Nike taps Twitter and Instagram as part of drive to connect social and e-commerce
As its e-commerce business and revenues continue to grow, Nike has launched click-to-buy campaigns on Twitter and Instagram as part of its plans to connect social media with online sales.
The company announced yesterday (25 June) that its revenues rose by 13% to $7.8bn in its fourth quarter, ignoring currency fluctuations.
Revenues for its fiscal 2015 year increased by 14% to $30.6bn.
Speaking on a call with investors, CEO Mark Parker said the company’s growth was largely due to its commitment to innovation in the e-commerce and digital space.
“Consumers are increasingly connected and utilising premium, personal digital services,” he said. “Digital is an accelerator of growth that is shaping everything we do – from building deep connections to consumers with digital services and communities to driving rapid expansion of our e-commerce business.”
He said that the company is “constantly looking for new ways to seamlessly connect social platforms to commerce”.
Nike has launched curated product collections through Twitter, a new feature that allows celebrities and brands to create dedicated pages for recommended products and places.
The brand’s “LeBron Elite collection” page, for example, showcases Nike’s LeBron James line of products.
Earlier this quarter its Women’s business also launched Instagram Shop, a tool that allows users to click on a photo and be directed to the product page on Nike.com.
Nike.com saw 51% revenue growth in the company’s fourth quarter, and 55% in its full financial year after announcing in March that mobile traffic has exceeded desktop traffic on the site for the first time.
However, Parker added that Nike is “just scratching the surface of our potential in this area”.
Women’s category continues to outpace men’s
The company credited its “Better for it” marketing campaign, the opening of women’s-only stores and product innovation for 20% full-year growth in its women’s business, with revenues climbing to $6bn.
After announcing in March that its womenswear business was outpacing its men’s, sales in its women’s category also exceeded both men’s and total brand sales on Nike.com in the quarter.
Meanwhile, Western Europe revenues grew by 17% in the quarter and 21% over the year thanks not only to the Women’s category but also to the company’s Sportswear and Running businesses, with the UK cited as one of its most successful markets.
