Hands-Free Brand Kizik Is Popping Up in 8 Cities Across US With Mobile Try-On Activation

OtisBusiness2025-07-011580

Kizik is setting out across the country to spread the word about its hands-free shoes with a new retail activation.

Starting on Monday, the Utah-based company is launching a 8-city mobile activation tour in what Kizik is calling a “strategic move” as it aims to “scale beyond pure direct-to-consumer towards omnichannel growth” and tests what retail can look like for the company.

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Called the “Kizik Try On Tour,” the series will offer a 24-hour-only, on-the-ground experience designed to build brand equity while collecting meaningful customer insights in real time. Kizik noted that the pop-ups will open in high-traffic locations and are “built to drive both brand engagement and measurable growth through direct conversion and remarketing.”

Each pop-up will offer guided product walk-throughs with Kizik experts, showcasing new products and best sellers for kids and adults; on-site digital data capture of customer preferences and sizes; gamified “Hands-Free Challenge” zones that put the brand’s tech to the test; and stacked discounts and email-based remarketing journeys that evolve based on customer behavior on-site.

According to Kizik chief marketing officer Elizabeth Drori this pop-up series was inspired by the brand’s try-on experience.

“We have what we call the ‘aha’ moment, which is what happens when a customer steps into a pair of Kizik shoes,” Drori told FN in an interview. “It’s this multi-sensory experience where you hear the sound of the shoe popping onto your foot, you feel the sensation of the technology sort of springing back and securing your foot into place. And it’s one of those ‘wow’ moments where people realize how our shoes work. And so, we really want to lean into that and amplify it as a big strategy for this year, because it’s really what sets us apart from the competition.”

The mobile try-on tour kicks off on Monday at Brookfield Place in New York City then it will travel to Boston on July 2. Other stops include Philadelphia on July 8, Washington, D.C. on July 10, Minneapolis on July 13, Denver on July 16, and Los Angeles on July 20. The tour will wrap up in Salt Lake City with two different stops in the area on July 23 and July 26.

Drori added that after the tour is complete next month, Kizik plans to use the mobile truck for other events later this year. “We are partnering with the Parkinson’s Foundation in October,” the executive noted. “The series will be centered around the Foundation’s ‘Moving Day,’ which is an annual fundraising walk organized to raise awareness and support for Parkinson’s disease.”

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This new activation comes in the midst of the brand’s efforts to double down on its retail strategy. Over the last several months, Kizik has opened new stores across the U.S.

In an exclusive interview with FN last May, former chief executive officer Monte Deere said he planned to have a total of six stores by the end of 2024 with new openings on Newbury Street in Boston, New Jersey and Denver slated for late 2024. “In 2025, we have several more in the pipeline,” the CEO said at the time. “We’re looking hard at Washington, D.C., Nashville, Seattle and Portland for new openings next year.”

In June, the footwear brand named former Nike executive Gareth Hosford as its new CEO. Deere, who has led the company since 2019, is continuing to serve on the board of Kizik, and its parent company HandsFree Labs, where he’ll advise on the company’s licensing arm of the business.

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