The evolution of sneakers from humble footwear to lucrative investments has made it increasingly difficult for many sneakerheads to get their hands (and feet) on the sneakers they want to wear. As soon as they drop, bots and resellers snatch up every collectible pair within seconds and mark them up for a profit.

As the largest and oldest marketplace for new and pre-worn kicks, eBay dominated the sneaker resale market for many years. Recently, however, a number of competitors have entered the space, stealing market share from the original online marketplace. eBay needed to remind the community of the brand’s commitment to sneaker culture and reclaim its leadership status.

To spotlight the brand’s position as the oldest and largest marketplace for both new and pre-worn sneakers, eBay created the first sneaker store to reward sneakerheads for wearing their kicks. The Wear ‘Em Out Store offered exclusive pricing on collectible Nike, Jordan, and New Balance sneakers for those willing to lace ‘em up and wear ‘em out of the store. Each pair featured a “market price” and a lower (up to 70%) “wear ‘em out price”. To build tension and ensure the sneakers couldn't be resold as new, shoppers who chose the "wear 'em out" price had to walk a custom-built path of grass, gravel, and concrete on their way out of the store. The experience spotlighted one of eBay’s biggest advantages over other sneaker marketplaces - you can always resell your sneakers on eBay, even after wearing them, unlike competitors who only allow the sale of new, unworn sneakers.

The activation was targeted at the 4 million people who buy sneakers regularly and influence the 47 million others who are interested in the category. As the popularity of collectible sneakers skyrocketed, many frustrated sneakerheads could no longer afford the pairs they want to wear and face pressure to keep their new kicks pristine if they do choose to wear them. The culture they helped create had become more about finance than fashion, leading them to create a movement on TikTok and amassing 100 million views for sneaker content tagged #WearYourKicks. To understand how pervasive the issue was, we surveyed over 1,000 sneakerheads and found that respondents wore less than half of the pairs in their collections. We saw an opportunity to remind people that there’s more to sneakers than making a quick profit and invite them to celebrate the joy of lacing up a new pair of kicks.

This one-of-a-kind retail experience in the heart of LA’s streetwear scene gave the community a thought-provoking choice: Pay the full market price and keep the shoes in new, or “deadstock”, condition or lace ‘em up and wear ‘em out of the store for a substantial discount (up to 70% off). The store inventory was curated by rapper and notable sneakerhead, Offset, with sneakers provided by top eBay seller and LA-based small business Solestage. Shoppers laced up their sneakers and walked our path of grass, gravel, and concrete, ensuring they couldn’t be resold as new. Each wear ‘em out walk was immortalized on video for the wearer to share on social. The activation was timed to start immediately after Sneakercon LA, when there was an influx of sneakerheads in the area. To drive excitement and promote the experience, we used wild postings, social, sneaker influencers, and earned outreach.

The activation caught the attention of media, drove positive sentiment for eBay, and drove an increase in sneaker sales on the platform. Results highlights:

- Drove a 25% increase in sneaker sales on eBay over the previous year.

- Garnered 60 pieces of unique coverage and 1.5 billion earned impressions, breaking through with top sneaker culture, lifestyle, music, and local media, with coverage in Complex, Fast Company, Vibe, Yahoo, Ad Age, Los Angeles Magazine, and more.

- The store had lines around the block for three days with some even camping overnight to ensure they gained entry to the store.

- Drove a 2,000% increase in “eBay sneaker” mentions on social with positive sentiment volume skyrocketing by 172%.

This activation anticipated and helped fuel a growing trend towards wearing your stuff, and a belief that the signs of age shouldn’t diminish the value of things, but rather add to their character. As notable designer and eBay collaborator Heron Preston says: “Collecting sneakers you don’t wear is irrelevant.” Not long after the activation, New Balance and Balenciaga released pre-distressed sneakers, and the Nike x Tom Sachs collaboration depicted the shoes in a heavily worn state – a major shift for the industry.