, has designed its sneakers in region sizes and will ship customers three pairs right now. Then, a client can choose the 2 footwear that in shape the left and proper foot nice, even though they're distinct zone sizes.

Outside of footwear, bra-maker ThirdLove has embraced the concept of making the perfect in shape for girls. It has a "match finder" device on its internet site for shoppers to reply questions after which obtain customized bra hints.

"The brands gaining want with purchasers today are ones who understand how to relate," stated Raj Nijjer, vice chairman of advertising and marketing at Yotpo. "They communicate with customers, listen their ache factors, and extra regularly than not find out there may be no such aspect as one-length-fits-all. The brands that win are the ones that include their clients' individuality and supply merchandise with the perfect in shape."

Beyond educating its customers on sizing, and hopefully helping more people avoid injuries from wearing the wrong size shoe, this technology could also be a financial boon for Nike, with its dominant position in the sneaker industry.

According to NPD Group sports analyst Matt Powell, Nike is the No. 1 footwear brand in the U.S. in terms of sales, representing roughly one-third of the market, ahead of Adidas, with 11% of the market, and Under Armour. It additionally remains surely warm amongst young adults with money to spend.

"Nike is not in any danger of giving up No. 1 by any means," Powell said. "The consumer today is looking for unique products," which Nike continues to churn out, he said.

That said rival Adidas, while it still holds a smaller share of the U.S. market, has been growing sales in the U.S. at a faster rate. In its latest reported quarter, Adidas said grew its North America sales by more than 11%, compared with a 7% gain in Nike's sales in the region. Adidas is also ramping up for a sneaker collaboration with singer Beyonce, which is predicted to generate momentum within the U.S.

In2019, 64% of Nike brand revenues came from footwear — shoe sales were $22.27 billion out of $34.49 billion in total sales. That doesn't include sales from Converse, which operates as a separate business within Nike, and so Converse sneakers won't be compatible with Nike Fit.

Shoe sales were up 6% last year, excluding currency changes, thanks to strength in running, Nike said. But that was less than the 8% growth in footwear revenues in2019, as Nike didn't sell as many Jordan shoes in2019.

When testing Nike Fit in stealth in three markets —Seattle, Pasadena, California, and Dallas— Martinsaid the company noticed conversion rates increased for the people who used Nike Fit to find the right shoe size, meaning those people were more likely to leave the store with a bag in their hands. They were also more likely to come back later and buy another pair of shoes. Nike said returns were down at those stores. And associates spent less time running back and forth to the stock room to gather other sizes.

It can also help Nike stock the right inventory. Martin explained that Nike, like many shoe brands, typically ships shoes in bulk to different geographies based on a standard "curve" that's long predicted for the industry how many people typically wear each shoe size. But he said that curve is not as exact as it could be. And so it's easy for companies to end up with too many size 10 sneakers in one market, when it's really the 9 that more of those people need to be wearing, for example. Data gathered from Nike Fit should help the company make its own curve of sorts.

"We've in no way had any statistics coming again to recognize simply how correct is that distribution," Martin said.

Lastly, Nike Fit is expected to help Nike grow its membership base, which amounts to more than 150 million people worldwide today. A Nike membership is free to sign up for and offers members early access to new product launches, a birthday reward, the ability to chat with athletes for tips on merchandise or training, and on-the-go workouts from Nike's app. The company says it's on track to increase its membership base to 300 million people, as those shoppers spend 40% more than guest customers, on average.

During its six-month trial run of Nike Fit in three stores, Nike said the service was the strongest lever to boost membership sign-ups that it's found thus far.

"Consumers more than ever want to have relationships with a brand. They don't look at their experience with brands as transactional," said Heidi O'Neill, the president of Nike Direct. "You see a more premium, more personal retail environment. Those [retailers] that are winning are serving personally."

Nike Fit is just the latest step in bringing a bigger vision to reality, according to Martin. He sees a day where shoe sizes don't exist. A customer goes to buy a pair of shoes, a box shows up with those shoes inside, and instead of a number on the outside it's your name — "Sarah" or "Michael."

But so as to additionally require greater of the enterprise to get on board with the concept that the brannock tool is critically old, and that purchasers deserve better healthy.

"We suppose this is a hassle people were seeking to resolve for a long time," O'Neill said. "But we experience exquisite assured in our answer. ... We know we're going to have a new stage of believe from clients."

Let's block commercials! (Why?)

//www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/nike-is-launching-nike-in shape-to-test-your-feet-inform-you-your-shoe-size.html
2019-05-09 11:30:00Z
52780290305999

Share this post