Nike’s pro athlete hijab development announcement provoked applause and backlash, but in the end, the sportswear company hit its highest purchase consideration point in five months.
Some politically-sensitive corporate announcements seem to trigger powerful backlashes, successfully pushing down various perception metrics, such as the recent “refugee hiring” one from Starbucks.
However, while a boycott hashtag (#boycottNike) emerged with the Nike news, it appeared to have no effect on people wanting to spend on the brand. As a matter of fact, consumers affiliated with both the Democratic and Republican parties, especially the latter, seemed to view purchasing Nike products more favorably in the month since the product announcement was made.
On March 7th, when the hijab announcement was released, 31% of all adults said they would consider buying a Nike product the next time they were shopping for apparel or footwear. By March 29th, that number moved up to 39%.
Purchase Consideration: Nike
