Nike Makes a Comeback on Amazon with Price Hikes
After nearly six years away, Nike is stepping back onto Amazon’s massive sales floor—and this move is stirring things up across the sneaker and sportswear world. Nike walked away from Amazon in 2019, saying it wanted to focus on selling directly to customers and to crack down on fake products. But now, times have changed, and so has Nike’s playbook. The brand’s return to Amazon isn’t just about being present—it’s about doing things differently.
This time, Nike will connect directly with buyers on Amazon, offering official listings you can trust. But there’s a catch: starting June 1, the price tags on a bunch of Nike shoes that sell for $100 or more are going up by $5 to $10. If you’re eyeing a fresh pair of Air Force 1s or shopping for kids, don’t worry—the new prices stop short of those shelves. Nike says these hikes are needed to balance out bigger production costs, especially since U.S. tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese imports have pushed up the bill for making shoes in those countries, where Nike still does most of its production.
Behind the scenes, Nike is gearing up for a major cleanup. By July 19, the company plans to kick unauthorized third-party sellers off Amazon’s marketplace. That means gray-market products and wild pricing should fade—and more customers will be steered to Nike’s own, reliable listings. This crack-down could put as much as $400 to $600 million a year back into Nike’s hands, a chunk they’d rather not leave lying around for sneaker resellers and unofficial vendors.
Nike Leverages Amazon’s Network in Battle with Adidas
Nike is also tapping into Amazon’s e-commerce power to move its mid-range products faster, especially popular items like running shoes that can pile up in warehouses. Using Amazon’s super-fast shipping, Nike hopes to get customers their kicks sooner and clear out inventory. Premium lines—think Air Jordan—will still be guarded with careful price controls, keeping those shoes special and not subject to wild discounts or overexposure.
This all comes as Nike faces fresh heat from rivals. Direct-to-consumer sales, once the company’s pride, just slipped 3%. Meanwhile, Adidas, its fiercest competitor, jumped up a massive 14% in U.S. online sales in the past year. For Nike, this isn’t just a tweak in strategy—it’s a comeback tour, aiming to recapture shoppers who may have drifted away or been frustrated by missing favorite products on Amazon.
Investors seem cautiously optimistic. After the news dropped, Nike’s stock climbed 2% before the market opened. That’s a small bright spot after a pretty rough year that’s seen the stock fall around 20%. Shoppers, meanwhile, will soon have an easier time finding those iconic swoosh-branded goods on their favorite online marketplace—but they’ll also need to be ready to pay a little more for the latest drops.