Sneaker Shock Drop
How Nike turned the shoe drop into a high-tech treasure hunt
About a hundred kick-hungry sneakerheads marched into Washington Square Park, smartphones held high, panning from side to side, on a late June afternoon in New York City. It was a mix of faces: parents, early high schoolers, 20-something urbanites. They paced in droves, pushing strollers, scooting atop bicycles, coasting on electric skateboards. Most strutted in sneakers so clean they looked as if they were just pulled out of the box.
Seconds later, they all took off sprinting.
It looked like a parkour-inspired flash mob, some racing at high enough speeds to clear benches with a single leap. Bike tires screeched as a handful took off on wheels. Body after body circled around the park’s iconic fountain to a walkway covered by trees. Bystanders whipped around as more and more weaved their way through the crowd. “Where are they going?! ” one yelled.
They funneled into a small open area just off the park’s eastern entryway. One by one, they came to a halt, still glued to the screens of their phones. Then, they pulled out their credit cards.
This is how Nike is selling sneakers in the age of the smartphone.
The company has joined the growing world of sneaker apps that use tech to sell shoes in an unconventional way (Adidas and Foot Locker both have experimented with apps, to varying degrees of success). On this day, it was a pair of limited PSNY x Air Jordan 12s, dressed in a wheat brown color from top to sole. About a week earlier, Nike had teased the release of the shoe and alerted patrons that they’d only be available through its new Nike+ SNKRS app in a specific location at a specific time of day. There was no other way to get it. You had to either be in one of three designated locations when the shoe dropped or you were out of luck.
These aren’t just shoes anymore, they’re status symbols. Like a Rolex, for your feet.
Call it a scavenger hunt — a different approach to selling shoes in an age when sneaker drops more often traffic in hype. The events draw sneakerheads from all around the world, people who value originality and scarcity so much that they bear crowds that clog traffic and lines that span full city blocks.
The process has evolved beyond the act of buying shoes, a feat of competitiveness that’s fueled by adrenaline. These people aren’t purchasing shoes so much as hunting them, sometimes traveling across continents to camp on concrete for days. It’s pushed most out of the market, catering to extremists who resort to bots that can crawl webpages or those who pay others to wait in line. These aren’t just shoes anymore, they’re status symbols. Like a Rolex, for your feet.
That’s the problem, too. For every fan chasing leather, there’s at least a handful of resellers trying to turn shoes into fists full of cash. A reseller — someone who purchases shoes to resell them at a higher markup — can easily double, sometimes triple his money on a single pair. One particular set of kicks hit a whopping $16 million three years ago on eBay and resellers made an estimated $240 million in 2013, according to FiveThirtyEight.
It’s a volatile mix. One of the most infamous sneaker drops in 2005 sparked a riot in New York City with knives, baseball bats and machetes. People have long been jumped for their kicks, sometimes even killed. You hear more horror stories stemming from drops than you do successes.
Nike’s new app is its way of challenging all this, with a method that’s highly technical but still simplistic. By hitting a giant reset button on a market that has been overrun with people trying to game the system, Nike’s stripping the sneaker hunt down. And so long as you’re willing to engage in the chase — in a very literal sense — the shoes can be yours.
But with every sneaker that’s dangled at the end of some digitally futuristic pursuit, a question remains: Will it stick, or is it no more than a passing fad?
The outside of Nike’s NYC Digital Studio located in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. Here a team of engineers and designers dedicates its time to reimagining the point where tech and sneaker culture meet.
Nike’s been concocting these hunts since the start of the year in the heart of New York’s Flatiron district, out of a small office it calls the NYC Digital Studio. After acquiring Virgin Mega, a 12-person startup focused on constructing gamified shopping experiences, in August 2016, the athletic retail giant dedicated the team to reimagining the intersection of tech and sneaker culture.
“It’s really about looking at the part of the culture that always felt the most special, ” said Ron Faris, general manager of the Nike NYC Digital Studio and SNKRS app. “And what people remembered the best about it 15 to 20 years ago, 10 to 15 years ago, when a lot of these drops would happen, was that there was an unpredictability to it. It was predictably unpredictable, and I think the feeling we had was, what if we could bring that feeling back, but with using tech at the center. ”
It’s accomplishing that with three main features in its Nike+ SNKRS app: SNKRS Cam, SNKRS Stashes, and Shock Drops. The cam prompts users to find images or photos in the wild, and then uses augmented reality to unlock a purchasing window within the app. Stashes are location based, prompting users to convene at a physical spot to be able to purchase a shoe. Shock Drops are the simplest: They alert users to immediate drops at local boutiques via push notifications, where they purchase the shoe from a storefront.
A step-by-step guide users are prompted with after finding the SNKRS Stash feature in the app.
All those features are tucked away within the app, almost hidden. In fact, if you were casually scrolling through the feed, you probably wouldn’t know they were in there at all. They’re not showcased, and the only way you can find them is by tapping around various pages.
This is intentional. Nike doesn’t want to directly sell you the shoe, it wants you to find it.
“What we want to try and do is bring a product, a story and an experience together to create something that builds magic and emotion for consumers to get extra hyped up before a shoe drop, ” Faris said.
Nike first tried out its tech on the “Royal” Foamposites it debuted in January. They were the same shoe worn by basketball legend Penny Hardaway, who infamously took a sharpie and colored the stripes of his shoe black during the 1997 NBA Playoffs to avoid a fine.
The story has reached mythical status among sneaker diehards and, as an homage to the narrative, Nike hid a feature on the shoe’s display page where users could color it with their finger. Once the whole thing was filled in, they were met with a video message from Hardaway and were granted access to buy the shoe.
“We had something like 80, 000 people unlock that experience — knowing full well that it was already sold out — because the experience was fun, ” Faris said.
Game planning these drops has been an evolving process, with Nike pulling fans into its studio for focus group after focus group, trying to drill down to the essentials that motivate its customers. The balance is delicate: Don’t overtly showcase drops so much that it ruins the allure of the chase, but don’t hide it so well that no one can find it. And after doing one to two drops this way for the past few months, it’s taught Nike one important thing.
“How you launch the shoe is, at times, just as important as the shoe itself, ” Faris said.
Just ask David Chang.
This is Nike SB Dunk High Pro “Momofuku, ” a shoe that serves as an ode to David Chang (pictured below) and his popular restaurants. Its design is inspired by various aspects of Momofuku, like the fact that his sous chefs wear dark gray aprons.
Even before Nike could finish its pitch, Chang needed to hear it a second time.
“Can we go through it again? ” asked Chang, the famed restaurateur at the head of the Momofuku restaurant group, which manages a handful of New York City’s most successful restaurants.
Nike had made him a custom shoe adorned with a design that embodied the creative energy that fuels his popular eateries, but it had an unorthodox idea for selling it. Execs wanted to use the SNKRS Cam to prompt users to take a photo of a scannable poster or his Fuku restaurant’s menu. Once they did, a 3D rendering of the shoe would pop up on screen. Only then could customers purchase it.
“They explained the technology step-by-step because I am not the most tech savvy, ” Chang said. “And then once I finally understood what they were trying to propose, I was like, ‘I can’t even begin to get what’s going on here. ’”
Chang was happy to be the guinea pig, though. He has long considered himself a “sneaker aficionado” — not quite the Jordan chaser his peers are, but a guy who appreciates the aesthetic of some fresh new leather. Still, his nerves got the best of him the night before the drop. He’d left Momofuku Ssäm Bar that evening and made the three-block walk over to the Fuku location in the East Village just to check it out. Three people were already camping out in chairs at 1 a. m.
“That freaked me out, ” he said.
The whole experience carried the emotional weight of a restaurant opening — he’d spent the better part of a year planning this drop with Nike. He’d made trips to Nike’s headquarters in Portland. Various teams had met him in New York. There were so many meetings he’d lost count. He tallied up all the emails and notes the two had sent back and forth and estimated the document must have been 27 pages, single spaced, outlining the initial idea to the inspiration behind the design.
We’ve been lucky enough to have lines for food since we opened for the most part, but I’d never seen a line like this. I felt so honored they would wait.
So, the night before, he struggled to sleep, and showed back up at the restaurant around 9 a. m. the next day. The line outside had grown to about 50 people or so, stretching one full block and around the corner. All of which freaked him out even more. He took refuge inside, among the stacks of shoe boxes and gigantic tote bags with the Nike Momofuku logo, an exclusive treat for all the people who chose to wait in line as opposed to ordering online. About an hour and a half later, with 30 minutes still to go until opening, the line had ballooned to 100 to 150 people.
“We’ve been lucky enough to have lines for food since we opened for the most part, but I’d never seen a line like this, ” Chang said. “I felt so honored they would wait. ”
The drop went smoothly, other than the fact that the credit card machines went down for about 30 minutes. But Nike had a team on site that coordinated the whole thing, and troubleshooted various scenarios before the doors even opened. So Chang walked outside, strutted the line, shook hands, and thanked as many as he could, one by one.
“Nike spent so much time trying to distill that idea into something that actually worked, ” Chang said, in disbelief. “I mean I still don’t understand how it actually happened. ”
Nike used the SNKRS Cam to sell the Momofuku Dunk. Customers had to open the app and point the camera at a scannable image — either in person or online — in order to unlock it.
Russ Bengtson, a true O. G. in the sneaker world who’s been covering shoes for the better part of 20 years with SLAM Magazine and Complex, was walking back to the subway on the west side of Manhattan when he spotted one of the scannable images on a wall outside of Momofuku Nishi in Chelsea. It had been a few days since the drop, and the shoe was almost certainly sold out, but he pulled out his phone and opened the app just to see how it all worked.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but I think they’re cool, ” Bengtson said. “I think there’s a lot there in being able to tie a sneaker purchase back to something in the real world, which to me is something that’s missing when more people are buying their stuff online. ”
Bengtson’s under the impression that these apps will do more good than harm, especially when the drop ties in the narrative behind the release. He said he could see this tech being used in a place like Chicago, say, where fans could flock to the Michael Jordan statue in order to get their hands on a pair of kicks.
“I definitely enjoy the treasure hunt aspect of it and sort of having to have a little knowledge of what the shoe represents in order to get it, ” Bengtson said. “To me that’s actually pretty cool. ”
Not all view the experience so favorably. Juan Ballesteros, 19, was at Washington Square Park for the PSNY Jordan 12s. He was able to get his hands on a pair, but only because he was tipped ahead of time where exactly to be and when.
“This app is absolutely not fair, ” Ballesteros said. “Those who really want the sneakers don’t even have a chance to buy them. It does give some users a better chance against bots, but only those users who have inside information like my friend does who tells me. ”
“I feel like Nike is trying out new methods to try to get their sneakers to true fans and I commend them for that but I feel like this is not the correct way. ”
It may not be the correct way in battling resellers, either. Bengtson is convinced resellers are always going to find a way to get the shoes, so long as kick-hungry collectors are willing to pay double or even quadruple the retail price. Apps, in fact, could make it easier, since customers are no longer forced to have sit in the rain for three days to buy them.
“As long as the retail price for shoes is $250 or whatever it is and people are willing to pay $1, 300, $1, 400, $1, 500, it’s worth reselling. A shoe release is essentially an IPO at that point, because you know the price you’re going to pay is far below what the market will set the value at, ” Bengtson said. “People are going to do that whether they buy it at a store or on the app. ”
There are some notable positives that come with these apps though. In a market that has long been restricted to modern day shoe-tropolises like New York and Los Angeles, it evens things out and gives those outside of major cities their own chance to get kicks. And getting a simple push notification is a lot easier than setting an alarm and logging on to some seller’s website, only to be met with crashing webpages.
“It’s convenient for people who maybe don’t have some destination sneaker store in their own city or whose sneaker store doesn’t get whatever the latest coveted product is, ” Bengtson said. “I do think that it does bring new people into it and it does to an extent level the playing field. ”
Sneaker drops often draw gigantic lines, such as for the new KAWS x Air Jordan IV. Buyers waited outside the “Overkill” sneakers store on March 29, 2017 in Berlin, Germany, to check them selves by Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Several dozen die-hard sneakers fans have taken five days out of their lives to put their names on a list in order to buy the limited-production shoes, 50 pairs of which went on by Maja Hitij/Getty Images
The KAWS x Air Jordan IV sold for a retail price of $350. They’re now going for as much as $1, 800 on some resale by Maja Hitij/Getty Images
But leveling the playing field also means widening the number of participants, and it doesn’t always mean increasing the supply. So that means more people having to leapfrog a bench in a dead sprint to try and grab a hold of the prize. It’s much more high stakes than trying to put shoes in an online cart, but not as strenuous as waiting in line, some would argue.
“Personally, I do prefer these kinds of drops because it only takes an hour or two out of your day, ” Ballesteros said. “I’ve only waited in a line once and it was the worst experience ever. “
But when it comes down to it, making the act of purchasing shoes a game by definition results in winners and losers.
In the end, it might not matter to weathered sneakerheads. The thrill comes from buying the shoe, yes, but it also comes in the chase. As Ballesteros put it, he said even if he’d gone through that trouble to get to Washington Square Park only to find out the shoes had been sold out, he said it wouldn’t have been all that different than what he’s used to.
“I wouldn’t have felt any type of way, ” Ballesteros said. “In my two years collecting sneakers I have tried to buy so many sneakers and ended up failing. It’s just a part of the sneaker game, you have to learn to accept you won’t always be able to purchase what you want. ”
Maybe it’s fair, maybe it isn’t. But either way, that’s the game.
Writer
Brian De Los Santos
Editor
Kate Sommers-Dawes
Images
Courtesy of Nike
Illustration
Christopher Mineses
A Tutorial On How To Enter Nike SNKRS Reservation Or Draw
Updated on June 22, 2021.
Nike uses an array of techniques to thwart bots from obtaining its most coveted drops, and it’s go-to platform is its SNKRS app where it employs a few different methods to enable everyday sneaker lovers greater access to its shoes. Before we go any further, it should be noted that at least in the United States, Nike has successfully shut down bots’ ability to succeed on the site.
This tutorial is designed to help first-time U. S. -based Nike sneaker lovers who are attempting to cop a shoe via a SNKRS, but have no idea how either works. SNKRS is used to sell Nike shoes and more recently apparel, but also Nike brands Converse and Jordan.
Be sure to open SNKRS a solid five minutes before the actual launch because it can be slow to load. The app is compatible with either Apple or Android smart phones. If it’s been a while since you last used SNKRS, provide time to make sure your size and payment info is saved.
Also, have on hand your SNKRS password and depending on your form of payment, your credit card’s three-digit security code or your Paypal password. SNKRS will often ask you to reenter your SNKRS password and also your credit card security code or Paypal password at time of purchase.
A lot of sneaker enthusiasts will attempt to win pairs using SNKRS on their desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone at the same time, but in order to do this you will need separate delivery addresses, email addresses and payment methods for each one. There are a whole host of other methods people attempt to use to game Nike’s system but we will not be reporting on them here.
Navigating Nike’s SNKRS App
Before the drop, start by downloading the SNKRS app and set up your Nike+ account. The app opens on the home screen (shown above), which shows “Feed, ” “In Stock” and “Upcoming” at the top of the app. “Feed” coverage includes background on highlighted silhouettes as well as brand partnerships and events. “In Stock” lists shoes currently available for purchase. Just like it states, the “Upcoming” tab shows a list of coming launch-date shoes.
On the bottom of the home page to the right of the “Home” icon, the “Discover” icon opens a feed with additional Nike-related stories, ranging from employee profiles to info on city-specific SNKRS Pass launches. To the right of “Discover” is “Notifications” where Nike delivers info on whether or not you won (“Got ‘Em! ) the shoe you were attempting to cop. It also includes information on placed orders.
How to Create a SNKRS Profile
The “Profile” icon is located to the right of “Notifications. ” Touch the icon and then touch the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner. Enter your first name, last name and email, followed by your gender and shoe size. If you want to be extra fancy, you can load a profile picture but it’s not required and you will have to grant Nike access to your phone’s images to do so.
Once you’ve loaded your info, the profile home page will show your name and a rectangle in the middle of the page that reads “Nike + Pass. ” When you touch the icon, it will bring up your personal QR (Quick Response) code, which is required to pick up certain types of launches in store. At times, Nike also uses the QR code to access special events and activities in its stores and at other locations.
Load a payment method (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Nike gift cards, Paypal and Apple Pay on iOS devices) along with your billing and shipping address. Just know that even if you pre-load this information, Nike may ask you to reenter size or payment info during your attempt to procure the shoe.
In SNKRS notification preferences, enable notifications and then choose the timing of your preference: one week, one day or 15 minutes before the launch.
Nike’s upcoming SNKRS feed includes a “Notify Me” button, which you can use to stay on top of launch-day product. A lot of the shoes you see in the feed are first-come-first served aka FCFS launches, which means once it goes live and the button changes to “Buy Now, ” whoever is able to purchase the shoes first, takes them home.
How To Purchase A SNKRS Drop
“Upcoming” is where all the action takes place for popular drops. At the time the shoe launches (usually 10:00 AM EST in the United States), the “Notify Me” button will change over to the price of the shoe. Hit the price button and you will be taken to a list of sizes. Choose your size and hit the “OK” button.
Hit the “$200” button, then choose size and hit the “OK” button. Note, the dreaded “Pending” status, which may appear after making payment.
You will then be taken to a page listing the size you selected, your address, form of payment and the total with shipping and tax. Hit the “Buy Now” button at which point you may be asked to enter your SNKRS password and possible your credit card security code or Paypal password. According to Nike, “If you want to use PayPal to order in the SNKRS App, we recommend saving PayPal as a payment method about 30 minutes before the sneakers drop. ” If you want to use Paypal, this is a step you should take for each launch.
Good question, if you’re successful you’ll see a “Got’em” message on SNKRS and will receive an order confirmation email. If you want, you can DM us your NikePlus email and we can check on our end if you were successful. (@nikestore) April 5, 2018
If you’re lucky, you will receive the famed “Got ‘Em” message in “Notifications” shortly after you make your payment. According to @nikestore (above), “If you’re successful you’ll see a “Got’ Em” message on SNKRS and will receive an order confirmation email. ”
If you didn’t win a pair, you may or may not receive a notification that you weren’t selected. In the case of the Jordan an Off-White drop on July 25, 2020, multiple people received a “pending” notice, which remained long after the shoe sold out.
How Long Does SNKRS Takes To Notify?
The answer is it depends on the launch. The two most common types of SNKRS launches are Draw or DAN and Let Everyone Order or LEO. For a Draw launch, Nike officially states it will notify within 24 hours, however, notification normally takes place with 15-30 minutes. For a LEO launch, you may be placed in a queue but as soon as you’re selected and your payment is processed you will be notified within two-10 minutes after launch time.
Types Of SNKRS Launches
1. Draw or DAN Launch: This is a system that makes use of a timed entry. When the launch goes live, the icon changes from “Notify me” to “Enter Draw. ” Nike will provide a countdown clock showing anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to hit the reserve icon.
If you haven’t saved your sizing and payment info, you will be asked to provide that. You may only enter a reserve draw once. If you attempt it a second time with the same account, you will be informed you’ve already entered.
Once the “Draw” ends, according to Nike you will be notified within 24 hours (though it’s usually within 15 minutes to an hour after the draw ends) whether or not you were selected to purchase the shoe. Nike will then process the payment and send you a notification through the app about when you can expect to receive the shoe.
3. Exclusive Access: SNKRS will sometimes notify members on the app or desktop that they’ve been given early access to a drop. Usually the push invite will come before or after a release, but it can also be provided randomly. Nike recently provided a tutorial on increasing one’s chances of receiving Exclusive Access.
According to the press release, Nike uses over 50 variables to determine which members are awarded Exclusive Access for a given product. Variables include prior SNKRS launch entries, content engagement and poll responses, among others. While the variables are combined in different ways for each Exclusive Access, Nike says its goal is to reward the most deserving members.
In a nutshell, turn on notifications and engage with SNKRS on a daily basis. If the app is inviting you to participate, whether through a poll or a heart button, do so. In the Discover part of the app, watch the videos and share them. For upcoming drops, tap Notify Me on the silhouettes you’re interested in. Of course don’t buy shoes you don’t want, but just know, Nike is tracking who is actually buying and those individuals will have a better chance of winning the very coveted drops than those who only open the app when a very high heat item drops.
Below is a video entirely dedicated to how one can gain Exclusive Access.
4. First Come First Serve or FCFS or FLOW: Nike rarely use FCFS with SNKRS launches. This is a launch type usually associated with non-SNKRS launches and just like it sounds, whoever submits their payment information first wins the item.
During a FCFS launch, you may receive a “You’re in line” or “Waiting for your turn” message. This is because Nike is processing the orders of the people who purchases the item before you and it is making sure it can fill the size you want once those orders are filled. You can close the SNKRS app and Nike will maintain your place in line, however, if you close the website, you will be removed from the queue. If you win on SNKRS, Nike will briefly hold the pair for you.
For FCFS, you will be notified immediately after the payment clears. Confirmation will be sent in the SNKRS Inbox under notifications and also via email.
It’s worth noting that just because the launch isn’t featured on SNKRS doesn’t mean it’s not coveted. Nike has used FCFS with Fear of God launches as well as the recent Naomi Osaka capsule. Sometimes Nike also employs FCFS when it launches surprise restocks.
3. Let Everyone Order or LEO: Other than DAN, this is Nike’s most popular type of SNKRS launch. This is akin to a FCFS serve launch in that everyone can order, however, behind the scenes Nike uses a secret sauce during processing to select winners. There is a lot of debate around how Nike processes a LEO launch with some saying purchases are cut off two minutes after the drop with Nike then going back and using various algorithms to make selections from the queue of shoppers. However, nobody knows for sure and it’s a good bet Nike is constantly refining how it makes selections.
5. Reserve Launch: SNKRS can be used on any device but if the launch is a “Reserve” requiring an in-store pick up, you will need to use a device that allows your location to be accessible. “Reserve” launches are FCFS so it’s a big help if your location is turned on and you have your size and payment pre-loaded and ready to go as soon as the drop is live.
Nike began using a SNKRS “Reserve” system in 2015 (starting with a Jordan 1 silhouette) for its very coveted launches. For store pick-up “Reserve” launches (more info from here), the icon at launch time will change from “Notify Me” to “Reserve. ” In order to be considered, your phone’s location will need to be turned on. Push the “Reserve” icon and then choose a nearby pick-up location. Some but not all “Reserve” drops offer the option of shipping. Because of the pandemic Nike has backed off of he use of “Reserve” through 2020.
If you missed out on a “Reserve” launch, sometimes it pays to visit the store stocking the shoe because pairs that aren’t picked up after a certain time are made available to purchase FCFS.
6. SNKRS Pass is a location-specific launch for a select city or group of cities, which at the moment are mostly limited to Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles or New York. Nike will often employ this type of launch in association with very limited edition, sometimes referred to as “Friends & Family” launches, which are then followed up by a wider launch of the same shoe. Often this type of launch is announced with little warning akin to a “Shock Drop” (see below).
If the shoe is an in-store, pick up drop, Nike will process the payment and let you know details on when/where to pick up in “Notifications. ” In order to take the shoes home, you will need to show your SNKRS QR code plus provide official photo identification that matches your winning SNKRS account.
7. Shock Drop: Nike will sometimes surprise drop its most coveted launches prior to a previously-stated, official launch date. It will also Shock Drop shoes that aren’t included in its “Upcoming” calendar.
Nike’s default launch posture is secretive to the extreme and it won’t confirm or deny any rumors about upcoming Shock Drop launches. Until the drop is announced on an official Nike social media platform, in Nike’s eyes it simply doesn’t exist.
Once in a great while, Nike will Shock Drop a shoe that can only be accessed by completing a task. In the case of Nike, Off-White and Serena Williams‘ “Shock Drop, ” the silhouette was featured in the app’s “Discover” feed with a “Behind the Shoe” story. In order to cop the shoe, the user had to rub an image featuring a blank version of Off-White’s signature plastic hang tag (above left) to make the copy appear. Once the copy appeared, the user was granted access to purchase the shoe.
To stay on top of coveted drops, there are numerous Twitter accounts that will notify you of Exclusive Access notifications and Shock Drops. Two of them even have their own apps: @solelinks and @j23app. You can also follow Nike’s @nikestore account but be aware it doesn’t announce every single launch.
Keep in mind that the SNKRS app is far from perfect. It can be glitchy and if you visit the @nikestore feed you can see it’s filled with people complaining about usage issues. Most of the time Nike recommends signing out and signing back in or reinstalling the app. If you’re still having problems and there is stock available, you can also call 800-806-6453 from 4:00 AM-11:00 PM PST seven days a week.
May the cop gods be with you!
Nike upset hypebeasts with accidental Android-exclusive SNKRS drop
Nike introduced its shoe-selling app SNKRS in 2016, but it wasn’t until nearly a year later that it rolled out an Android version. Even today, some of the app’s best features (like a way to buy sneakers using augmented reality) are exclusive to iOS. Which, as you can imagine, causes frustration among Android users. But, today, the tables were flipped, even if it may not have been intentional. During Thursday’s surprise launch of Nike’s “Queen” Blazer Mid, a collaboration with streetwear designer Virgil Abloh, his brand Off-White and tennis superstar Serena Williams, SNKRS users on Android were able to get access to the pair before their iOS counterparts. And, as you might expect, hypebeasts with an iPhone were not happy.
Nike dropped this limited-edition shoe using its Behind the Design “scratch” feature, which prompts users to virtually scratch an image to unlock and buy the shoe. As is typically the case with these highly coveted Nike collaborations, the “Queen” Blazer Mid sold out in seconds, with Android users taking basically all the stock. At first, it seemed as if Nike had made the shoes available exclusively on Android, but later it was discovered that iPhone users also had access to the “scratch” release — they just had to log out and back in to the app. Nike is mum on whether this was by design, or if its SNKRS app for iOS just completely dropped the ball.
Either way, the Android crowd who wanted the sneakers and managed to get them was over the moon. Meanwhile, iPhone users took to Twitter to express their frustration by engaging in an age old tradition: making fun of Android owners for not having, well, an iPhone. (Not everyone takes defeat kindly. ) And when you think about the fact these $130 shoes sell for around $1, 000 on resale apps, you can see why those with an iPhone were so bitter about their loss.
Nike, for its part, is probably laughing at how silly the entire situation is.
Pro-tip for Android users:
Sell your Serena Blazers and buy an iPhone
— J23 iPhone App (@J23app) October 25, 2018
Android homie got excited, dropped his phone and his battery fell out
— SupremeisDead (@hottie4203) October 25, 2018
Now these andriod ppl got enough money for an iphone
— swimming from the bag (@calebgags) October 25, 2018
Go use that resell money to upgrade your potato phone
— Chris Owens (@cowens_) October 25, 2018
I’d rather have an iPhone and take the L
— Mika D’Amico (@mikadamico) October 25, 2018
You might’ve copped a $900 shoe if you had a droid.
But your phone still gets viruses.
— robert white (@robertwhite____) October 25, 2018
Nike prob feels bad for everyone that has an android
— Rob (@rob_sarno) October 25, 2018
Get and iPhone so IF you ever cop it won’t look like this
— 100T Cloudz (@FearzCloudz) October 25, 2018
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Frequently Asked Questions about sneaker shock drop
What is a sneaker shock drop?
Shock Drops are the simplest: They alert users to immediate drops at local boutiques via push notifications, where they purchase the shoe from a storefront. A step-by-step guide users are prompted with after finding the SNKRS Stash feature in the app. All those features are tucked away within the app, almost hidden.
What time Snkrs shock drop?
How To Purchase A SNKRS Drop. “Upcoming” is where all the action takes place for popular drops. At the time the shoe launches (usually 10:00 AM EST in the United States), the “Notify Me” button will change over to the price of the shoe. Hit the price button and you will be taken to a list of sizes.Dec 22, 2020
How do you get surprise drops in Snkrs?
Nike introduced its shoe-selling app SNKRS in 2016, but it wasn’t until nearly a year later that it rolled out an Android version. … Nike dropped this limited-edition shoe using its Behind the Design “scratch” feature, which prompts users to virtually scratch an image to unlock and buy the shoe.Oct 25, 2018
