With lots of retail news to keep track of, Dressipi brings you October’s most exciting stories.
1) Sports Direct’s In-Store Tech Investments
Sports Direct has invested in new in-store technology this October, with Retail Times reporting this is part of “a three to five-year project to enhance in-store experience and drive customer engagement.” The in-store digital solutions by UXG have been rolled out across all of the Sports Direct brands and include:
- Digital displays and signage
- Full-height video walls and striking store entrances
- Sensor-based digital mirrors which play advertisements via a digital display then seamlessly transform into a mirror when a customer approaches
More and more retailers are seeing the importance of creating experiences in-store to entice customers back and drive footfall and engagement (hopefully leading to more sales). Reported in Insider Media, Paul Midwood, Head of Development, UXG said, “We look forward to continuing to implement impactful digital solutions with further projects, creating exciting retail environments for their customers moving forward.”
2) Asos Launch Voice Technology
Asos is constantly innovating and finding ways to differentiate themselves. In their latest venture, they have partnered with Google, becoming, “one of the first fashion retailers in the UK to launch voice technology on Google Assistant.” (Drapers)
Customers can talk to the chatbot, named Enki, by simply saying, “Hey Google, Talk To Asos” on a smartphone or Google Home smart speaker. This enables them to shop new products across the top six womenswear and menswear categories.
Jason Gregory, Senior Product Manager, Asos said, “With 85,000 products on site at any one time, and on average 5,000 new items added each week, it’s more important than ever to make it easy for our customers to stay on top of what’s new on Asos.” (Drapers)
Retailers are continually trying to make the lives of their customers easier, with voice shopping becoming more and more common. According to research from OC&C (reported in City AM) voice technology means big business, “The use of voice in digital shopping experiences is rapidly increasing, with the amount spent using voice shopping expected to rise from $2bn (£1.5bn) today to $40bn by 2022.”
3) H&M X Klarna
In June, H&M launched tech developments including voice interactive mirrors and human holograms in AR as a way to create “extraordinary customer experiences.” Reported in Fashion United, in another way to create a “seamless, personalised and engaging shopping experience”, H&M has announced a partnership with payment provider, Klarna.
Klarna’s platform will cover the entire customer journey, with Fashion United outlining, “The partnership will see Klarna powering the H&M Club1 payment programme, providing an enhanced omni-channel customer payment offering, as well as a streamlined post-purchase service in the H&M app.”
Klarna can let customers decide how and when they pay and has become hugely popular over the last year with their ‘try before you buy’ service on retailers such as Topshop and Asos.
4) Online Retailers Unveiling Pop-Up Shops
With Matchesfashion opening a store last month and more and more physical spaces being occupied by pure-play retailers, it is no surprise that another two online retailers (Amazon and Hush) have been trying out what it’s like to occupy a physical space this October.
Stores still play a huge role in the customer shopping journey, as customers like to try before they buy. However, stores aren’t simply places to make a purchase. Hush’s pop up will also be a place for “style talks, beauty workshops and an evening with top fashion influencers, as well as collaborative events with local businesses, such as yoga classes and sustainable food events” (Fashion United).
Amazon Fashion also launched a pop-up last week, in a space where online meets offline. Stock in the shop changed every other day with different themes, accompanied by activities and experiences. You can read all about it here in Dressipi’s Style Director, Natalie Theo’s blog post.
We hope you enjoyed the round-up. Please feel free to get in touch with any stories you feel would be of interest.
Dressipi is the global leader in fashion-specific personalisation, working with some of the world’s biggest retailers. Using a comprehensive set of Machine Learning and AI technologies alongside the largest set of product fit and style data available in the world, Dressipi enables retailers to match customers with products and experiences to influence buying behaviour at scale.
Follow us on Twitter or visit our Blog.
This article originally appeared on our Blog.
