Digital IQ Index®: Sportswear 2012

Key Takeaways

l2's digital iq index sportswear benchmarks the digital competence of 42 sportswear brands l2 registers 675 data points across four dimensions site digital marketing social media and mobile our aim is to provide a robust tool to diagnose digital strengths and weaknesses to help brands achieve greater return on investment with traditional brick and mortar retail growth flattered down across the u.s and western europe sportswear brands are turning to digital channels for sales growth and greater custody of their consumer base robust user reviews product customization and loyalty programs have garnered some brands year-over-year e-commerce growth of 30 to 50 percent nike who runs away with the number one spot in our inaugural digital iq index for sportswear trails only retailer foot locker and online sales while still a small percentage of sales online and other direct-to-consumer sales will likely be brand's primary growth channel in mature markets brands are also marrying digital with tv campaigns and endorsement contracts to amplify roi the sportswear industry is also turning to digital innovation to increase the perceived value of their products systems like nike plus and my coach from adidas helped justify the 149 and 70 dollar price tags on a nike plus fuel band and my coach connect heart rate monitor respectively the accompanying iphone apps and online dashboards enhance loyalty and allow brands to collect valuable consumer data in this inaugural sportswear study we found brands that are strong on mobile product customization emerging platforms and integrated cross-channel campaigns landed in the genius or gifted class bigger is mostly better billion dollar plus brands such as adidas nike and the north face outperform smaller brands suggesting the digital does not provide the level playing field many pundits suggest under armour landed at number six punching above its weight class coupling strong e-commerce with creative social media campaigns including the ultimate intern contest and what's beautiful campaigns lacoste at number 10 boasts a facebook page more than 10 million strong finally burton at number 11 offers consumers one of the strongest sites in the industry and top-notch mobile commerce members can download the full report at l2thinktank.com