• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, September 19, 2017

Connected clothing is about to get a boost.

Nike is introducing a connected jersey so basketball fans can tap a phone to the shirt and receive custom content.

The Nike NBA Jersey comes with a tag at the bottom, where an NFC chip sits under the Nike Connect logo.

A consumer with the Nike Connect app can tap the logo to unlock team and player content, including pre-game player arrival footage and special offers.

The app is set up for quick social sharing, provides team member Spotify playlists and provides tappers with game-day offers.

Since the jersey knows which team and player it represents, custom content and history relating to that team is saved for later checking.

Connected clothing currently accounts for only 2% of the wearables market, as I wrote about here recently (Smartwatches Dominate Wearables Market).

We’ll take Nike’s word that its NBA connected jersey is the first time that premium NBA content can be accessed through interaction with apparel and we’ll see if fans who buy the jerseys start and continue to tap after the jersey officially goes on sale at the end of next week.

The connected jersey will be a good test to how well a major brand can drive interest and interactivity with connected clothing.

If Nike can do it, others may follow.