Sportonomics: What gear makers are doing with all that data from running apps

Eight years after hitting the market the Nike Plus run-tracking app boasts more than 20 million downloads worldwide, with its users logging more than 1.6 billion kilometers.
And while websites and software dedicated to storing run statistics proliferate, running manufacturers are hustling to integrate them into product offerings.
Adidas is currently re-vamping its MiCoach program, while industry newcomer Under Armour recently paid $150 million (U.S.) to acquire Map My Fitness, an online community that boast 80 million users and includes MapMyRun.com.
For shoe companies, embracing run-tracking technology makes sense. These apps give manufacturers valuable data on their customers both as athletes and as consumers. And they facilitate social networks that allow runners to compare and share run data with friends.
But after nearly a decade of Nike Plus and similar programs, what are shoe companies doing with all the information they’ve gleaned?
Experts say they’re not using it to bombard you with marketing messages, though in the long term apps like Nike Plus and MapMyRun can strengthen sales.
But in the short term, says Nike spokesperson Claire Rankine, programs like Nike Plus build brand loyalty while giving companies feedback they can use to improve future products.
“The payoff for us is athletes having access to something that allows them to perform better,” says Rankine, Nike Canada’s director of communications. “The data allows us to better inform runners on what they’re doing.”
While apps allow you to record exactly how many kilometers you’ve run in a given pair of shoes, and when a runner accesses their Nike Plus profile from a desktop computer, the page includes links to purchase merchandise. But online marketing consultant Trevor Turnbull says emailing a runner a reminder to buy new shoes constitutes a major breach of etiquette.
Instead, he says, the apps create sales and marketing value indirectly by creating a connection with the brand behind the app, and by encouraging users to run more.
“They’re trying to create a really intimate experience with the end consumer,” says Turnbull, president of the marketing firm WP Authorities. “People become loyal and attached to a brand because you’re creating value. It just happens to be the more you run, the more shoes you’re going to buy. That’s the spinoff.”
Apps that build communities of runners take on increasing importance as the competition for customers intensifies.
According to SportsOneSource, a sports retail analytics firm, Nike retains a 58.9 percent share of the U.S. running shoe market, followed by Asics with 13 percent and Adidas with just over 10 percent.
Under Armour has moved aggressively since entering the running shoe market, carving out a 2.3 percent share and marketing products like the SpeedForm Apollo, a premium runner that will retail for a relatively modest $100 (U.S.).
“This may very well be our next defining product,” Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank told investors during a January conference call. “I’m not ready to claim that it is, but it has that potential.”
Running apps don’t necessarily tie a runner to a brand — anyone with an iPhone can download and use Nike Plus, which displays real-time run metrics on the screen, or relays them to runners via earphones.
The popularity of these apps has exploded, experts say, because they connect with an increasingly wired, data-driven audience, while transforming running from a solitary act to a group pursuit.
“Fitness has become very social, so part of what makes these apps work is that you can share your results,” says SportsOneSource analyst Matt Powell. “There’s a feedback loop to the user, and there’s the gentle nudging to get out and run.”
Rankine says eight years of data from runs worldwide have helped Nike learn runners’ habits and how to influence them. She says, for example that Nike Plus stats indicate runners are relatively inactive on Fridays, so some Nike run clubs have organized Friday runs that end at pubs.
And she says concerns that Nike or another company keeps tabs on your mileage so they can send well-timed ads for new shoes are unfounded.
“There’s an estimated time the shoe will last, but the onus is on the athlete to look at the shoe and figure out if they’re falling apart,” she says. “If you reach 500 kilomtres on your (shoes) the one alert you probably will feel is from your feet, telling you it’s time.”