Nike puts a Web3 storefront up to the test

The Future. Nike is opening a Web3 shopping platform, dubbed dotSwoosh, that will evolve into a “community-driven” store to sell virtual shoes and clothes that will also act as tokens to physical experiences and IRL fits. Having already tasted some of the success from its RTFKT acquisition, the new platform is built to be very user-friendly for those new to NFTs… which could prove to be a key way to get people on the blockchain without having to think of any of the complicated, behind-the-scenes tech know-how.

NFTs, but make it comfort
Nike is unboxing its dotSwoosh site.

• According to Fast Company, dotSwoosh will eventually become the company’s official destination for buying virtual sneakers and other apparel used in the metaverse or video games.
• Nike will feature designs made by in-house designers and also community-sourced designers that win branded contests.
• The creators from the community will be able to share in the sales revenue thanks to the platform being built on the Polygon blockchain.

At the moment, dotSwoosh is just a “barebones” website where users can register for an account starting on November 18, while the first collection won’t drop until early next year.

A mainstream fit
The site will also focus on the virtual goods having a real-world utility, like NFTs acting as tokens for “access to the preorder of a physical shoe that comes in several months, or a virtual shoe that one day opens access to a token gated community of Nike designs so you can vote on [future] colorways for physical shoes,” according to Ron Faris, head of Nike’s Virtual Studios division. Faris ran the SNKRS app for the past seven years.

A key aspect of dotSwoosh is that it’s meant to be easy to use, essentially being targeted to those that have avoided NFTs because of their relatively high barrier to entry. All sales will be in USD (not a variety of cryptocurrencies). And Nike opted for “.nike” instead of “.com” to own the domain and protect users from scammers.