Footwear giant Nike is trying out a new business playbook to meet the needs of brand-loyal consumers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"We've seen a lot of success digitally," Heidi O'Neill, president of direct to consumer at Nike, told Cheddar. "We're leveraging the strength of our digital ecosystem to create millions of connections with consumers around the world who want to stay healthy and maintain their physical and mental wellbeing."
The company is offering its Nike Training Club Premium subscription service for free. The app offers workout sessions with "master trainers" teaching everything from yoga to weight training.
O'Neill said Nike has focused on putting out workouts that people can do indoors.
"We're publishing all sorts of workouts, but we're paying real close attention to the workouts that people care about now, workouts such as stretching, mindfulness, big workouts for small spaces," she said.
Nike is also streaming workouts for free on YouTube. A recent video featuring Kirsty Godso, a New Zealand native and fitness trainer, drew 800,000 viewers. She's set to lead another class on Saturday.
Last week, 10,000 million people around the world did a workout with Nike, according to O'Neill.
As for its retail locations, Nike is piloting contactless pick-up and contactless pay at Chinese stores and plans to bring those same conveniences to U.S. stores, which have been closed since mid-March.
To some degree, O'Neill said, changes to consumer preferences could stick around after economies reopen.
"What we're seeing in China is that some of consumers' preferences and behaviors during the crisis actually don't change," she said. "Consumers have a new expectation and love for the convenience of working out at home. Consumers are staying online and shopping digitally even as stores reopen."
Merriam-Webster has fully revised its popular “Collegiate” dictionary with over 5,000 new words. They include “petrichor,” “dumbphone” and “ghost kitchen.” Also “cold brew,” “rizz,” “dad bod,” “hard pass,” “cancel culture” and more.
YouTube will offer creators a way to rejoin the streaming platform if they were banned for violating COVID-19 and election misinformation policies that are no longer in effect.
Lukas Alpert of MarketWatch explores how networks, brands, and ad buyers absorb the shockwaves when late‑night show hosts are suddenly cut — and brought back.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
