Yael Kochman
September 18, 2025
Retail and sports share an intrinsic connection: both thrive on storytelling, emotion, and cultural relevance.
Campaigns in sports retail innovation that strike the right chord, whether attaching to an athlete’s journey or a cultural moment, all transform products into movements.
That’s the essence of Re:Sport: The Global Summit Where Innovation Meets Sports Retail – a dedicated track at Sports Tech Nation 2025, brought to life via Re:Tech Innovation Hub and Sports Tech Nation, in partnership with ISPO – the largest sport retail exhibition in Munich, Germany. It spotlights how emerging fan commerce technologies, DTC strategies, personalization, and experiential retail are reshaping the business of sport for excellence in sports retail innovation.
Whether you’re looking to learn about the latest innovation in sport retail, or to get exposure for your tech or brand with key decision makers, Re:Sport gives you direct access to the innovators, creators, and leaders redefining retail in sport. Secure your role in the future today and learn more about opportunities at Re:Sport 2025. Join us in Munich, Germany on November 30–December 2,As we gear up towards it, let’s explore a few prime marketing campaigns that have masterfully linked and excelled at sports retail innovation.
Nike launched AR-powered prize giveaways in select stores, letting customers scan QR codes to play sports-themed smartphone games (football, basketball, etc.). Winners earned exclusive merchandise and rewards, almost making shopping feel like sport itself.
Key Takeaway: Gamification transforms shopping into an immersive experience, boosting engagement, dwell time, and loyalty inside physical stores.
Through its app, Puma enabled AR shoe try-ons, letting digital-native shoppers instantly preview styles on their feet, thereby blending digital and physical retail worlds in a phygital blend, a trend we covered in Re:Tech disrupt previously.
Key Takeaway: Seamless, mobile-first AR try-ons meet digital-native expectations and drive higher conversion rates online.
Shoppers in New Balance stores accessed product stories and material info via QR-powered AR experiences, transforming static shelves into interactive learning hubs, proving once again why AR is key to sports retail innovation.
Key Takeaway: AR-fueled education enriches the buying journey and builds product trust, leading to higher satisfaction and lower return rates.
At its flagship NYC store, Nike introduced Nikeland, a metaverse-inspired retail experience. Visitors used Snapchat AR lenses to interact with avatars, play digital mini-games, and link in-game movements to real-world activity, truly magnifying the link of sports retail innovation.
Key Takeaway: Blending physical retail with digital play builds community and positions stores as interactive hubs, not just transactional spaces.
Adidas rolled out 3D shoe models and virtual fitting rooms, allowing customers to visualize footwear on themselves via AR, harping onto why personalization truly is key to success, as we had discussed in our trend forecast of 2025. Results: +40% conversion rates and +25% higher order values.
Key takeaway: Personalization through AR it doesn’t just engage consumers, it directly lifts conversion and basket size, proving ROI on innovation.
Brands in athleisure now use StoryStream’s AI stylist tool to build shoppable outfit recommendations in real time across e-commerce. Besides personalization, this is yet another example of how AI can help greatly with more tailored and faster shoppable recommendations, discussed previously in our AI Track of Ret:Tech Disrupt.
Key Takeaway: AI styling elevates personalization at scale, merging inspiration with commerce in ways shoppers expect from fashion + sports.
Nike Run Club app integrates retail with personalized coaching, community challenges, and product recommendations, using it to drive loyalty and repeat purchases. Once again this shows how sports brand apps are tools that can be used to leverage conversion with sports retail innovation.
Key takeaway: Data-powered personalization sustains long-term engagement, creating a retail ecosystem beyond the store.
La Roche-Posay elevated its US Open Tennis sponsorship through a dual physical and digital activation. On-site, fans accessed complimentary sunscreen, skin checks, and interactive tennis games at the Sun Safety Booth and launched “Club La Roche-Posay” inside Roblox’s “Champions of the Court”, where players completed UV index–linked quests, collected sunscreen power-ups, and unlocked limited UGC drops. This merged preventive health education with gaming culture, expanding awareness to digital-first audiences.
Key Takeaway: blending real-world activations with metaverse gamification, brands can extend health and lifestyle messaging across generations, making public service both interactive and retail-relevant.
Fans at the All-Star Weekend experienced an interactive 360° courtside view with AR activations, blending live sport with digital engagement.
Key Takeaway: Event-based AR adds a new layer of fan experience, and retailers can adapt this playbook for product launches and community activations.
Nike combined AI + AR through Nike Fit for precise shoe sizing (cutting returns by up to 64%) and Snapchat-powered scavenger hunts for exclusive sneaker unlocks.
Key Takeaway: Tech-driven personalization reduces friction and creates hype. Retailers can leverage AR to increase confidence while making the path to purchase more engaging.
Across all these examples, one theme stands out: sports retail innovation is strongest when technology, culture, and participation meet. From AR shoe try-ons to AI stylists, from courtside cams to Roblox activations, brands are proving that commerce today is about more than selling, but it’s about creating moments that fans and shoppers want to be part of.
For retailers, brands, and startups, the lessons in sports retail innovation are clear:
At Re:Sport 2025, these principles about sports retail innovation come to life: AI, AR, gamification, personalization, and experiential.
Re:Sport is part of Sports Tech Nation 2025, in partnership with ISPO and Re:Tech Innovation Hub. Join us in Munich, Germany from November 30 – December 2, 2025, for a dedicated track on sports retail innovation.
Whether you’re a brand, retailer or startup, this is your opportunity to:
Learn more and secure your place at Re:Sport 2025 today.
