The strategies: .Swoosh is the latest in Nike’s metaverse-related initiatives. Over the past year, it began filing trademarks for virtual goods, opened a virtual world on Roblox, and acquired virtual sneaker creator RTFKT.
- Some of the digital items Nike plans to sell on .Swoosh will unlock access to physical products or events like intimate conversations with athletes or designers.
- Nike athletes will have their own storefronts on .Swoosh, and individual creators may also be able to co-create products with Nike through community challenges and earn royalties on their designs.
- Apple’s plans are less clear; however, job listings from its Technology Development Group show that it aims to hire people to make content for a mixed-reality headset. For example, one position for a senior software engineer requires "experience in 3D graphics to drive building a simulation and synthetic data pipeline for machine learning training,” per Insider.
The big takeaway: Despite the current economic uncertainty, Nike and Apple clearly believe there’s a significant opportunity to build their own mixed-reality communities.
- While Nike and Apple have significant brand equity that may enable them to attract users, most brands would be better off investing some of their test-and-learn budgets (if the opportunity is still available) in readymade ecosystems such as Roblox.
- It is not yet clear whether the metaverse will ultimately resonate with most consumers. Still, it likely will provide some niche segments a place to socialize that retailers and marketers can use to show off products and sell virtual goods.