DICK’S Sporting Goods is the place where athletes go to gear up, from a kid’s first baseball glove to a golfer’s next-level clubs. DICK’S customers, who they call athletes, rely on DICK’S not just for products but also for coaching, context, and partnership in their progress. Static product images on a website and batch email campaigns no longer cut it. High-performance equipment is essential, and deep personalization — from curated apparel to tailored training programs to AI-driven recommendations — is the name of the game.
Through a new partnership with Adobe, DICK’S is using AI to elevate the athlete experience in order to deliver deeply personalized experiences, redefining how the retailer connects with athletes at every digital touchpoint.
With Adobe enabling real-time data, on-brand content, and agent-powered conversational customer engagement, DICK’S can give athletes exactly what they’re looking for at just the right moment — whether they’re a weekend warrior, an elite player, or a parent shopping for that first soccer cleat.
Conversation is expanding across the digital storefront.
Commerce has always been conversational, but the dialogue has accelerated and grown more sophisticated with real-time, text-based chats and virtual agents.
More and more, AI search and discovery is the gateway into the athlete buying journey. Adobe data from the 2025 holiday season showed AI-driven traffic to retail sites industry-wide jumped 693% year over year, indicating customers increasingly turn to AI to find their next purchase. Buying journeys now move more quickly, as consumers receive data-informed recommendations for their next move.
Adobe Brand Concierge represents the next evolution — bringing conversational AI and intelligent orchestration to brand‑owned digital properties. DICK’S is partnering with Adobe to make Concierge part of its digital coaching tool that will deliver even more personalized experiences that understand customer intent and guide athletes from discovery to decision.
“Every athlete’s journey is unique, and it is our job to ensure that every interaction with our brand is focused on helping our athletes achieve their dreams,” said Emily Silver, chief marketing, ecommerce, and athlete experience officer at DICK’S. “Our partnership with our technology team and Adobe will help us meet the promise of personalization at scale through AI, with a data and content foundation that enables our teams to deliver the power of our opinion and expert knowledge and create unique experiences for every athlete.”
DICK’S transforms its operations to better serve every athlete.
Today, conversations and trends develop within minutes, which means it’s critical for brands like DICK’S to be able to personalize faster and at scale. Having a robust, well-oiled content machine that can develop custom campaigns in a flash is essential to delivering the experience athletes expect.
DICK’S is scaling personalization by modernizing its content engine with Adobe GenStudio, streamlining how teams move from idea to on‑brand execution. With Adobe Workfront driving cross‑team collaboration, Adobe Experience Manager powering asset management and activation, and Adobe Firefly Services and Firefly Custom Models generating rapid, channel‑ready variations, DICK’S can deliver high‑quality, tailored content at the pace of evolving consumer demand.
The next step is to implement data-backed personalization to make each interaction count. With Adobe Experience Platform, DICK’S is bringing together data signals across athlete interactions to more deeply understand athletes’ needs and preferences. Teams can then build relevant audiences through Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and orchestrate cross-channel experiences via Adobe Journey Optimizer. This ensures the right content reaches the right athlete — at the right moment — across every channel.
With the help of Adobe solutions, DICK’S is redefining the modern athlete experience to give athletes intuitive, relevant guidance at every step, leading to real‑world outcomes — from football players finding the perfect receiving gloves to golfers looking to perfect their swing.
Together, Adobe and DICK’S are proud to advance a shared purpose — empowerment. Adobe empowers everyone to create, and DICK’S equips and empowers athletes to achieve their dreams.
Watch the Day Two Keynote at Adobe Summit.
Rachel Thornton is Adobe’s chief marketing officer for the enterprise business, helping organizations deliver exceptional customer experiences at the intersection of marketing, creativity, and AI. She leads strategies and activations that position Adobe as the leading marketing and AI platform, while energizing and empowering CMOs and experience makers worldwide.
