It is fascinating seeing innovation in other channels of retail. Take fashion, a big think at the National Retail Federation Expo here in New York this year is the virtual change room where a shopper can try on multiple items without leaving the store.
The lady in the photo is standing barely a metre from me and is wearing slacks and a top yet the image on the screen shows her wearing one of the dresses in the catalogue available from the demonstration store. Okay so the image on the screen does not look ideal. In the real world and with proper setup it would look much better.
The pitch from vendors of these facilities is that shoppers can try on more items without the time and inconvenience of lengthy trips to the change room. While some will want the change room experience of really trying items on, others will appreciate the time saving.
Major department stores like Macys are embracing this and other technology to reshape the fashion buying experience … and this technology is really only in its infancy. Indeed, Macys has made some excellent technology-driven moves, well beyond what I would expect from a large retailer.
I use this example to illustrate how much retail is changing and to highlight the need for us to change to remain relevant to shoppers who want this innovation. While there are shoppers who will not want change, I think that the momentum for change is and will continue to be such that we need to embrace change opportunities.
Soon, in store we will be able to walk past fashion displays and on a screen we will be able to see ourselves in the items on show almost without stopping.
I would have been more impressed to see you standing in front of it …….. you did have a go didn’t you
Hmmm…
Be able to see if the newspaper fits when I sleep under it. Usually too tired to read it at the end of the day.
Of course the CGI would not make you look ever so slightly slimmer now would it?
This technology is changing so rapidly that I am sure they will fix the bloated look that TV gives off.
I know I am getting old but WHY OH WHY
would stores want to use this technology?
Isn’t online shopping already a threat without them adding to the problem by
removing the “tactile” experience of trying
on clothes.
Surely we should be looking at ways of enhancing the retail sector not helping in
its demise?
I sometimes wonder about all this technology even though I largely embrace
it in my working life.
Brett, I loved your question about the CGI making us look slimmer. We could
photoshop our shopping experience and feel better for it.
We already have unscrupulous retailers using a different sizing from the usual so that women are conned into thinking that
they are a smaller size than is the reality.
Are women just suckers or what?
Personally, I hate shopping both online and retail so I am probably not qualified to
comment.
Why am I frustrated by this particular blog.
I think I’ll ask the AWW to put me on the cover nude to show how a 66 yo looks when she “loves” herself and her body.
MMmmmmm maybe not???? LOL
I
June,
I’m not sure the idea is to remove the tactile experience.
In-store technology often aims to compliments the existing experience, rather than replace it.
I would see technology like this being used by time poor shoppers as possibly a tool to sort through a large range of clothes before trying them on, or taking them home to try on.
I can spend an entire day shopping in just a handful of stores because it takes so long to try on everything! An innovation like this could reduce that time and increase the number of clothes one is able to try on.
It also caters for those shoppers who don’t like clothes shopping online (it can be a very hit and miss process), but equally don’t enjoy the in-store process. This increases their potential exposure to range while minimising the amount of time they have to spend doing something they would rather avoid.
Yes, it is about creating a hybrid between online and bricks and mortar. For the larger stores it can also be a way of reducing labour costs but then that would reduce opportunities for showing off any service point of difference.
Jarryd, why do you try clothes on in a store?
I try them on primarily for fit, and this technology will not help at all. I would never buy shoes or clothes online because of this, standard sized people can, but not moi!
Ditto h
What Jarryd is pointing out is that you could electronically try on many items quickly to determine if you liked them and then try the pick of them on properly for fit saving time spent in the change room and maximising the choice considered. While of lesser importance for most of us blokes personally, this would be far better than waiting for the missus to try on umpteen items.
h,
So you don’t try clothes on to determine if the style, colour and cut suit?
Technology like this is not designed to be a replacement for trying on clothes – its complimentary. In the same amount of time one could physically try on 10 different items, they may be able to test 50 using the technology and end up only having to try on those they like.
As for online stores; they are getting much better at dealing with the problems of sizing, fit, cut, etc. Descriptions and filters are getting more detailed, as are measurements. Those who shop online become aware of what suits them, with many labels making their fit and cut a signature of the brand. And if something doesn’t fit, it’s easy to return.