Since its inception in 2015, GOAT has quickly become one of the most trusted online marketplaces to buy and sell sneakers. Three years later, the company is continuing to grow its already popular platform with a first-of-its-kind augmented reality experience for Black Friday 2018.
In 2015, the app hosted its inaugural Black Friday promotion—an event that largely helped jump start the company's growth to its over 10 million unique users today. It sold some of the year's best releases at retail from "Turtle Dove" Yeezy 350s to Supreme x Air Jordan 5s. GOAT has upped the ante for this year's shopping experience by introducing a brand new augmented reality experience developed with Apple's ARKit platform celebrating some of the most iconic sneaker destinations around the world.
Users will be able to visit 125 destinations to trigger AR experiences through the app. Access points include areas like Flight Club in New York City, "Sneaker Street" in Hong Kong, and Dover Street Market London. Others pinpoint locations of iconic sports moments connected to athletes like Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, and Muhammad Ali, to name a few. Once at the location, users will be able to gain raffle tickets to use in GOAT's various Black Friday giveaways. Each destination visited will provide an additional 100 tickets, and sharing the location on social media helps you accumulate even more tickets. Along with each AR beacon that will pop up at these locations, there will also be augmented stacks of newspapers that feature stories linked to each specific area.
"Every Black Friday, we look for new ways to celebrate sneaker culture and give back to our community with a really unique drawing," says Chief Product Officer and co-founder of GOAT Daishin Sugano. "This year, we’re excited to celebrate greatness. Greatness in moments, places and people who have inspired us. With the addition of Augmented Reality, we hope to bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds with our most immersive and global experience yet."
Over 1,000 prizes will be up for grabs that include up to $10,000 in credit that can be used on the GOAT app, rare shoes at or below retail price, special sneaker packs inspired by some of today's biggest musical artists, and even free pairs. Some highlights include the "Shattered Backboard" Air Jordan 1, "Black" Kaws x Air Jordan 4, and the "OVO Black Pack"—a three-pack of OVO x Air Jordans in Drake's size 11.
