According to Grand View Research, the global athletic footwear market size is expected to reach USD$95.14bn (£74.1bn) by 2025. This represents a huge opportunity for retailers, technology platforms, and investors as 'casual' becomes an era-defining style. In this Q&A, George Sullivan (pictured below), CEO, The Sole Supplier, talks to RetailTechNews about how his marketplace is tapping into this trend and why technology is such a key factor in this mission. 

RetailTechNews: How is The Sole Supplier disrupting the casual footwear market?

George Sullivan: At The Sole Supplier, we’re aiming to become the home of casual footwear searches via our website and app, where consumers can get the lowdown on the latest releases, launch dates, confirmed stockists, and buy directly from retailers before pairs fly off the shelves.

Through a dedicated team of content producers, it’s also our mission to inspire the converted and educate the non-believers, telling the story of what's behind the designs, opening their eyes to trainer culture and giving them the buzz!

Through my own experience of queuing up every weekend to try and buy trainers, I found myself frustrated with the lack of information available surrounding release dates and stockist information, so I started a blog. Fast-forward five years, and The Sole Supplier is now one of the biggest footwear partners to Nike, Adidas, and JD Sports with over two million visitors each month and nearly over one million followers on social media.

The Sole Supplier saves our community time and effort when looking for their next purchase, without charging them anything, and increases their chances of getting hold of high-heat releases.

Why has social media been integral to building your brand name?

With over three billion active social media users worldwide, I don’t think there is a brand out there that doesn’t want to build a following on social media.

So much of trainer culture exists on social media, from people showing off their new pair, rumours circulating on releases, reselling, and building up hype.

We’ve found it’s the quickest way to connect with our community and understand what they like and dislike and what content they would like more of. By watching how our followers engage with each post and the comments we receive, we can ensure the content we are creating is relevant and useful.

George Sullivan, CEO, The Sole Supplier

This way, we are staying ahead of the game and making sure our content is as relevant as possible, so our readers and followers keep coming back to our pages.  

We have been very fortunate to gain over one million followers across our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages.

What do retailers stand to gain from selling on The Sole Supplier, as opposed to other marketplaces?

With such a strong and loyal community of sneakerheads, through The Sole Supplier brands get invaluable exposure to a customer base that’s likely to buy their latest release. Brands benefit by generating more click-throughs and completed purchases on their own sites in return for a small commission, which isn’t passed on to the buyer.

However, we only push pairs that we believe are good, not what makes revenue, offering an authentic voice for consumers.

We’re also expanding our website to focus on more brands and 'low-heat' products, but which appeal to a wider audience such as your everyday pair of Vans or great-looking pair of Converse.

How does the technology behind The Sole Supplier help consumers in their shopper journey?

The technology we use creates a tailored experience for each individual user. We use our technology to not only match you with trainers we know you’ll love, but also to relevant news stories and content we create.

We recently relaunched our app, which is now faster and smarter. Users, by signing up, can select their brand, favourite styles, and shoe size and we can recommend products that align to these. We can also send push notifications when a product is restocked or launched that are relevant to their preferences. It also enables an easy purchasing journey for our readers, generating an all-in-one solution.  

Our technology understands, at a really granular level, what users like and what similar users like, enabling us to match product to people and give them the right communications, not wasting their time.

What piece of retail technology is most exciting to you guys?

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is on everyone’s mind to enhance user experience and journeys, benefitting both brands, affiliates, and consumers.

Getting to know our community more and delivering them the right content and product recommendations when it matters is what we’re aiming for. By capturing more data points on our users, and translating this into a better experience, everyone wins.

While not 'retail tech' in the traditional sense, we’re seeing more casual footwear brands change-up the way they launch high-heat trainers by using gamification. To solve the long-standing first-come-first serve problem caused by an imbalance between supply and demand, brands are now moving more towards online games to give priority access to launches for those customers who can complete quizzes or tasks the fastest.