Would You Subscribe to Your Shoes?
Avelo Running, the world’s first smart running shoe, is betting you will.
It sounds crazy at first, but the wearables market is exploding.
Runners are already spending significantly on wearables and 44% of Americans own fitness-tracking tech. Tech like Whoop—they're charging $30 monthly for their fitness tracker and absolutely crushing it.
Whoop isn’t alone. Oura Ring found their sweet spot with a hybrid model: buy the ring upfront, then pay $6 monthly for the fancy features. They achieved an impressive 88% user retention after 12 months.
Avelo hopes to ride this wave—but can shoes command the same loyalty?
For every Whoop success story, there's a Fitbit scratching their head, still trying to figure out how to make the subscription magic happen. Fitbit, the original fitness tracker giant, struggled with subscriptions, failing to convince customers to shell out $10 a month.
After all, not all products should come with a subscription.
Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures put it bluntly:
"I think it's a consumer behavior mindset issue… if I told someone who's not in this room, 'Would you pay to subscribe to a pair of shoes?' I just don't think most people have wrapped their head around that concept."
Market Reality Check
The running footwear market is projected to nearly double from $16.6 billion today to over $30.7 billion by 2031. Smart footwear specifically is a small but growing segment, expected to surpass $1 billion by 2030.
Nike launched their own smart shoe, the Adapt BB, in 2019, but it never quite gained mainstream traction. Under Armour tried and then abandoned their sensor-equipped shoe line altogether by 2023.
So why hasn't smart footwear broken through yet?
Avelo: The Smart Shoe Experiment
In comes Avelo with their smart running shoes. They've packed their kicks with sensors that measure your impact and form to prevent injuries.
But even with that clear value prop, the subscription question is like that pebble in your shoe that won't go away.
"People have subscription fatigue today. We're very aware that people are wary to sign up for another subscription" Avelo's CEO Royi Metser admitted to us.
Elizabeth Yin of Hustle Fund didn't mince words:
"I would not pay a subscription. I mean, for the same reason I don't pay for inserts, I wouldn't pay for subscription shoes."
Subscription fatigue is real. Transitioning runners from a straightforward shoe purchase to an ongoing subscription demands a compelling, continually reinforced value proposition.
Avelo needs to prove their shoe isn’t just smart, it’s indispensable.
The Million Dollar Question
So what's it really take to make hardware subscriptions work? From what we've seen on The Pitch, you need:
A product that screams "ongoing value!"
Consumer behavior that actually fits a subscription (not just forcing it)
Pricing that doesn't make people's eyes pop
Extra value that makes sense beyond just the physical product
Products succeeding with subscriptions, like Peloton, Oura, and Whoop, consistently demonstrate clear, measurable benefits tied to ongoing usage—metrics, improvements, and health outcomes users can’t live without. For shoes to enter this exclusive club, Avelo must clearly communicate and continuously reinforce their value beyond the initial novelty.
"It took a while to get people comfortable with the notion that you would buy something and continue to pay for it"
Charles reminds us. And he's right—the key isn't making everything subscription-based. It's finding those sweet spots where it actually makes sense for both sides.
The bottom line?
Subscription models thrive only when they're genuinely aligned with consumer habits and offer clear, ongoing benefits. Avelo's challenge won’t be convincing us that smart shoes are valuable—it will be convincing us they're worth paying for again and again.
What do you think? Would you subscribe to your shoes?
🎥 Watch Royi’s pitch on YouTube or listen in your favorite podcast app 🎧
Quote of the Day
"Just because you can make something smart doesn't mean you should. I hope it's not like the smart refrigerator where you put smarts into something that was actually fine being dumb." - Charles Hudson
The Essentials
Company: Avelo Running
Currently Raising: $3M Seed
Previously Raised: $1.4M pre-seed
Founders: Royi Metser (CEO), ex-Nike co-founder Peter Ruppe
HQ: Miami, FL
Industry: Sports Tech/DTC
Price: $250 upfront or subscription model TBD
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