Post by Britt Litjens

Interesting to see how big brands like Adidas and Nike turn World Cup momentum into D2C experiences. Before the tournament started, much of the attention went to their big brand campaigns. Who created the best commercial? Which teams are sponsored by Nike or Adidas? And what does that say about their brand strategy? But what happens after those campaigns is, from an e-commerce perspective, just as interesting. Because when emotion and demand peak, the real customer journey begins. A fan sees their team win, feels connected to the moment, and wants to buy the shirt. That creates some interesting questions: can they find the product immediately? Is it available when demand is at its highest? Are there relevant alternatives when stock runs out? During this tournament, I noticed differences in how Nike and Adidas handle this moment. The France shirt on Nike's (/FR)website is no longer available, while Adidas is offering more options around the Argentina shirt (/AT shop), including the possibility to buy worn shirts. Of course, there can be many reasons behind these differences: inventory decisions, production capacity, channel strategy or allocation choices. Scarcity effect strategy even? But it raises an interesting D2C question: when demand peaks, how do you make sure your digital experience is ready? Sports marketing wins the moment. E-commerce decides what happens next.