Sneakerheads rejoice! In the past month alone, both adidas and Nike have launched their own exclusive apps for speedy sneaker shopping. Long gone are the days where you had to camp out to get your hands on that exclusive, limited edition pair of shoes, and deal with the crowds and angry fans who left empty-handed. Say hello to Confirmed and SNKRS, the adidas and Nike mobile apps that will change the way the industry goes about marketing the latest sneakers.
To give a bit more context on each app, let’s dive into how the apps actually work and most importantly, how they compare. Confirmed, adidas’ product, was an in-house built app that was created as a solution to the long lines and in-store lottery systems for sneaker fans. This app, which launched in early February is the first-of-its-kind sneaker reservation app, in congruence with the highly anticipated sale of Kanye West’s sneaker collaboration.
.@KanyeWest x #adidasOriginals #YEEZYBOOST. Feb 14. Reservations on #adidasConfirmed for those in the US open soon. http://t.co/3QcHlKJWIw
— adidas Originals (@adidasoriginals) February 12, 2015
By using geo-targeting, adidas’ Confirmed leverages the location of consumers to reserve and pick-up sneakers from local retail stores and select wholesale partners. This process is completely mobile, everything from the registration process to reserving the sneakers is all done through the app. Available on the Apple app store or Google Play, Confirmed is available to all consumers now, and will inform users of upcoming sneaker releases via push notifications. Not too far behind from the launch of Confirmed came Nike’s SNKRs app. Less than a week later in early February (adidas’ launched on Saturday, February 7, with Nike announcing their app on Wednesday, February 11, just before Kanye West’s adidas integration on Thursday, February 12 at New York Fashion Week) Nike launched their app, which is a one-stop sneaker shop for the most premium Nike sneakers, that saves the user’s billing, shipping and sizing information to allow for speedy in-app checkout. Known for its popular franchises like Air Force 1, Air Max, Foamposite and Jordan, as well as Nike SB products, there is little left to the imagination when it comes to Nike’s selection of men’s and women’s shoes on the app.
Introducing Nike SNKRS. Your Ultimate Sneaker Shop: http://t.co/j6YSLP61Q6 pic.twitter.com/SzqCS5ATPo
— Nike (@Nike) February 11, 2015
Specifically, this app allows users to personalize their experience by selecting which Nike basketball shoe series and/or franchises they want to follow to be able to hear about upcoming product releases, ad campaigns or promotions. The app is currently available only for iOS users, but Nike has confirmed that a version for the Android platform should be be released in the spring.
What is important to note is there is somewhat of a difference between the two apps. Adidas’ Confirmed app is really geared towards the drop dates, and requires you to pick up the sneakers in store. Nike on the other hand, enables you to shop anytime, with an added benefit of drop alerts if that is what you are interested in.
It will be interesting now to see if shoppers will gravitate towards these mobile apps, as some sneakerheads would prefer to try them on and see them in person before purchasing. Nonetheless, these two new apps offer a new avenue (and new revenue stream) for Nike and adidas to market their products prior to product releases.