The NFL Players Association, a labor union for NFL football players, launched an e-commerce site called the NFLPA Shop on July 11, says Kathie Vu, VP of licensing and business development for NFL Players, Inc., the for-profit subsidiary of the NFLPA.
“This is a site where anyone can go online, and through our on-demand product line be able to buy merchandise for any current NFL Player,” Vu says. The e-commerce site officially launched July 11 and was built by Fanatics, an e-commerce provider for sporting sites, she says.
The NFLPA with be driving traffic to the e-commerce site in a variety of ways including player influence and media interviews, Twitter, Facebook, and word-of-mouth, she says. “We’re also tapping into our email database and communicating that the shop is now live,” she says, adding that the database is made up of consumers and fans who have expressed interest in the NFL and its players.
Once customers are on the site, they’re able to opt-in to email lists to receive future information from the NFLPA about promotions and sales, she says. “We will use that opportunity to communicate to consumers,” she says.
The NFLPA will collect information from consumers who purchase on the site, though Vu adds it’s unclear what information will be collected and how it will be used in the future.
During the next couple of months, the e-commerce site will be rolling out a variety of other features, including live auctions and enhanced player pages, Vu says. Those features will most likely become available in the middle of the NFL season, she says.
“We’re launching now because we wanted to get the site up and live before football season,” she says. “There are also a number of training camps happening right now.”
The NFLPA currently represents more than 2,000 NFL players, she says.
