In recent years, sports and culture have reached a synthesis in the merchandising business, where teams can often be seen to collaborate with high-profile designers and manufacturers to step beyond the confines of typical teamwear and into youth-focused fashion and streetwear for a wider audience.
The synthesis of technology and sport has proceeded similarly. As clubs and sports properties seek to widen the net of their consumer reach and attract younger, digitally native demographics, a wide array of technology startups have entered the market to assist those goals.
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One such player is the computing and artificial intelligence firm Napster. Formerly known as Infinite Reality, Napster has invested heavily in digital infrastructure, acquiring businesses such as extended reality business Thunder Studios, virtual shopping platform Obsess, and immersive tech firm Landvault, among others, to round out its offering.
The result has been the creation of a 3D extended reality online storefront with AI functionality that can aid the shopping experience, something the firm calls a “first” for a professional soccer club.
Starting with Portuguese heavyweights Benfica and followed soon after by Turkish giants Fenerbahce, Napster has already attracted partnerships with two sides that boast large domestic followings in major European markets, and similarly have well-known brand identity across the continent in an industry that skews towards a preference for mobile content.
Now, Napster chief executive for the Middle East and North Africa and the global president for enterprise at Napster Corp speaks to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) to explain just what this new era of digital merchandising marketplaces can offer sports properties.
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By GlobalDataHow important is merchandising to major sports teams such as Fenerbahce and Benfica?
Huber: “Merchandising is critical – it's not just revenue, it's how fans express their connection to the club. Today, competition doesn’t just happen on the pitch, but online to compete for fans’ attention. For global clubs like Fenerbahce and Benfica with millions of fans worldwide, digital merchandising becomes even more vital since most supporters can't visit physical stores.”
How important is the addition of new technologies in boosting merchandising revenues? How does this drive purchases?
“Technology transforms the transactional into experiential. Our data shows consistently higher conversion rates and longer session times in immersive environments. The 3D exploration naturally increases product discovery, while AI agents deliver personalized recommendations at the right moment to drive sales. We believe this combination is the future of media.”
What more can clubs do to increase merchandising revenues?
“The main bottleneck right now is that sports clubs do not own the relationships with the fans – for the most part, the engagement happens on social media platforms, and they have outsourced merchandise to third-party services. To increase revenue, clubs need to own their fan relationships.
“Immersive, personalized experiences on club-owned platforms (like their website) bring some of that lost engagement back on a property that the club owns, and enable direct monetization of the fan base. Napster provides this solution – we are not a walled-garden platform, we are simply technology that we provide to the clubs to deploy their immersive experiences powered by AI.”
How important is personalization to the fan experience?
“Personalization is currently the missing piece for online fans – everyone gets treated the same, sees the same content and offers, whether you are a hardcore fan going to all the games or are just following the club’s Instagram page. Immersive AI introduces a new dimension to personalization, asking fans questions about their preferences and guiding the customization of their experience.
“We see a future where the online fan experience is created on the fly for each person based on their preferences, history with the club, and current need. This is what creates brand loyalty, and how clubs can build 1:1 relationships with fans at scale.”
Are there differences in the offerings that Benfica and Fenerbahce requested? How does Napster tailor the offering to different clients?
“Each club has a unique brand identity and fan culture. We customize the visual environment, language support, and product focus while maintaining our core tech stack. Product catalogs are seamlessly connected using our API. The fundamentals remain consistent – each experience adapts to each club's brand aesthetic and personality.”
How does Napster differentiate itself from other AI-powered merchandising services?
“We're building at the intersection of immersive and AI – the complete stack for the internet’s next phase. While others focus purely on AI and chatbots, we ask: what's the user experience in an AI-dominated world?
“We believe immersive is the ‘experience layer’ on top of AI, that enables rich interactions and a new dimension of fan engagement. Our strength is our technology, enabling us to rapidly create these experiences, integrate trained AI agents, and deploy on our customers' websites.”
The Benfica partnership was the first time such a deal had been made for a soccer club, with Fenerbahce now adding to this. Do you expect more to come? And why will clubs look to adopt this technology?
“Absolutely. The problem we are solving is clear: to truly reap the benefit of their large audiences, clubs need to build direct relationships with their fans at scale. This is at odds with the current model, where social media platforms act as gatekeepers. Clubs need to bring a portion of that engagement and monetization on a platform that they own, so they can control the experience and monetize on their own terms.
“We believe the combination of immersive and AI is the tech stack supporting this evolution – as it provides a rich experience and 1:1 personalization. With these first experiences, we're building a playbook that we expect most clubs, leagues, and athletes will adopt within five years. Clubs either evolve or risk being left behind by competitors who do.”
