3D printed sneakers are the future

In the never-ending pursuit for retailers to gain new consumers, the innovation of 3D printed sneakers is still in its infancy. adidas who has been the forerunner so far with bringing 3D printed shoes to market is pushing on with 3D tech and betting the technology will turnout mass-market 3D printed products, and with it, a sizeable retail pay off.

Not only is adidas planning to bring 100’000 pairs of shoes with plastic midsoles made via a new 3D technology just in 2018 alone, but also aiming to ramp up 3D aided production into the millions in the coming years says James Cares, vice president of strategy creation for adidas.

“We have a really aggressive plan to scale this, the plan will put us as the (world’s) biggest producer of 3D-printed products.” James Cares

Adidas has not gone further into exactly what shape this years additional 100’000 sneakers will take, with the amazing Future craft 4D shoe quickly selling out in the few pop stores they were available at in New York earlier this year. To give you an idea of how big adidas is expecting the tech to go, Cares has stated that it will even out conquer the adidas boost cushioning shoe franchise.

"Introduced in 2013 with 100,000 pairs made in the first year as well, the Boost shoe line has expanded to over 50 million pairs a year. That's over 10% of the 400 million pairs adidas makes each year" Carnes stated.

Though the sneakers at the moment aren’t cheap, with a min. $300 price tag, the prices are expected to go down, as the production volumes go up. The natural advantage that 3D printed sneakers in the future will see, beyond cutting productions cost, is that of bringing customization to a whole new level.

“That’s how retail will be shaped in the future, you get some sort of physical assessment, whether it’s your fit or movement specifications, that translates to your actual needs. Somebody with the same size will run or walk differently (from you). It’s completely personal to you.” JC

We've only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg with 3D printed production, and we can be sure to see much more of this innovative sneaker making technique in the future.