Athletic brands are facing a troubling gap between what their dashboards report and what customers actually experience online. This risk is magnified heading into one of the busiest retail seasons of the year. This report analyses the top 20 athletic footwear and apparel brands by revenue, with performance measurements taken from over 120 locations around the globe and ranked using the Digital Experience Score, a holistic view of website and application performance from the users perspective.
Digital experience is no longer optional — it’s survival. Poor website performance doesn’t just kill online sales, it destroys in-store revenue too. Nike’s digital platforms generate $12.1 billion of its $49.3 billion total revenue. Meanwhile, digitally influenced sales now represent 62% of all U.S. retail, rising to 70% by 2027. When your website fails, customers don’t wait—they buy from competitors.
A single slow-loading page can hand customers directly to competitors who’ve mastered digital-first performance. The findings in this report challenge assumptions, expose blind spots, and reveal why only a handful of brands are truly delivering for customers.
