Nike+ Membership at Retail
Created animated videos to show how Nike+ benefits can improve the in-store shopping experience.
Background
Nike Stores struggled to recruit new Nike+ members, despite using store signage with phrases like "Plus Means More" and training store associates to memorize a list of benefits. When the VP of Nike Stores asked for help, we conducted in-store research and identified two key challenges: unclear Nike+ benefits and a frustrating sign-up process.
Customers and associates didn’t fully understand the benefits, and listing all of them at once was overwhelming. We hypothesized that focusing on one or two relevant benefits during the customer’s shopping journey would be more effective. For example, "easy return without a receipt" is more helpful at checkout than "expert coaching." We tested this by running scenarios with store associates, gathering feedback, and refining the experience.
To help associates grasp the new approach, we created animated videos showing how Nike+ benefits could enhance the shopping experience. These videos helped the Store Operations team improve their training materials and guided the Membership team to better communicate the value of Nike+ on other platforms, like Nike.com.
We also discovered that the sign-up process was too slow, requiring the associate to track down an iPad and navigate Nike.com, which frustrated customers. To solve this, we worked with the Engineering team to develop a new app for associate devices, allowing them to quickly sign up new members and access existing members' purchase history. This app not only streamlined sign-ups but also laid the foundation for more personalized services in the future.
My Role
As the Director of Customer Experience for Global Brand DTC (Direct to Consumer), I led a team of four Brand Managers and collaborated with a digital agency. I guided my team in identifying the root cause of key issues, developing solutions, and testing them. I drove the in-store customer experience strategy, working closely with Store Operations and the Engineering team to better equip store associates to serve customers effectively. I then presented the strategy to the VP of Nike Stores and key functional leaders within Global and North America DTC, securing approval for deployment.
Impact
The launch of the digital app and membership training materials in March 2016 was highly successful, rolling out across all North American stores, including Factory Stores. This resulted in an average of 200,000 new member sign-ups per year at physical retail locations and serviced approximately 10-15 million existing members annually. We also developed a scalable framework that continues to support the growth of Nike+ membership programs.
Associate app
To streamline member sign-ups, we collaborated with the tech team to develop and pilot a new app on store mobile devices carried by each associate. This app offered the fastest way to register new members, allowed associates to look up existing members, and view their purchase history. Providing associates with member information created a strong foundation for delivering more personalized service.
