Jan Kniffen, CEO of retail advisory firm J. Rogers Kniffen Worldwide Enterprises, said on CNBC that AI shopping agents are likely to start selecting and purchasing products for consumers in the near term, a shift he said could put established brands such as Nike at risk of losing customers. His point was straightforward: if a shopper asks for a category like running shoes rather than naming a brand, the AI agent may recommend competing labels such as Hoka or On.
Nike is already under pressure. The company’s latest quarterly revenue fell 4%, and it expects a high-single-digit decline for the current fiscal year. The report noted that Nike has tried selling through AI channels including Google’s Gemini chatbot, but that may not prevent AI agents from choosing rival products instead. Kniffen also said scale still matters in the AI era and described Walmart as the best operator of AI applications in the United States. Separately, Citi analysts said in a report that Nike is shifting toward a cost-cutting narrative. Nike shares are down 47% this year, making the stock one of the worst performers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, according to the report cited by BeInCrypto.
Jan Kniffen, CEO of retail consulting firm J. Rogers Kniffen Worldwide Enterprises, said on CNBC that AI shopping agents will soon be selecting and buying products for consumers, a change he said could leave traditional brands such as Nike exposed to customer losses.
Kniffen said that when consumers ask only for a product category instead of naming a brand — for example, "running shoes" — an AI agent may choose competitors such as Hoka or On.
Nike faces continued pressure
Nike has been under earnings pressure in recent periods. Its latest quarterly revenue fell 4%, and the company expects a high-single-digit decline for the current fiscal year.
The report said Nike has already tried to sell through AI channels including Google Gemini, but AI agents may still end up selecting rival brands in an agent-driven shopping flow.
Scale still matters, Kniffen says
Kniffen said scale remains important in the AI era. He also called Walmart the best operator of AI applications in the United States.
Citi report and stock performance
Citi analysts said in a report that Nike is shifting toward a cost-cutting narrative.
Nike shares are down 47% this year, making the company one of the worst-performing components in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, according to the report cited by BeInCrypto.
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