This past weekend I was surprised with a gift, an appointment at the NYC Niketown store with a NikeID specialist. I know what you are thinking… why do you need an appointment to buy sneakers? Well my fine friends, let me explain to you how this appointment changed my view of a ‘customer experience’. Especially since I make many of my purchases online now – but this might bring me back to the inline store purchasing process.
On the top floor of the store, a glass-frosted door and a smiling face welcomed me into the customization factory and into a one-on-one consultation with a NikeID expert. Now, you can experience this yourself on the nike.com website, but there is something to be said about being able to see and feel all of the different fabrics, try on the different sneakers that can be customized, and then see it being built in realtime on huge flatscreens in this fancy room. And, I must admit, I made me some fancy kicks.
This experience totally makes you feel like part of the process. And why wouldn’t it, you just created your own sneakers. Not to mention how when exiting this room, you now walk then entire store looking for gear that matches your new fancy footwear. Brilliant if you ask me… they don’t even have to try and upsell you, you upsell yourself (hello UPT’s) – and you don’t even feel guilty about it.
There are similar experiences I have seen by footwear companies, but this by far was the most exciting of them all. You totally feel like V.I.P the entire time, and there is a lot to be said about that.
Which brings me back to online shopping – yes, I can surf the web, fine great deals, search for coupons on the fly and discount codes… but I will never feel a sense of accomplishment and pride like I did in the Nike store that day and making the shopping experience fun again.
Thank you NIKE for being awesomesauce.
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