3 Reasons Not to Buy Nike in India
Customer Experience 101: Creating Better Everyday Experiences.
First published in Bootcamp on December 15, 2022
Customer experience is the art of serving your customers consistently with grace and ease across all touchpoints, thereby creating a positive glow that makes them happy to buy from you, speak of you, return to you or send a new customer to you.
1. Size
I discovered to my surprise, that replacing my Nike shoes in India was not the easy errand I expected. I have bought multiple shoes from Nike for 10 years in the US to run, walk, or hike. But I found that in India, most Nike stores do not carry all US shoe sizes or as they call it — UK half-sizes - even for Nike bestseller models (like the Pegasus or Vomero 16s). So if you wear a US size 7, 8 or 9 you are out of luck.
During my quest, the stores shared that “no one” in India carries half-sizes and this was by design because the “company” has done surveys and concluded that customers in India do not need them!
One survey done is through an app that Nike stores suggest customers signup for, at checkout, to get an additional 10% discount. You enter profile data including shoe size via a drop-down menu — but the menu does not have UK half-sizes (i.e. US full sizes)!
If your data collection is flawed or skewed to support your hypothesis, are your results on customer needs reliable?
I also watched many Nike stores suggest to multiple customers (including my family) to try a shoe size larger than was necessary or to some women, a men’s shoe. But Nike says:
“Poorly fitting shoes can be a real pain. Chafing, blisters and calluses can distract you from moving freely. But finding the right fit isn’t always easy — research shows that up to 72 per cent of people are wearing the wrong size shoe, which is associated with foot pain and foot disorders.”
Hmm.
irony. n. the amusing or strange aspect of a situation that is very different from what you expect (Oxford Dictionary)
If you normally wear a size wide, you can simply forget it. Nike doesn’t do wide. Nor for that matter, most shoe manufacturers that sell in India. For some reason, they do not believe that people in India may have wider feet or need a wider shoe fit for better comfort.
With no visual aids available to discern shoe features, or access to a computer for customers to browse the Nike online site (as a Nike store in London allows), the customer is left to research shoe types, compare features and read reviews, on their own time and device, especially if the model they are keen on, is not available in-store.
The stores did advise me that I should check Nike online for US size 8 and if available, it would be shipped to me from Singapore after a week! (for some retro reason, the site is based out of Singapore.) I did try that as well, for 3 weeks in a row, only to be greeted each time with an“out of stock” message with no way to be waitlisted or notified or find alternates in the same size and color.
Hmm. Is it Nike’s strategy to split sizes and colors between its online and offline channels?
2. Color
Another flaw in the Nike India stores is the limited and unusual choice of colors stocked (black or orange), especially for women. Its stores do get customer feedback frequently on this issue, I learned, and the staff was almost embarrassed at the lack of choice in the store.
Unlike the experience of buying at Nike stores in the US and the UK, staff in India, are not trained to go out of their way to help you purchase what you need even if it is at another local store, or to offer to order it online for you to pick up later or deliver to your doorstep. They are set up to sell the limited stock and colors in their specific store and to let the customer do the heavy lifting of locating it elsewhere or going without.
When a company enables its distribution channels to make decisions, perhaps based on inventory costs, and independent of customer needs, does it believe enough in its product and strategy?
Nike spent $3.85B globally in advertising in 2022 to create aspirational needs with some powerful imagery.
Here is an acclaimed ad image featuring Indian female athletes. The video is not available on the official Nike India YT channel and strangely, its most recent content is from 2016.
Design and Marketing are levers that can get a customer’s attention. But a well-designed personal user experience can keep the customer coming back for more, turning them into a referral customer.
Business Snapshot
In 2022, Nike’s global revenue was approx. $46.71B, an increase of over two billion YoY. But in India, in FY21, Nike’s revenue dropped 27% to approx. $80M while its competitor, the German brand Puma, increased its sales by 68% to nearly $200M.
Consider this: The Indian market is estimated to be $27.89B in 2022 and growing at 7.82% CAGR to $40.64B by 2027.
Nike restructured its India operations in 2021, and split the markets between two different franchise operators while also maintaining 100 franchise outlets. How this helps them deliver a better customer experience across channels and partners in India, as envisioned in its FY22 letter to shareholders below, is unclear.
“We continue to bring to life our vision of giving consumers personalized digital experiences regardless of channel. We know consumers expect us to know them online or offline — and across the full array of monobrand stores, Nike Digital and our wholesale partners. In FY22, we were laser-focused on building a better shopping experience through online-to-offline services that drive growth.”
This may only refer to the North American market where Nike introduced a direct-to-consumer strategy but keep in mind that Nike shoes are priced the same for the Indian market and considered premium, ranging anywhere from $100 — $250 a pair.
If the price isn’t discounted for India, then the customer experience shouldn’t be either.
Contrast this with Apple which also runs its stores in India via a franchisee model. Its buying experience is nearly similar to that of its US/global stores and consistent across multiple franchisees in different cities. While there are differences, I will reserve that as a topic perhaps, for a future post.
Has Nike considered it needs a Niketown in India like at Oxford Circus?
3.Sustainability
Let’s consider sustainability as another factor of customer experience. In a Nike store in Boston, I could drop my old Nikes off to repurpose/recycle as part of Nike’s donation program. My Boston shoe drop box experience is explained here.
Fun fact: 66% of consumers are interested in a company’s sustainability practices (World Economic Forum) and 88% want brands to help them be more environmental and ethical. (Forbes)
But none of the Nike stores I visited in India reflect its sustainability message or share best practices for recycling or have drop-boxes for old shoes. The stores are extremely wary of any suggestion of leaving your old Nikes with them for proper recycling. The staff were also not aware of Nike recommended practices. Forbes points out:
“Brands use packaging that is desirable for the consumer at point of sale, but guilt-inducing at point of disposal.”
Meanwhile, online, Nike states, in caps, no less:
“MOVE TO ZERO IS NIKE’S JOURNEY TOWARDS ZERO CARBON AND ZERO WASTE …. COLLECTIVE ACTION STARTS WITH COLLECTIVE EDUCATION.”
It is no secret that, in rural India, many women and children walk for miles bare feet, to get water, go to school or work in the fields, presenting Nike with a wonderful opportunity to collaborate as shared in its statement.
Even a fledgling foundation like GreenSole, which sells upcycled shoes and has fewer resources than Nike, does a better job sharing how to send your shoes to them or how to responsibly discard them.
Conclusion
Relentless focus on customer needs, wants and feedback when done right serves a company’s growth.
The 2021 Salesforce report on “State of the Connected Customer” surveyed over 15,000 consumer and business buyers in 29 countries to conclude that customers have a universal dislike of being just a number to companies and that 71% of consumers have changed brands in the previous year. Further:
“91% would buy again after a positive experience.
71% have bought based on the quality of an experience.”
Nike sales channels in India are beautifully designed and marketed just like any other Nike store and website in the world. But the customer experience is transactional and revolves around selling what it has pre-decided to carry online and offline. What’s missing is delighting the customer and taking accountability for its experience across all channels.
So, your best bet for buying Nikes in the size and color you want? Get them overseas or stock an extra pair of your favorites when you visit India. Of course, if you are not a diehard fan, then the shoe world is your oyster.
As for Nike, my suggestion for fixing its customer experience is to“Just Do It.”
After an exhausting search for 3 months, I finally bought an Asics in the right shoe size for a family member (bonus: Asics ran a video gait analysis test in-store) and deferred my Nike replacement purchase. I am now looking for other options even as I keep my old Bowerman edition.
A friend in New York, hearing of my woes with Nike in India, has offered to gift me a pair of Hokas for Christmas - in the right size! I am tempted.
Did you find this interesting? Have you had a poor brand experience too?
“MOVE TO ZERO IS NIKE’S JOURNEY TOWARDS ZERO CARBON AND ZERO WASTE …. COLLECTIVE ACTION STARTS WITH COLLECTIVE EDUCATION.” Call me skeptical but when I hear such claptrap I think of a post-industrial world, people hungry and shivering in the dark becoming the perfect proles in need of a faux-benevolent government to manage things. But for me, the Chinese Communist Party paying U.S. basketball stars millions of dollars to induce poor kids in our inner cities to buy $240 designer sports shoes makes Nike a no-go. I, in my 9th decade (rounding up from 1948-2024), wear podiatrist prescribed & fitted Apex shoes for $138. Very comfortable, nice looking, durable. Skip the hype, buy value...and know that customer service is king.
Insightful piece-rewarding as always. As a runner this article means a bit more to me than others, but the title alone pumps me up beyond measure. Albeit for different reasons than those listed.
As a former fitness trainer and current human being with an awareness of our anatomical and political history, I understand first and foremost why those women walking barefoot into the fields are far better off than anyone wearing Nikes (or any non-barefoot shoes), and secondly that it is a grave mistake to give one’s attention, energy, and money to any big business.
That being said, if we happen to have the same goals, great!!