163Some time ago, a video went viral on Tuke.On Tuke, there was such a video that became popular.
In the video, a young man is seen wearing a pair of"roller skates" and leisurely walking uphill, not only catching up with the people in front, but even faster than those jogging!
Once this video was released, it received over23.5 million views, and the protagonist in the video is none other than the product launched by the American startup companyShift Robotics—smart powered shoes"Moonwalkers".
So far, short videos related to#Moonwalkers on Tuke have accumulated nearly 1 billion views, and this product, priced at $1,399, has been sold to 22 countries worldwide since its official launch in 2023.
Image source:Tuke
Redefining“Walking”
These shoes that have sparked an online frenzy are far from ordinary roller skates.
Officially, they are defined as"the world's first smart powered shoes".They are not simply for transportation, but rather improve walking efficiency through a self-developedAI electric drive module.
This experience design, which is both natural and full of technological sense, is a key reason why it continues to go viral on overseas social media such as Tuke.
Back to the brand itself,Shift Robotics' entrepreneurial story has a strong engineering background.
Public information shows that the founder, Zhang Xunjie (Xunjie Zhang), is an engineer with a background in robotics,who has conducted in-depth research on legged robots and human-machine collaborative walking control.
Through continuous research, he realized a practical issue: instead of making expensive and complex legged robots, why not put these motion control technologies"into" products that ordinary people can wear on their feet every day?
With this concept, he assembled a team of engineers from prestigious universities such as Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Michigan, as well as companies like Nike, DJI, and Tesla,and after five years of development, finally launched Moonwalkers on a crowdfunding platform in2022,andreceived about$330,000 in support.
Image source:kickstarter
The Intersection of Smart Wearables and Efficient Mobility
From a broader industry perspective,Shift Roboticsbrandis positioned at the intersection of"wearable robotics" and "personal micro-mobility".
Tuke search for recent relevant data showsthat the global wearable robotics technology market is expected to reach about$11.89 billionby 2030,with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 43% from 2024 to 2030. The driving force behind thiscomes fromthe demand for walking assistance in an aging society,as well asthe demand for"enhanced mobility" in everyday consumer scenarios.
Meanwhile, the micro-mobility market itself is also expanding,with the global micro-mobility market size in 2024 at about$40.6 billion,with electric scooters and e-bikes being the main sources of growth.
Against this backdrop,Moonwalkers, a new category between "shoes" and "electric vehicles", happens to be at the intersection of urban short-distance travel,eco-friendly commuting, and tech-trendy products, naturally carrying storytelling and buzz.
Image source:linkedin
On the consumer side,since 2022, overseas consumers' attention to outdoor activities,healthy travel,and efficient commuting has increased. Coupled with the willingness of the new generation of consumers to pay for funandtechnology,this also provides a foundation for willingness to pay for such crossover products.
FromShift Roboticsbrandcase, the high price tag did not prevent it from gainingwidespreaddiscussion on social media such as Tuke, but instead, due toscarcity and technological appeal, it has formed a certainfreshness premium. This also proves in reverse that in a niche track,as long as it is sufficiently differentiated and accurately hits the pain points of target users,the "narrow and deep" market also has good growth potential.
Image source:Shift Robotics
Multi-platform Narrative: How to Help Consumers Understand a Pair of"Shoes of the Future"?
For a new product priced over a thousand dollars and redefining its category, the biggest challenge lies in how to help users understand it.
Shift Roboticsbranddid not choose a short-term traffic strategy, but instead built a multi-platform, interactive, three-dimensional narrative network to gradually guide users from curiosity to understanding and trust.
1. Tuke
OnTuke,Shift Roboticsbranddid not take the traditionalpromotionroute,but instead integrated the product into daily life, creating and promoting content with a more native and user-oriented strategy.
For example,"walking uphill faster than others running" and "commuting in the city with Moonwalkers for a day" focus on showcasing the contrast and real user experience brought by the product, so that viewers can understand the product's value within seconds.This type of videoafter being published, many havereceivedmillions or even tens of millions of views, bringing in organic traffic and laying the foundation for subsequent in-platform advertising and influencer collaborations.
Image source:Tuke
Currently, the brand's official account@shiftrobotics has gained 441,100 followers, published a total of 352 videos, with an average view count of 1,154,100 per video. From an account operation perspective, this is undoubtedly quite successful.
Image source:Echotik
In addition to building its own account,Shift Roboticsbrandalso actively invests in influencer marketing to capture traffic and deepen awareness.
Unlike the purely lifestyle displays, the brand's influencer promotional videos focus more onexplaining the functions of Moonwalkers. After all, such a high-priced product needs a reasonable and detailed explanation to be convincing.
Forrest Jones is a great example. As a professional automotive explainer with over 8 million followers on Tuke, his audience is more vertical and has a certain understanding of related professional content.
In his video, he explains everything fromthe use of Moonwalkers to kinetic data, with a very comprehensive explanation. This video ultimately received over 8.2 million views, effectively capturing broad trafficand brought the product many potential users.
Image source:Tuke
2. Instagram
OnInstagram, Shift Roboticsbrandoperates more towards"brand image + community management", bycontinuously postingproductfeature highlights and userUGC content,tomaintain brand tone.
In addition, theyalso use these platforms for advertising and remarketing, segmenting audiences based on region, interest tags, and visit behavior, guiding users who were attracted onTuke to the official website or independent site for conversion.
Currently,the official Shift Robotics accounthas nearly300,000 followers. In a highly vertical hardware niche, this scaleis quite impressive.
Image source:Instagram
3.Independent Site
At the end of the online traffic layout,the Shift Robotics brand independent site plays a key role in final conversion.
When users are attracted on social platforms,they can directly jump to the independent site via links attached to each account. As the final conversion hub, the independent site carries key steps such as browsing product details, placing orders, payments, and after-sales consultation, allowing the brand to fully control user data and profit margins.
This approach of converting public traffic fromTuke into private traffic on the independent site is the core strategy for current DTC brands to build long-term assets.
Image source:Shift Robotics
Summary
Through the case ofShift Robotics brand,it can be seen that the overseas market is actually very friendly to products with technical content, stories, and content topics.
Nowadays, content platforms represented byTuke and Instagram have become important gateways for global consumers to "discover new brands", while building independent sites allows brands to control user assets and pricing power. The combination of the two is itself a suitable path fordomesticcompanies to replicate for going global.
The overseas market is not a battlefield only for giants, but is instead waiting for more companies with ideas, technology, and patience to participate. For domestic brands considering going global, now may be the best time to take the first step.