Back
Nike: Decoding Fan Emotion to Power Product, Retail, and Community
The Challenge
Nike needed real-time clarity on how athletes and everyday movers felt across the full experience—from product discovery and drops to purchase, usage, and community moments. Traditional research cycles couldn’t keep pace with seasonal launches, city activations, and member-only events, leaving friction in sizing, checkout, delivery, and post‑purchase engagement unaddressed.
What We Built
Nike gains behavioral truth fast—fueling product decisions, retail ops, and community programming that move with culture and reduce friction where it matters.
Our Solution
We deployed Lyrical sentiment and journey‑mapping engines to transform unsolicited conversations into actionable strategy. We analyzed 120,000+ narratives across social, forums, app reviews, run and training communities, and customer support threads—mapping emotion across four stages: Discovery, Purchase, Use, and Aftermath. We quantified friction with a Consumer Experience Friction Index (CxFi) weighted by frequency, reach, and engagement.
The Results
Nike results go here.
Identified Major Friction Points
Emotional Hotspots Uncovered
Strong positive themes around community runs, coaching content, and member exclusives; emotional frustration clustered around returns, sizing guidance, and surprise restocks.
Hidden Brand Equity Discovered
“Legacy performance stories” and “local club pride” surfaced as potent positives—fans responded to heritage silhouettes and city‑specific activations that tied product to purpose and place.
Strategic Recommendations Delivered
We advised journey simplification for drops (queue transparency, fit guidance, delivery ETA accuracy), loyalty mechanics that reward effort (streaks, challenges, city badges), and retail playbooks for express lanes and size lookup. Post‑launch sentiment improved by 22% and cart conversion on highlighted sizes rose 15%.
Why This Approach Works
Surveys reveal what people say; unsolicited narratives reveal what they feel. By analyzing 120,000+ natural conversations, Nike gains behavioral truth fast—fueling product decisions, retail ops, and community programming that move with culture and reduce friction where it matters.