NikeiD
The first thing I noticed about the NikeiD website is that it looks very clean and professional, which you can see in the picture below. This is not surprising because Nike is a global company so it makes sense that they would put the effort into making their website sleek and functional.
Nike definitely has a more straightforward approach than Puma. They do employ some interesting strategies in order to increase interest in their product. They offer a shoe called the Zoom Kobe. Their tagline is "Made for Kobe. Designed by You." I think the most interesting thing about this strategy is the exclusivity. Only 24 pairs are sold per day worldwide. This creates a desire because the consumer feels that it is a scarce product and they are lucky if they can even get a pair. The use of a celebrity endorsement is also a key factor. People may think that if they dress like Kobe, they will play like Kobe. That said, Nike's target market seems to be more the athlete type, whether they play a sport or wish they did.
As far as my experience with this site, I really liked the amount of options you were given for shoe style. There were several types of shoes to choose from. When browsing for a shoe, I was able to see detailed product information for each shoe to help me make my decision. Once I chose a shoe, I was given the option to purchase it already customized or to do it myself. I chose to start from scratch. A great feature of the site is that you can click on the part of the shoe you want to change the color/material of and it allows you to do so. You can even add your own ID to the shoe. I think this is a great feature because people want people to ask where they got their cool shoes and they can answer, "I designed them. You can see right here on my shoe what I named them." Below you can see the NikeiD shoe that I ended up with!
The Down Side
Unfortunately, Nike does not allow for the use of many different materials on the shoe, usually just 3 types. I would like to see more options for that. The views available to look at the she you are customizing are limited. I would like a more functional option for looking at the shoe. With NikeiD, it is more like you are just choosing colors, rather than "building" your shoe.
Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ
I had never been to this site before and WOW it is so cool! I love the approach that Puma has taken with this site. It makes the whole experience more enjoyable and fun. Pum takes the idea of designing a shoe and compares it to mixing up ingredients to make Mongolian BBQ. The home page sets the tone for the rest of the site. You are greeted by a very excited chef who tells you to grab your chef hat and "taste the art of shoemaking."
The different "ingredients" are actually the different colors and materials available for your shoe. The options seem to be endless. I decided to have fun and go a little crazy with the colors. With all of the options, i was really able to do this. For women, this site offers more options than Nike as far as colors and materials. Nike's target seems to be more athletic while Puma seems to be targeting people interested more in fashion than functionality. Puma offers 13 parts of the shoe to customize, which is more than Nike. The different views available to look at your shoe is also a great feature. You can really look at it and imagine what it will look like when you can finally hold it in your hands and admire it. My favorite part of the site is your "doggy bag." Instead of calling it a shopping cart, Puma keeps in line with the restaurant theme and puts the products you want to purchase in your doggy bag. You can see my crazy shoe below.
Here are some of the other views that I think are really cool.
The Down Side
With this site, I really feel that there are so many good things about it that the not so great things aren't a huge deal. One thing that could definitely make the site better is a wider array of types of shoes to choose from. Right now, there are only 3 types of shoes to choose from. They might increase their online market share if they expand the options.
Wrap-Up
Drumroll please! And the winner is.... Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ! Although NikeiD is a very professional looking, highly funcitonal site, it simply does not provide the fun customer experience that Puma does. Standing out in the digital world is hard because it is so huge, but I think Puma is unique and really does stand out. It not only wins for its unique approach, but it also wins for its vast array of color and material options for the shoes. I think that you can really come out with a more original product by using Puma's site.
