Just 55 minutes after it opened for reservations of the Light Gray Yeezy Boost 750, the Adidas Originals confirmed closed app sales to mark the quickest sellout yet, as reported by Footwear News. Led by the anxiety to get the products ahead of the June 11 release date, customers had the opportunity to try to reserve a pair of sneakers at four p.m. EDT Wednesday.
Those who couldn’t reserve this model on the app will be able to buy them this weekend in the United Kingdom at £260 and in the United States at $350. It has been rumored that the shoes’ gum sole glows in the dark.
The brand took on Twitter to announce the app was open and less than a minute later in tweeted that all the available pairs had been reserved. The Light Gray Yeezy 750 will be released on the Adidas website and in select retailers worldwide on Saturday.
The best way to know when reservations open immediately and have a greater chance of getting one of the first pairs is to follow @AdidasOriginals on Twitter and perhaps mark the account as favorite to receive notifications right away, according to the brand’s website.
Adidas fans willing to reserve a pair of shoes on the app are required to be in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles at the time of the reservation, but everyone can download the app from anywhere in the country and register their home zip code. Only those users who are eligible for a ticket will see a banner on the app homepage confirming they are “in the zone,” as well as the link to make a reservation below that message.
The company says on its website that future launches are expected in more cities, which is why it recommends users of the Adidas Confirmed app to keep notifications on to find out the place and time the next big releases will happen.
To be able to register in the app, people have to download the latest version on their iOS devices, specifically on the iPod Touch and on the iPhone 5 and above. Android users can get the app as long as their gadgets have the version 4.0.0 and higher. The company says it will include additional devices shortly.
Once they have an account on the app, users need to verify it through SMS, being aware that they can use only one phone number to register themselves. The firm recommends enabling push notifications and location services so people can have the chance to know right away when a big release is taking place and known whether they are in the included cities.
As soon as users receive a notification of a new release, they must quickly open the app and go to a product page to confirm their reservation after selecting their size. The Adidas Confirmed app will tell them a retail location and how long do they have to pick up the product.
The company doesn’t accept cancellation or transfer of any reservation. Users who were lucky enough to reserve a pair must receive the product personally with their device and photo ID. Because reservation changes are not allowed, they have to make sure they have selected the right size at the moment they confirm their reservation.
What an Adidas fan need to get a reservation is to have the app on his or her device and be present in one of the included cities. Those who always keep their phone close have greater chances to reserve the shoes.
Marketing strategies to boost brand experience
The whole point of the Confirmed app is to avoid lines at the Adidas stores and improve users’ experience. People waiting in long lines to buy a newly-released product waste time and energy, whereas ending up a little bit frustrated is the worst thing that can happen if Adidas fans miss the chance to reserve a pair on the app.
A whole different scenario is welcomed by Apple. A report by Business Insider released last September mentions possible causes that lead the company to love seeing customers spending hours waiting in exhaustingly long lines in front of Apple stores to get the latest product.
Lines are great to tell competitors that a company’s products are in high demand, and people can easily promote the brand for free. In fact, Apple has been taking advantage of this marketing strategy for some time. People around the world joined long lines to get the iPad 2 about four years ago, which was surprising because they were much longer than those for the first iPad, Business Insider reported.
The thing is that Apple didn’t allow pre-orders to prompt fans to form such lines. The Business Insider report suggests that people want to camp literally out in line because others are paying them to hold their place in line or because they want to buy several units early to have the chance to re-sell them at a premium.
Other reasons the report includes are that those willing to wait in long lines are diehard fanboys and girls, they enjoy the opportunity to achieve status within their friends and want to join a headline-grabbing event.
It would be interesting to see market researchers discussing which strategy works best and what kind of customers would prefer having the line on their mobile devices rather than wasting time and energy in front of a store, or vice versa. It is evident that releasing pre-orders on a mobile app increases the chances of selling all available items in a matter of minutes (or seconds), but visible lines also have their benefits.
Although sales for the Yeezy 750s’ reservations closed in less than a minute, fans will have to wait until June 11 to get them.
Source: Footwear News