Foot Locker
Starting as a specialty retail store of the American F. W. Woolworth Company, the first Foot Locker dates all the way back to 1974 California. The F. W. Woolworth Company found success in the athletic-wear business and injected numerous stores into the at-the-time trending malls of America. Foot Locker proved to be the most successful of its sibling-brands, and eventually its parent company rebranded as Foot Locker Inc. in 2001. Foot Locker eventually expanded globally and became a household name in the United States. However, as of recent it seems the shifting perspective of malls has been biting into Foot Locker’s potential income. Subsequently brand image has become dated, but luckily the trend of experiential retail shines a promising light for the brand.
THE PROBLEM
Foot Lockers’ target audience is losing interest in going to brick and mortar locations.
THE ASK
Revitalize Foot Locker under the eyes of their target demographic by utilizing their existing strengths.
The Context
Malls are Dying
Rise of online shopping
Preference towards department stores
Shrinking middle class
Malls were* Dying
Traffic was up 12% and 10% on average at “top-tier” luxury malls and “non-top-tier” malls, respectively, in 2022 over 2019 levels.
…so what is drawing people back in to malls like Westfield Valley Fair?
Experiential Retail
From moisturizing your skin at Sephora, to washing your hands at Lush, to sucking up crumbs with a vacuum at Dyson — experiences are powerful! Malls like Westfield have realized the social aspect that people are craving and are adjusting appropriately.
Consumers love sampling before buying and free trials so much because the non-committal nature of these things. These means allow users to try a product — meaning they are one step closer to putting the item in their cart as they have it tangibly. Most importantly, experiences create memories, this ties the consumer with a product on an emotional level.
The Audience
Meet the Gen-Z Mall-goer
- 73% of Gen Z shoppers said they visited a mall in the past month — making them the most frequent mall-goers out of any generation.
- Gen-Z is showing a tendency to be more price agnostic — but are very discriminating about brands.
- Two-thirds of Gen Z consumers also say they go to malls for the social aspect.
But Why Foot Locker?
Ideal Audience Overlap
Note that Foot Locker’s mission statement on their website is: “Foot Locker, Inc. is a leading footwear and apparel retailer that unlocks the ‘inner sneakerhead’ in all of us.” Therefore Foot Locker’s brand identity should overlap with sneakerhead ideals. Similarly, Gen-Z making up the majority of the sneakerhead population means Foot Locker should cater towards Gen-Z ideals. Additionally, 19% of Foot Locker’s website traffic are Gen-Z.
Chance to Distinguish Themselves
Foot Locker being a household name in the United States already gives it an advantage when creating awareness. However, with the numerous other athletic shoe retailers Foot Locker should also be distinct in the means it presents itself. This is where our big idea will come into play.
DTC Retailer for a Plethora of Brands
Brands like Nike and Adidas, and more recently Hoka and On have come to trust Foot Locker to sell their products. This diverse portfolio of brands provides different creative avenues when reaching more specific segments of our demographic.
Existing Stake Within Malls
Foot Locker closing approximately 400 mall-based storefronts by 2026 may have been an overstep. The perspective for why these mall-based stores are underperforming may have been misconstrued. Malls are no longer simply shopping destinations. Malls doing well have shifted to entertainment destinations — places to socialize rather than just to shop. Additionally, Foot Locker has the opportunity to create specified retail experiences based on demographical data of these mall-based stores.
Human Insight
Why go grocery shopping when you can just get the groceries delivered to you?
Why go to the gym when you can just do an at-home workout?
Why meet up with friends when you can just see their statuses on social apps?
Technology has turned us into homebodies, as because of it, going outside is becoming less and less necessary. However, even Gen-Z—the phone-always-equipped, social media status updating, e-dating generation—has realized the importance of going outside to socialize. The original concept of malls used to be compelling enough to facilitate socializing for past generations, however times have changed.
In a technological world humans need more compelling excuses to go outside.
Task at hand: Showcase Foot Locker as a place to hangout.
the
BIG
idea
community-centric
Utilize existing geodemographic data and understanding of Gen-Z audience to update storefronts.
shoe buying
Utilize diversity of shoe brands to appropriately segment mall-based stores.
experience
Utilize experiential retail to gain customer interest and patronage.
The Big Idea In Action
Mall of America, Bloomington, MN
Located in the lush greenery of Minnesota where outdoor running is a prevalent sport amongst the locals.
Create a small sprint track for customers to try shoes on — this will be the heart of the retail experience
Convert the store to hold mostly shoes of pertaining to running such as On, Hoka, or select lines of larger brands.
Encourage customers to try shoes on while running and have workers track their time. Host races for in-store prizes.
Host out-of-store community running events.
Sun Valley Mall, Concord, CA
Located in the Bay Area, the home of the immensely popular Golden State Warriors.
Create a small hardwood basketball court to try on shoes and for events to be held on — this will be the heart of the retail experience.
Convert the store to hold mostly shoes of pertaining to basketball culture.
Encourage customers to shoot some hoops and run around on the basketball court. Host a shooting contest for prizes.
Host out-of-store community trivia nights to win prizes. Ideas include Warriors trivia or “Name that sneaker”.
Marketing Funnel
Conceptualizing the actions needed at each stage to fully implement the idea.
AWARENESS & CONSIDERATION
Consumer Mindset
“What stores offer shoes? I want to try on some shoes, but don’t know where to go. I bet it doesn’t really matter since all shoe stores are the same.”
Jobs to Get Done
It’s time to let the world know Foot Locker is making the adjustments. They’re no longer the outdated mall shop with the cashiers dressed as referees. Create notice of the stores’ rebranding by inviting social media figures to view the updated locations. Since the big idea revolves around segmentation based partly on geolocation, influencers chosen should align with the segmented audience. Look for “local celebrities” of sorts.
Touchpoints
Social media campaign, Influencer marketing
CONVERSION
Consumer Mindset
“Okay there are a bunch stores where I can buy shoes so why shop at Foot Locker?” or “I’m at the mall hanging out, but there’s nothing really to do. Is Foot Locker really worthwhile to check out?”
Jobs to Get Done
Drawing consumers to actually go to the stores is the conversion. After the influencer marketing, the digital and OOH ads ads should be centered around reminding the consumer that shoes are meant to be tried on. You can’t try on shoes online, otherwise this concept wouldn’t be worthwhile!
The convenience provided by the locality of the store to the segmented target audience should aid in conversion. However, we still have to further encourage and draw consumers into the store using in-store marketing. Allowing the potential costumers to clearly see the experience the store provides is vital.
Touchpoints
Personalized ads on social platforms and web browsers, In-store marketing, Local OOH ads
LOYATY & ADVOCACY
Consumer Mindset
“Foot Locker’s stores are dope, and so is their brand!”
Jobs to Get Done
Now that they’ve experienced the brick and mortars, further the connection between Foot Locker and customer. Host out-of-store events such as a sneakerhead trivia night or an outdoor run for loyal patrons to possibly bring friends to. Accompany this with responsive and active social media presence to let the customers know they are being heard.
Touchpoints
Out-of-store events, Social media hashtag campaign