America’s most popular shoe is coming back to Amazon.
After a five-year hiatus, Nike shoes, clothing, and accessories are returning to the e-commerce giant.
The athletic brand swiped its products from the platform in 2019, as part of a push to sell more directly to consumers.
The Amazon reboot is Nike’s latest major change as executives try to reinvigorate sales.
Consumer interest has slumped, with sales dropping a staggering 9 percent in March, amid increased running shoe competition.
Hoka, Brooks, and Saucony are all gaining sales in the athletic sneaker industry after spending millions of dollars on branding deals with running clubs and community events.
Nike, which has cut back on small-scale sponsorships, has been shedding market share to the upstart competitors.
To minimize the losses, Nike is reinvesting in its corporate relationships. It has also announced a deal with French department chain Printemps and a pop-up agreement with Urban Outfitters.
But social headwinds persist against its US sales: the company is facing backlash from American conservatives that have criticized its marketing campaigns as ‘woke.’
Nike has gone through a wave of changes as it hopes to recapture market dominance.
In September 2024, the shoemaker announced that Elliot Hill would be taking over as the new CEO. Hill started with the company as an intern in 1988.
For Amazon, Nike’s agreement adds to its deep product lineup.
‘Nike is investing in our marketplace to ensure we’re offering the right products, best services and tailored experiences to consumers wherever and however they choose to shop,’ Amazon said in a statement.
Nike originally agreed to sell its products on the e-commerce site in 2017 in exchange for stricter policing of counterfeits and unauthorized third-party sellers.
But customers shouldn’t expect the Amazon products to come cheap.
Nike has announced that several products will see price hikes, starting on June 1, because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The shoe giant has manufacturing plants in Vietnam, China, and Indonesia — making all of its products susceptible to tariffs of at least 10 percent.
President Trump initially imposed massive ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on products made in Vietnam and Indonesia, before announcing a 90-day pause on the levies while negotiating with country leaders.
Indonesian products faced a 32 percent tariff while Vietnamese products were nearly slapped with a 46 percent rate.
Neither country has announced deals with the US, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has remained optimistic that the countries will start hammering out agreements.
The pause ends on July 9.
Meanwhile, products made in China are currently facing a 30 percent tariff. That tax could increase back to 145 percent on August 14 if the two countries don’t make a deal.
Investors have sold off a huge amount of Nike’s stock, largely because of the brand’s weak positioning with the tariffs.
Share prices for the athletic company are down over 18 percent since January.
