It is no surprise that technology is creeping into every sector of our lives. But in an industry such as fashion, with its rather narrow-minded vision led by historic executives, technology infusion has been slow. Sure retail is moving online, but that has been the case.
With pandemic permanently shutting down many large corporations, retailers such as Men’s Wearhouse are turning to technology to bring the sought after “experience” to their consumers.
The chain retailer specializing in formal meanswear (which as you can imagine is not seeing record breaking sales with work from home and laxing office dress codes) rolled out two new technological store designs highlighting three major integrations.
- Using cameras and artificial intelligence to recommend a customers sizing in just two pictures
- A virtual selection of shirts (with ranging sizes and colors) for customers to add to their fitting room cart for associated to bring to them to try on
- Build-an-outfit puts designing at the hands of the consumer with instant 3-d rendering of style option displayed on ipads
Yes retail in an arguably moving to e-commerce. But brick and mortar stores are not going anywhere anytime soon. Research shows 62% of Baby Boomers and 58% of Gen Zers, still prefer buying from a physical store (salesforce). Consumers want to be able to see the fabric in real life or walk around the store in shoes to get the real feeling of it. This is why stores need to push through declining in-store sales with innovative ways to bring excitement and experience back into in person shopping. Another benefit to technology integration means having less inventory on hand or on the floor. This leads to less clutter (a better customer experience) and smaller store sizes (less rent).
I believe there is a rebirth happening within the fashion industry, one fueled by the necessity of technology. I am excited to see how successful the integrations to Men’s Wearhouse stores in and how other companies will be implement technology to create a jawdropping store.
Refrence:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2021/02/16/next-gen-tech-could-be-key-to-mens-wearhouse-turnaround/?sh=632ca6e1428d
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