Nike runs shoppable Snapchat lens to support women's soccer

Brief:

Nike this week sponsored its first shoppable Snapchat Lens for apparel as part of its campaign around the U.S. Soccer Women's National Team, which is preparing to play in the FIFA Women's World Cup next month in France, Front Office Sports reported.
The image-messaging app's augmented reality (AR) feature on May 9 let fans decorate their Snapchat selfies with virtual soccer jerseys and Nike's "Just do it" slogan.
It also let them tap their phone screens to virtually try on the jerseys and visit Nike.com, where they could buy authentic team merchandise ahead of the tournament.

Insight:

While Nike's shoppable Snapchat Lens marks the first time that the athleticwear giant has sold apparel in the social app, the brand is no stranger to direct-to-consumer sales on Snapchat. Last year, Nike was the first brand to sell a product directly through Snapchat with a special pre-release promotion of its Air Jordan III "Tinker" shoe. The shoes sold out in 23 minutes among attendees of an exclusive Nike event after the NBA All-Star game. Nike gave them the chance to scan a special Snap code with the app's camera to place an order for same-day delivery.

Since then, a number of brands have made direct sales through Snapchat, including Adidas, beauty supplier Coty, gaming company King and STX Entertainment. Snapchat in August expanded its shoppable AR capabilities to let a broader group of brands and influencers sell products directly through the app. Musical artist Nicki Minaj was the first creator to post an AR lens with a shop button to promote her latest album.

E-commerce has become a larger priority for digital media platforms like Snapchat's parent company Snap as they seek to diversify their revenue away from advertising and toward direct sales. Google's YouTube this week started testing a feature to let marketers show product prices and recommendations beneath videos and let viewers buy merchandise. Previously, the company introduced shoppable ads on Google Images, letting marketers show multiple products available for sale within a sponsored ad among image search results. Instagram in March began testing a native checkout feature to let mobile users complete and track purchases without having to leave the app, removing significant friction that previously may have driven away potential customers.