Retail of the Future — The Rebecca Minkoff Experience
Reinventing the high street by bridging the gap between on- and offline shopping has been a hot topic over the last couple of years. From branded apps to beacons and interactive window displays, brands and retailers have been trying it all to lure shoppers back into stores.
Leading innovation in retail, Rebecca Minkoff is one of the pioneers in the field. The tech-savvy fashion brand partnered with eBay to bring immersive digital technology in their stores, starting with their flagship in SoHo, New York (opened Nov 15th). It was on the top of my places to go when I hit the city 2 weeks ago and this is how it went.
The first thing you see when you enter the spacious and beautifully lit high-tech boutique is the interactive touch screen video wall where customers can see snippets from the runway shows, explore Rebecca’s favourite outfits and request an item to be brought into your personalised fitting room.
Choose a complimentary drink while you wait — water, espresso, coffee, tea or bubbly! Then enter your number and continue browsing around the store: they’ll text you as soon as the item you’ve chosen is in your fitting room.
I didn’t choose an item from the interactive wall. Instead, I picked a black rock’n’roll cool jacket, entered the fitting room and that’s when the magic (or should I say technology?) happened. The mirror “knew” exactly what I had brought into the room — how many items I had, which ones, what size. It displayed additional information about the jacket and suggested accessories I can pair it with. Naturally, I could also request those to be brought in the changing room.
The setting changes too and you can experience mood lighting transitions — from Brooklyn morning to SoHo after dark. If you’re feeling indecisive you can save your session on RebeccaMinkoff.com to continue your shopping online. Oh, and when you want to check out, there’s no need to go to the tills. In fact, the store doesn’t have any! Just ask one of the staff members and they’ll process your payment on their iPads.
Trend: In the tough world of accessible luxury retail RM stands out as a brand that understands its two types of extreme customers — “the girl who is in her own personal music video and doesn’t necessarily want to interact with people”, and “the one who wants a full, ‘pampered celebrity’ treatment in store”. The tech-boutique transforms the store into a destination providing a true retail experience instead of being just another place to buy clothing and accessories.
PS: Sadly, I couldn’t get my hands on the Rebecca Minkoff wearable bracelets as they hadn’t stocked them yet but I did end up with a beautiful silver leather notebook to scribble my happy thoughts & ideas in the new year.
