Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
or, worse still, leave the store due to the lack of availability of sales staff.
The call buttons are particularly essential for fitting rooms. It has been
proved by researchers that when shoppers have a high level of interactiv-
ity and a pleasant experience in fitting rooms, it increases their likeli-
hood of buying the item three or four times more than if they didn't try
the item on or had a bland experience during the fitting.
7. Product availability and identification selection through a touch-screen
that will enable clients to check the availability of a specific product in a
store. This will particularly serve as a complement to Internet shopping
as shoppers may obtain product codes from the brand's website and pre-
fer to try them on in the store before purchasing. In large luxury stores
that have multiple floors, finding such products and seeking help from
sales ambassadors may become a dilemma that this option could help to
overcome. It should, however, be featured in a format that doesn't rep-
licate “self-service” in order to avoid the risk of robbing the shopper of
the brand experience and the enjoyment of the luxury shopping.
8. 3-D animation display screens that provide the same effects as 3-D mov-
ies. This is a new form of technology that powers the visualization of
images on a specially formatted screen in the kind of 3-D form that
stimulates the feeling that the images are coming away from the screen
and advancing towards the viewer. This fantastic invention, which is
being pioneered by French company Artistic Images, is not only useful
for high-impact interactivity but, also as a form of extended and com-
plementary visual experience from that which may be found on a luxury
brand's website. For example, if a luxury brand has integrated 3-D prod-
uct view in real-time on its website, it would make sense for the 3-D dis-
play screens to be placed in the physical stores for a coherent continuous
experience. This is particularly important as luxury consumers currently
transfer their collective experiences from the web to the physical world
and vice versa.
9. Store window interactivity through providing mannequins in 3-D spin-
ning display modes or screens that stimulate real life 360º views rather
than the present static format. Another possibility is interactive screens
in store windows that change the colors and styles of the models dis-
played instead of the single model displayed on static mannequins. This
is not only visually stimulating, but also adds an element of brand enter-
tainment to both shoppers and passers-by.
10. Finally, luxury brands could enhance the current format of cramped
dressing rooms by adding lighting that is closer to daylight and increas-
ing the size of the rooms to allow for more movement and also to enable
the shopper's companions to join them. And why not provide sofas in
the fitting rooms? Let's not forget that fitting rooms have become impor-
tant touch-points for brands and they deserve as much attention as the
main shop floors.
