Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, develops and manufactures footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. It is the largest brand involved in sports business with the company famous for its lucrative marketing contracts with sports stars throughout the US and the world.
In addition to their own brand, Nike operates Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Air Force 1, Nike Dunk, Foamposite, Nike Skateboarding, and has subsidiaries including Brand Jordan, Hurley International and Converse.
Although Nike is predominantly a manufacturer, they operate their own retail store – Niketown.
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Website
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Rewards Program
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Customer Service & Returns
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Shipping
Summary
Nike branded products are readily available through many retail online stores so shoppers should carefully consider which is the best outlet from where to buy your Nike product. Buying Nike direct ironically may not always deliver the best price, but will certainly provide the largest variety particularly when taking advantage of customizations.
Website (4/5)
We really like their customization tool available for certain products. We looked at Men’s basketball shoes – the Kyrie 1 id – and found we could change not just the general color, but also the color of the mesh overlay, choose the outsole, add speckles and even personalise them with our own name or message.
Membership program (1/5)
Nike membership is not really a rewards program but seems simply to be a way to harvest your email address. Nevertheless, membership is free so there doesn’t seem to be any reason NOT to take up membership.
Members get:
- Access to exclusive releases and limited products.
- Free returns on all your Nike.com orders.
- Complimentary shoe trials, pant hemming and more in our Brand Experience stores.
- Nike+ services, benefits and promotions.
Customer service and returns (3/5)
Given that Nike Membership is free, all customers have effective free returns through pre-paid shipping labels. Returns are usually valid for 30 days though promotions and special products may carry different returns policies.
Customer service reports vary but Nike.com has received its fair share of criticism for its practice of falsely stating inventory levels, particularly at busy times like pre-Christmas.
If a website states that a product is available and a customer buys it – in our opinion – it should actually be available. Nike are hardly Robinson Crusoe in this regard but it’s a practice Stay Home Shopping abhors
Shipping (2/5)
Standard ground shipping starts at $8 with free shipping available on orders of $75 or more. As per usual, deals are often available during sales and by using coupons.
Thanks for sharing this review, I am looking into buying a whole new set of sporting equipment for me and my kids, I want to go with Nike because of the quality. I would have assumed that the products would be cheapest when buying directly from Nike, so thanks a lot for sharing this and informing us with the truth !
I’ve got to say that I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Nike running shoes. When I was in high school I used to love to wear their high tops, they were so awesome! Nowadays I need a different type of sports shoe; but still, because of the quality I remember of Nike products throughout the decades, they’re still a favorite choice with me.
I truly agree with that. Have tried the Puma’s, the Adidas’s and the Reebok’s of the world all through my lifetime, but I keep coming back to Nike. The quality and designs are unmatched, in my opinion. They are my go to shoes whenever I need to prove a point on the field :), and my Nike’s never ditches me.
Pure gold!!!
Nice to know about the experience of buying online through Nike. I’m yet to buy anything online through their official online store. 2.5… Damn! Don’t know if I now also should go with buying online or not. Honestly, I don’t really care about the rewards program, as I won’t be a frequent buyer. Only things which matters to me are the shoes, shipping speed and replacement policy. And I think with the kind of name they have, they should do pretty fine in those areas. No?