Nike Ends Two Year Pilot Program With Amazon

Nike Ends Two Year Pilot Program With Amazon

On the latest episode of the E-Commerce Retail Briefing podcast:

Nike is breaking up with Amazon. The company announced they were ending their pilot program that began in 2017 to focus on their efforts of selling directly to its customers.

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Nike Will No Longer Sell Products On Amazon

Nike will stop selling its merchandise directly to Amazon. The abrupt halt will end a pilot program that Nike and Amazon launched in 2017. At the time, Nike joined Amazon’s brand registry program in hopes the move would give them more control over Nike goods sold on the e-commerce site, more data on their customers, and added power to remove fake Nike listings. But Nike reportedly struggled to control the Amazon marketplace. Third-party sellers whose listings were removed would pop up again under a different name and official Nike products had fewer reviews and received worse positioning on the site.

For Nike, the split comes amid a massive overhaul of its retail strategy. It also follows the hiring of former eBay executive, John Donahoe, as its next CEO. The move signaled the company is more focused on its e-commerce sales and selling more directly to consumers. A Nike spokesperson said, “As part of Nike’s focus on elevating consumer experiences through more direct, personal relationships, we have made the decision to complete our current pilot with Amazon Retail. We will continue to invest in strong, distinctive partnerships for Nike with other retailers and platforms to seamlessly serve our consumers globally.”