An analysis of website traffic can help with discussions on DTC and brand health. I’ve chosen sneaker industry websites, brands and retailers, with two exceptions. StockX and Stadium Goods are included in this breakdown to show how Nike is the tide that lifts all boats. The other brand website growth speaks towards the in-store observation section where I talked about how some brands are performing well, but aren’t moving towards resale My follow up is at the end and it includes a bold prediction.
Website traffic breakdown
(October 2020 – April 2021 Growth) M= Million/K=Thousand
- StockX – 24.8M increased 32.26M
- Hibbett.com – 4.95M increased to 8.8M
- Footlocker.com – 14.4M increased to 18.07M
- Finishline.com – 13.8M increased to 17.01M
- Stadiumgoods.com – 2.75M increased to 4.06M
- DTLR.com – 1.2M increased to 3.88M
- Nike.com – 98.1M increased to 107.38M
- adidas.com – 20.3M increased to 21.19M
- Saucony.com – 950K increased to 1.47M
- Reebok.com – 4.85M increased to 5.36M
- Puma.com – 17M increased to 20.68M
- Asics.com – 6.05M increased to 8.38M
- Underarmour.com – 9.55M slight decrease to 9.47M
- Vans.com – 6.7 M increased to 8.56M
- New Balance – 5.65M slight increase to 5.79M
Website traffic Analysis
Nike and StockX showed the greatest rate of growth for the websites listed. In my discussions I explain that resale is an indicator of brand health. I also explained that retail dives are required to establish the direction a brand is headed. The brands that showed significant growth in reaching their consumers show an increase of website traffic. A quick look at quarterly reports by brands and the direct traffic to those sites is an indicator that the brand has found a way to engage their consumer.
Since Nike dominates resale, it stands to reason that as Nike goes, StockX and other sneaker resale sites go. This makes Nike Refurbished and interesting player. It also means that a StockX IPO should only take place as the brand begins to highlight more categories beyond sneakers. If you consider that Nike at any point can break any business connected to it, would you want to really invest heavily in a business that doesn’t have control over the driving force of that revenue?
The website traffic growth for retail indicates that those chains benefited from a bevy of releases by Nike. I’ve stated that Nike’s focus on Air Jordan 1s has broken resale. Consider that during the post quarantine reports I completed last year my sales were:
- July 400 sales
- August 767 sales
- September 696 sales
- October 507 sales
My average number of sales for January to April 19th are 543/month. That falls between September and October’s numbers and relies heavily on Nike, where previous reports included brands like adidas, Vans or even some Reebok. As retail outlets have tightened guidelines on resale without accounting for how they will sell the shoes themselves, they created a market where resellers, who are looked at as evil, can no longer provide arbitrage assistance to retailers. To be fair this falls onto consumers and the other brands. While Nike does use some advertisement, their work on content is masterful. Nike has placed a considerable emphasis on engaging the consumer. Other brands have come to rely on IG, YouTube influencers, and TikTok. The hope is that the engagement on those channels will inspire CTR. The reality is Nike’s work within their digital apps and CMS has created an organic funnel. The News.Nike.com website is at 1.5 million visits a month and the engagement on that site is all organic, which is amazing. Brands and retailers aren’t placing an emphasis on building their own eco-systems. In comparison, FootLocker.com’s Search traffic isn’t organic. It’s 50/50 organic and paid. It’s hard for me to make this connection, but arbitrage has always been a factor at retail, even before it was popular and reselling became a game played by old White men and their sons because Gary Vee told them to hustle. Wen you go back to the early 00s resellers helped to liquidate products. FootLocker at one time had their own outlets. They eventually moved away from that as they developed their online presence, but resale was a bonus for retailers.
This is an important point, that isn’t discussed in the adjustments being made by retail to ward off the excessive purchase of Jordan 1s, Dunks or the occasional release of a coveted Air Jordan 4. I’m not trying to say retail shouldn’t have things in place for resale, I’m stating that the problems with resale now hurt stores because resale has moved away from sneaker culture into the mainstream and Nike has to do something about this.
The chart above is shouting at you. Of all of the brands and retailers I listed in my website traffic search, the websites that saw the most growth are all powered by Nike.
Nike’s supply chain is broken. I’ve taken several trips to their doors and the options in the stores are extremely limited. Like FootLocker and City Gear, the footwear is redundant. When I was able to get into the Nike Employee Store prior to the quarantine the options were plentiful. In their store now, the redundancy of styles has led to a serious slowdown in foot traffic (I’m writing this in May and some of it may sound counter to my excitement about Nike’s foot traffic earlier in these reports). I think Nike is playing a very difficult game of Edit to Amplify. The reliance on a few styles is leading to a consumer who only looks at one style of shoe. Nike is backing itself into a corner.
This leads me to a scary prediction for all retail tied to Nike, FootLocker and its 3000 plus doors included… No one is safe.
Please write me with any questions or requests you might have. I can break down the data by request and answer any questions via a consultation. Thanks for purchasing this report and I hope it helps you with some decision making in your business.
Sneaker Resale Report & Analysis 1st Third 2021 January to April 19th – Part 1
Sneaker Resale Report & Analysis 1st Third 2021 January to April 19th – Part 2
Sneaker Resale Report & Analysis 1st Third 2021 January to April 19th 2021 – Part 3
Sneaker Resale Report & Analysis 1st Third 2021 | Top 10 Sneakers Sold – Part 4
Sneaker Resale Report & Analysis 1st Third 2021 | Website Traffic Analysis – Part 5