Nike will add a foot-scanning tool on its iOS app this summer that will measure the length, width and other dimensions of customers’ feet after they point a smartphone camera to their toes. The feature called ‘Nike Fit’ will then tell shoppers what size to buy each of its shoes in, which Nike hopes will get you in the right fit and cut down on costly returns as it seeks to sell more of its goods through its websites and apps.
But Nike will also get something it has never had before: a flood of data on the feet of regular people, a potential goldmine for the shoe maker, which says it will use the information to improve the design of its shoes. Nike mainly relies on the feet of star athletes to build its kicks.
“Nikes will become better and better fitting shoes for you and everyone else,” says Michael Martin, who oversees Nike’s websites and apps.
Nike won’t sell or share the data to other companies, Martin says. And he says shoppers don’t have to save the foot scans to their Nike accounts. But if they do, they’ll only have to scan their feet once and Nike’s apps, websites and stores will know your dimensions every time you need to buy sneakers. Workers at Nike stores will also be equipped with iPods to do the scanning, replacing those metal sizing contraptions.