Nike VP: The key to selling sneakers is emotion, and enhancing it with tech

At Rnext, he’ll share how embracing the latest tech has played a vital role.Hard Fork?The SNKRS appFaris is best known for his work at Nike, where he leads the team at s23NYC — the sport giant’s digital innovation studio responsible for the wildly popular SNKRS app. Through the latest AR tech, it offers consumers a platform to share their enthusiasm for Nike shoes, and creates immersive experiences for a chance to access limited edition styles.In case you’re not a part of the sometimes fanatic “sneakerhead” community, it’s essentially become a must-have app for purchasing shoes.Credit: NikeWhen the app glitches out, fans can get extremely disgruntled. The app creates a seamless journey from casual interest to hitting the buy button, through simultaneously positioning itself as an online community and an ecommerce platform.In a recent article by Quartz, CEO Mark Parker reportedly announced to investors that in this past fiscal year alone, “SNKRS more than doubled its business, doubled its number of monthly active users, and now accounts for roughly 20 percent of [Nike’s] overall digital business.”So how did Ron Faris, who leads the team behind the SNKRS app, manage to build a platform that so perfectly engages such a profitable target audience?Embracing the latest techIn his TNW2018 keynote, Faris mentioned two key factors to its success: recognizing the emotional aspect of sneakers, and using the latest tech to enhance those feelings.