Of ficial anno unc ement of end of service
Nike Run ning Club (N RC), a running app provided by global sports brand Nike , has announced that it will be disc ont inu ing its service in main land China on July 8, 2022. The company released a notice to its users the other day to end this service , expla ining that the reason for the business adjust ment .
The N RC app has been instal led more than 3. 35 million times in the Chinese market so far , but the user rating has remain ed very low at just 1.8 stars (fi ve - tier rating). This rating is rank ed as the low est class of running apps of its kind .
Str ugg ling in the Chinese market
According to experts , several factors can be att ribut ed to the with dra wal of the N RC app from the Chinese market . First of all , a large number of fitness apps in China , which were linked to local platform s such as We Chat and A lipay , were emer ging , creating a fier ce compet itive environment .
The report also points to China ' s lack of response to data regulations and privacy policies that are unique to China . In recent years , China ' s personal data protection laws have been tigh tened , which has been a factor in increasing the operating costs for foreign - made apps .
In addition , feedback from local users included many compla ints such as " in ade qu ate support for Chinese language , " lack of coordination with local running events , and poor acc ura cy of GPS functions .
Impact on Nike ' s China Strateg y
How will the disc ont inu ation of the N RC app affect Nike ' s digital strategy in China ? Analy sts point out that " the with dra wal of the app alone will not have a significant immedi ate impact , but it will require a review of our digital engagement strategy . "
In the Chinese market , Nike is focus ing on marketing through the EC platform and S NS , and is increasing customer engagement , particularly by lever aging the We Chat mini - program . Go ing forward , it is more likely to promote integ rated services with these platform s than stand al one apps .
On the other hand , the fitness app market in China is fore cast to expand at an average annual growth rate of 15% through 202 5, and some people believe that it is un likely that Nike will completely with draw from this growing market .
Impact on Us ers and Altern atives
Us ers in main land China who currently use the N RC app must have their data back ed up by July 8. In the notice , Nike has shown how to export your running history and achie vement records before the service is termin ated .
In the Chinese market , local brand running apps such as Keep and C odo on are ga ining popular ity , and these are expected to become the main target for N RC users . In particular , Keep is China ' s largest fitness app with more than 100 million users , and has been pra ised for its exten sive social features and training programs .
As global competition in the sports app market intensi fies , how companies adapt to the local market will likely be the focus of attention in the future .