Himanish Goel
Foot Locker
Sole Story
Discover. Choose. Belong.
Style that speaks your story.
Style that speaks your story.
Role = UX Strategist and Product Designer
Tools = Figma and Photoshop
Project Type = Independent Study
OVERVIEW
Foot Locker is a footwear and apparel retailer with international presence. They are primarily a mall retailer, and they were the top footwear retailer till early 2000’s. Foot Locker brand continues to survive but the retailer has recently been struggling to attract customers into its stores.
The company’s total revenue has shrunk by 8.8% in the last two years (from $8.75B in 2023 to $8.0B in 2025).
BACKGROUND
The global sneakers market is projected to reach $170 billion by 2033, reflecting the growth of sneaker culture worldwide. Within the sneaker culture, there is a growing culture of sneakerheads, people who collect and trades sneakers as a hobby. The rise of sneakerheads can be attributed to the growth of athlete endorsed shoes in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
- 95% of sneakerheads view their sneakers as an integral part of their identity.
- 66% of consumers purchase sneakers two times a year or less, but sneakerheads tend to buy more frequently, often seeking limited editions and collaborations.
STRATEGY
Position Foot Locker as a reliable source for shoe resales in the footwear market by appealing to sneakerheads. Foot Locker is unique positioned to bring back real stories through drops and digital experiences. Foot Locker can leverage its legacy to reinvent itself as a trusted and reliable partner in trading shoes.
THE SOLUTION
Foot Locker - Sole Story
Foot Locker is uniquely positioned to bring back real stories through a new digital experience. Sneaker lovers are choosing customizable options for personal expression. Their future is full of hunger of sneakers beyond sports. Sneakers are increasingly becoming a form of self-expression, identity, and cultural connection, and not just any piece of performance gear now.
Foot Locker is uniquely positioned to bring back real stories through a new digital experience. Sneaker lovers are choosing customizable options for personal expression. Their future is full of hunger of sneakers beyond sports. Sneakers are increasingly becoming a form of self-expression, identity, and cultural connection, and not just any piece of performance gear now.
- Making lifestyle sneakers alone worth $31B in U.S. sales in 2024
- Which beats the fact that Foot Locker has an opportunity that they can tap into, for gaining their brand relevancy and brand awareness once again.
INSIGHT
We believe in seeing stories of icons and trendsetters come to life and inspiring a new you.
BUSINESS IMPACT
The global resale market for sneakers I expected to be $30 billion by 2030. Assuming Foot Locker is able to get 10% market share in the next five years, there total sales will skyrocket to $11 billion from $8 billion in 2025, growth of 38% from 2025. In addition, the growth in the shoe collector market will help them create brand cachet among the young cohort and sneakerheads.
STRAT LINE
Where every sneaker has a voice, and every step is personal.
MARKET SIZE
The market size for resale of shoes is expected to grow to $30 billion in 2030 and is expected to be around $10 billion in 2021.
Product Outcome - Foot Locker Sole Story
Product Description
We are proposing the implementation of a new digital experience called “Sole Story”. The new digital experience will focus on the sneakerhead, sneaker enthusiasts who collect and trade shoes, and have knowledge about shoe collections.
The growth of the shoe collection can be traced to the launch of Air Jordan in 1984 with collaboration of Nike and basketball superstar, Michael Jordan. Over the years, the shoe collection market has grown exponentially.
The shoe manufacturers have shoe drops every month with a limited number of shoes. Initially the shoes were available on a first come-first served basis but the use of bots led to cornering of shoes by a select few. Thus, they have now transitioned to a lottery system where registered users for a particular shoe drop have a chance at winning a new shoe drop.
Given the limited number of shoes available and increasing number of sneakerheads, there is a thriving resale market for shoes. The shoer resale market is expected to grow from $10 billion in 2021to $30 billion in 2030, per StockX estimates. As the market has grown, so has the pricing of shoes with limited availability. For example, in April 2023, a pair of shoes worn by Michael Jordan in the final NBA season sold for $2.2 million.
Foot Locker can leverage its status as a leader footwear retailer by improving the digital experience. This will create brand awareness and create new markets for Foot Locker. But, how will it do that? Through the implementation of new features, such as:
We are proposing the implementation of a new digital experience called “Sole Story”. The new digital experience will focus on the sneakerhead, sneaker enthusiasts who collect and trade shoes, and have knowledge about shoe collections.
The growth of the shoe collection can be traced to the launch of Air Jordan in 1984 with collaboration of Nike and basketball superstar, Michael Jordan. Over the years, the shoe collection market has grown exponentially.
The shoe manufacturers have shoe drops every month with a limited number of shoes. Initially the shoes were available on a first come-first served basis but the use of bots led to cornering of shoes by a select few. Thus, they have now transitioned to a lottery system where registered users for a particular shoe drop have a chance at winning a new shoe drop.
Given the limited number of shoes available and increasing number of sneakerheads, there is a thriving resale market for shoes. The shoer resale market is expected to grow from $10 billion in 2021to $30 billion in 2030, per StockX estimates. As the market has grown, so has the pricing of shoes with limited availability. For example, in April 2023, a pair of shoes worn by Michael Jordan in the final NBA season sold for $2.2 million.
Foot Locker can leverage its status as a leader footwear retailer by improving the digital experience. This will create brand awareness and create new markets for Foot Locker. But, how will it do that? Through the implementation of new features, such as:
Investor Onboarding
This case study focuses on a novice investor. When the user downloads the Robinhood app, they will be guided through a series of questions to understand their investing experience and their investing goals. Based on their selection, the user will be initiated to the investment learning module.
Introduction to Equalizer
We created an application for first time Gen Z investors. The application is called Equalizer. The application gives them an opportunity to learn and grow their investing knowledge by simulating various outcomes based on their stock purchases. It reflects returns over multiple time periods using play money of $500.
Summary
The first screen, after the introduction of Equalizer app is the summary screen with a selection of recommended stocks. These stocks are recommended based on investing goals selected in the sign-up process. On this screen, the user can compare multiple stocks, buy stocks, or continue to review community favorite stocks.
Community
Given the importance of community of Gen Z, a community page has been included to highlight the current community favorites. The investor is given the option of comparing and buying stocks from the top community favorites.
Place Order
The investor can select a stock and place an order using the play money of $500. Based on the stock selection, stock returns over multiple time frames including 6-month, 12 month and 18-month scenarios are displayed. This gives the prospective investor insight about how investing in the stock market can be used to create long term wealth while gamifying the investing experience using different stocks and time periods.
Market Research
The application also allows Market Research on a particular stock to understand key stock movements points. The research screen shows the important news on a particular date to show the impact on the stock price on that day. Investors can also click on “More News” to get more details about that event in the following screens.
Finbot - AI Chatbot
The app also has an AI chatbbot tool, called Finbot, to guide the investor. Investors can ask Finbot questions about finance, investing, and compare stocks. The Finbot does not recommend stocks though.
The navigation bar at the bottom of the screen includes quick access buttons for placing order, accessing community page and stock performance over multiple time periods. Stock performance over multiple time periods reflect potential returns the investor could have earned by purchasing a particular stock.
Product Outcome - Social Connect
Social Connection
Given the impact of social media influencers on Gen Z, we are planning weekly interactions with famous influencers to reach out to them. In addition, the self-learning portal will have short videos to acquaint first time investors with basics of finance and investing. This integration of self-paced learning plus influencer interaction will help educate first time investors and prepare Gen Z for managing their wealth in the coming years.
Process & Reflection
PROCESS
Research on the sneaker industry was an eye opener for me. I never realized that the buying, collecting and trading of shoes has grown into such a massive industry from its modest beginnings in the 80’s. I guess shoe collection seems attainable with a small investment. I never envisioned the humble sneaker to be a collection item! While researching, I learnt that there are shoes which sell for six figures and a few rare ones have even fetched seven figure sums. Nevertheless, it was a learning experience.
I was involved in all pieces of this independent study project from screen prototyping, mobile app development, strategy, and final case study. The project took many twists and turns, and the final strategy presents actionable recommendations for Foot Locker.
Research on the sneaker industry was an eye opener for me. I never realized that the buying, collecting and trading of shoes has grown into such a massive industry from its modest beginnings in the 80’s. I guess shoe collection seems attainable with a small investment. I never envisioned the humble sneaker to be a collection item! While researching, I learnt that there are shoes which sell for six figures and a few rare ones have even fetched seven figure sums. Nevertheless, it was a learning experience.
I was involved in all pieces of this independent study project from screen prototyping, mobile app development, strategy, and final case study. The project took many twists and turns, and the final strategy presents actionable recommendations for Foot Locker.
REFLECTION
Revitalizing a legacy brand has its own challenges. The brand which once defined the footwear market is now a shadow of its past successes. It has been unable to keep up with the times and changing trends. Even though Foot Locker has a huge physical footprint, there is a diminishing awareness among the new generation of sneaker buyers.
My research and product ideas were focused on making it relevant for the current generation of sneaker buyers. Foot Locker has the tools; it just needs to reinvent and leverage its brand recognition to create a market for itself. Rolling over and playing dead is not an option.
Revitalizing a legacy brand has its own challenges. The brand which once defined the footwear market is now a shadow of its past successes. It has been unable to keep up with the times and changing trends. Even though Foot Locker has a huge physical footprint, there is a diminishing awareness among the new generation of sneaker buyers.
My research and product ideas were focused on making it relevant for the current generation of sneaker buyers. Foot Locker has the tools; it just needs to reinvent and leverage its brand recognition to create a market for itself. Rolling over and playing dead is not an option.
Finance is no longer just for the insiders.