Dick's Dives Into Experiential

When Dick’s Sporting Goods launched House of Sports – an experiential retail and sports concept – the idea was to break the mold and create a powerful addition to the brands wider fleet.

And it appears to have done just that.

The 30,000 Foot Perspective

Dick’s Sporting Goods has been one of the top performing retailers in recent years and its recovery performance has only solidified its powerful position amid the wider retail landscape. Only one week since the week beginning May 3rd, saw visits lower than the 2019 equivalent, while the weeks beginning July 5th, 12th and 19th showed visit growth of 15.0%, 12.1%, and 11.8% respectively. The ability to drive growth during a critical Back to School season is a tremendous sign of the brand’s current strength and future potential.

Yet, instead of simply doubling down on the elements that have made the brand successful, Dick’s Sporting Goods recently dove deeper into the word of experiential retail, and this may unlock an entirely new level of potential.

Since its launch, visits to the House of Sports location in Rochester, New York have significantly outpaced other nearby Dick’s Sporting Goods locations, with weekly visits to the House of Sports location on average 93.5% higher than the average of weekly visits at three nearby Dick’s locations. 

And the pull of the location looks to be significant. While the initial launch clearly drove added buzz, the House of Sports location continues to boast a median visit duration of 13.3% longer than the national average and 27.3% longer than the local branches. It’s True Trade Area is also 10.7% larger than the True Trade Area of the next largest local Dick’s location.

House of Sport Significant Asset for Dick's Sporting Goods

House of Sports could prove to be a powerful asset for Dick’s Sporting Goods. The location has driven a massive surge in visits for a brand that was already seeing strong results, has shown a huge reach, and looks to have created an experience that significantly impacts visit duration. And all this while operating the experiential location out of Rochester – not necessarily known as one of the country’s top retail hubs. 

The ability to leverage locations like this in more suburban areas could create a significant asset for Dick’s Sporting Goods. Expect the brand to continue to deploy experiential and newer concepts as it leverages its uniquely strong position to deepen its role.

Will the experiential success drive a deeper push into the space? Visit Placer.ai to find out.