Source: ASICS Global – The Official Corporate Website for ASICS and Its Affiliates
A few weeks ago I discussed why traditional retail needs to be wary of brands. I stated:
Underpaid and overworked are the tenets of retail. This leads to higher turnover. Brand stores pay more than traditional retail. This almost always means that customer service is going to be better. I’ve been writing that the only way to gain and maintain new customers is via customer engagement. The customer has to have a reason to walk into your store. In urban accounts this isn’t the case because shoes are almost always meant for looks and fashion… However, customers don’t really know where to begin when looking for the “right” shoe vs what looks good. This new tool from ASICS provides a service that caters to a more performance minded consumer and has the potential, if marketed correctly, to inspire new visits by those looking for more than just the next dope release.
Why Traditional Retail Should Be Nervous | ASICS Continues to Innovate their In-Store Service
In this post I discussed the incubator ASICS established to find tech that would improve their company. Their gait analysis service derived from their own tech division, but the company just disclosed that they’ve made a larger investment into tech company Curv Labs based in Toronto, Canada (The 6 is winning right now!).
ASICS has been promoting the development of solution services that focuses on motion analysis technology, including its own running form analysis application- the ASICS RUNNING ANALYZER. This investment into Curv Labs is intended to further deepen and broaden ASICS’ motion analysis services via joint development targeting for various sports categories.
Curv Labs brings gait analysis to mobile devices. Did you catch that?
Gait Analysis to mobile devices? You probably didn’t catch it because the point about mobile devices is in the source article prior to the quote above. But still…
Connected Fitness, Fitbit, Nike+, the digital fitness communities that brands have been searching for are all attempting to engage the consumer in a way that will move them into their DTC line of fire. While meal prep or motivational tools inside of apps are fine, the engagement on those devices ends just as quickly as they begin. Right now you can see more Nike+ running posts on social media, but for those people who are often embarrassed about going into stores the idea that ASICS will be able to utilize mobile analysis to measure gait has immeasurable benefits.
This is something to pay attention to.
