innovation in fashion report - emap

Innovation in Fashion

Report2013

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Drapers / INNOVATION IN FASHION REPORT _ 2

Welcome

David Brooks

I t is simply in the fashion industry’s nature to embrace the new and exciting, while at the same time satisfy the customer.

This report highlights some of the best examples of innovative technology and forward-thinking strategies. It also explores what businesses

need to do in the future to continually evolve and keep the customer happy.

We honed in on five key subjects in the industry: product design, merchandising, data and CRM, the bricks-and-mortar store and ecommerce. These areas are leading to innovations in product, making what consumers want more readily available and tailoring the shopping experience to fit the individual customer.

The project also included a round table discussion supported by our sponsors – retail software specialist K3 Retail and fabric technology business Gore-Tex® Footwear – that allowed us to talk through the report’s focus with a group of leading retailers and brands.

The discussion underlined how innovation today is still based on the old-fashioned retail principle of relevancy and delivering customers what they want, when they want it.

This means selling a product that looks great, but also providing the added benefits consumers desire – be they breathability or waterproofing – and ensuring that the amount and location of stock is in tune with the demand. It also encompasses retailers knowing their customer, what they want and sending the right promotional messages at the right time.

Providing customers with the optimum shopping experience is crucial. This means offering consumers greater service online, such as digital fitting tools to address the lack of physical changing rooms. It is also about giving customers a reason to make the trip to the store by offering an engaging and exciting experience.

The report and round table have found that by moving forward, the sector is going back to the future by delivering established retail values, but in new and innovative ways.Drapers deputy projects editor / [email protected]

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I nnovation is difficult and though it appears on countless business plans, in many cases, those businesses end up disappointed by it.

The prize for a forward-thinking strategy and innovative technology is clearly valued: differentiation, access to new markets,

new demographics such as younger consumers, better customer experiences, stronger brands and competitive advantage.

But the difficulties are also clear to see – experimenting and doing things other than what you are known for can be dangerous for brands, and challenging for sales staff and marketers. It can be about doing more with less and can

require us to suspend our faith in ROI. But innovation is a process – it needs to build momentum.

In the case of product innovation, it is about meeting or exceeding consumer expectations with high-value products. Pricing is a factor, but value is key. Product innovation has to really make the consumer feel good. This can be seen, for instance, in shoes that are stylish enough to wear anywhere, comfortable indoors and out, yet offer complete waterproofness for UK weather.

Listening to consumers and what they are telling us is the key part. We have to take those needs and wants, and translate them into new products that delight and endure. European marketing associate, Gore-Tex® Footwear

ForeWords

Murray Macadam

Fashion retailers find themselves in a very fast moving current of technology at the moment. Facing challenges such as obtaining and retaining customer information, accuracy of customer data, identifying customers across multiple

channels (you know all about customers online but they are invisible in store) and customer loyalty. This in itself is a lot to deal with and has brought about huge innovation in retail to try and stay ahead of customers’ demands.

Retailers are discovering ways to cut through all this noise and take advantage of the situation by creating better engagement platforms with customers such as mobile apps that increase customer engagement, information retention and loyalty schemes. The addition of social media and

ecommerce have also brought retailers and customers to a one-on-one level of communication that makes it possible for customers and retailers to get an instant response in some cases.

Retailers are one of the most innovative users of today’s technology, integrating it with day-to-day life and also anticipating customers’ shopping behaviours. All this is supported by huge investments to ensure retailers’ IT infrastructures are capable of facilitating today’s omnichannel demands.

So where is retail heading in the future? The answer is simple, retail will continue to develop, create and innovate ways to integrate sophisticated technologies into shoppers everyday life experiences. Fashion sector manager, K3 Retail

Domenico Antonucci


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Product design innovation page 5Retailers and brands are exploring innovative technologies to create product that is not just stylish, but also functional. Drapers explores how businesses such as young fashion brand Bench and denim brand Wrangler use fabric technology to enhance product with such benefits as increased breathability and waterproofing, without sacrificing aesthetic appeal.

Merchandising in a multichannel world page 7Technology is also key to ensuring product is in stock across the channels no matter the weather. This chapter explores how businesses such as White Stuff and Matalan are tackling their inventory management, restocking, and forecasting processes to have the right stock in the right place at the right time to satisfy demand across the channels.

Innovation in data and CRM page 9Retailers including Harrods and My-Wardrobe are developing sophisticated strategies to better

understand their customers. Drapers looks at how businesses are capturing data from loyalty schemes and social media to target customers with more precision than ever before.

In-store innovation page 11Retailers are revamping their stores with slick gadgets, interactive mirrors and digital screens to make shopping a more exciting experience. This chapter highlights the forward-thinking features in stores retailers such as Burberry, Topshop and Marks & Spencer use to drive customers through their doors.

Ecommerce evolution page 13Retailers are evolving their ecommerce offers and are replicating some of the benefits of the in-store experience. One such advantage is that customers can try on clothes and shoes before they buy. Drapers explores the online solutions being used to provide consumers with a more accurate preview of fit and to tackle return rates.


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In the relentless pursuit of the new, brands, manufacturers and retailers are exploring innovative technologies to improve the performance of clothes, footwear and accessories. Their aim is to push the boundaries of what fashion

can be and simultaneously establish themselves as industry leaders and add brand value.

Investment into technical fabrics was once only made by those companies who dealt in performance clothing for physical activities such as Arctic exploration, marathons or even standard exercise. Now the wider fashion market is concerned with technological advances, as mainstream brands offer their customers additional benefits beyond fashionability, combining aesthetics and performance in one product.

Solving a specific problem such as heat retention or waterproofing is still the main reason companies are investing in research and development, but creating a solution that is at once functional and attractive is the aim. Martin Franklin, founder and director of menswear brand Foxhall, says this is key to future developments for the business.

“We’re interested in forward-looking British menswear and how we make those styles more functional for modern urban life,


product desIgnThe use of fabric technology to enhance product

using technical fabrics and details to infuse them with additional utility, comfort or protection,” he explains.

Nick BarBer, head of men’s design at Bench, agrees and says the young fashion brand is keen to harness the technical developments occurring in the sports performance industry to create “easy-to-wear clothing with a functional design adaptation”.

“We want to create products that the consumer can wear with confidence for a variety of activities – not everybody wants to dress like they are climbing Everest just to stay warm and dry,” he adds.

Creating products that keeps the wearer dry has been a concern for performance brands for decades but recently has become a key priority for fashion companies, as businesses look to use hydrophobic coatings and technologies offering customers everyday practicality against the elements.

Colin Oliphant, designer for British outerwear brand Hancock, says for its autumn 14 range it is using a Nanosphere treatment to its wools. Swiss textile manufacturer Schoeller’s Nanosphere technology is a showerproof coating that can be applied to fabric that repels water and other more viscous liquids.

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Boardsport brand O’Neill’s Hyperdry treated fabric has similar properties and is employed across a range of products such as rain jackets and boardshorts.

Materials such as rubber are being physically woven into other natural fibres to provide similar repellency to create a garment that looks like a standard design but boasts hidden functionality, something cloth and menswear brand Dashing Tweeds is exploring with the textiles it uses. However, businesses are more commonly adding water resistance by bonding synthetic fabrics to cottons and wools. For example, Daniel Mänd, chief executive of Swedish brand Elvine, is exploring the use of a lamination film that can be fastened to the reverse of any cotton fabric. “This lamination makes the fabric 100% waterproof and still breathable,” Mänd explains.

how a material allows the body to breathe is another key attribute brands are exploring. “Increased breathability will be key as consumers demand the same climate comfort both indoors and out, in cool or warm weather,” explains William Fletcher, sales director at W.L. Gore, manufacturer of Gore-Tex® products.

The company uses its patented Surround technology across the sole area of its footwear, which gives a hard-working, high wear and sweat area, increased breathability and excellent climate comfort without compromising the look. This is through membranes that boast multiple layers as opposed to a single distinct layer, increasing the barrier between the garment and the elements.

“Consumers will more and more demand functional products that look like the other non-functional products on the market,” adds Fletcher. “They want Gore-Tex® shoes that look like their current formal, casual or fashion shoes,” he says.

Rebecca Evans, sailing product designer for outdoor brand Musto, has also noticed this trend: “The past year has seen an increased presence of Nano membranes, which offer higher levels of breathability,” she explains. James Lamont, senior product manager for performance brand Pearl Izumi, agrees,

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By ian wright

Tried and tested: Berghaus product testing in Greenland

noting that “breathability remains an area where we see interesting megatrends, both in terms of push from the industry and manufacturing, and also interestingly a pull [demand] from consumers and athletes.”

Another area companies are concentrating on is thermoregulation and heat management. Particular innovation in this area surrounds maximising warmth retention while simultaneously slimming down both volume and weight. Dan Horsham, senior materials developer at outdoor brand Berghaus, says: “We’ve seen a big trend in textile innovations that allow for even lighter-weight outdoor performance fabrics than those available in the past.”

horsham has overseeN the creation of its lightweight technology called Hypertherm, which has both windproof and water resistance qualities but at a fraction of the usual weight (32g/sqm). The feature will launch in March 2014 across two products.

Davide Matteazzi, senior merchandiser manager fat denim brand Wrangler, agrees: “Technology is allowing us to shed weight and bulk in garments, without losing the benefits of warmth or durability. We have already explored this with packable down jackets.”

Beyond stripping back products without sacrificing performance, innovation also includes moisture management and hygiene fabrications. Here textiles are woven with moisture-wicking materials to take sweat away from the body while simultaneously neutralising odour. Lingerie and swimwear specialist Eveden has developed its


product desIgn

Polygiene and Coolmax technology which allows the skin to breathe. Nike’s long-standing Dri-Fit technology draws moisture away from the skin and fabric manufacturer Eurojersey’s Sensitive® Fabrics Bodyware system uses a powerful silver-based technology that nullifies smells.

Across the board, the pursuit of performance is aligned with a desire to either maintain or create a sense of soft handle to fabrics. The subject of ecologically sound and sustainable materials and production is also high on the agenda, as waste is an expensive issue for manufacturers.

One area that is mooted to help this

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problem is the advent of 3D printing, whereby textiles and garments are created to exact specifications, designs and dimensions. Charli Cohen, founder of the eponymous luxury sportswear brand, explains: “3D printing is set to revolutionise fashion manufacturing and will have a big influence on textile development over the coming years.

The existing technology is already more advanced than widely disclosed. As it gets more refined, it’s ultimately going to offer a cheaper, faster and more accurate means of fashion manufacture, with zero waste. These are all massive selling points for factories and designers, especially when it comes to high street fashion.”

iN driviNg costs dowN, this will in turn help bring more technical features to the mass market in the way H&M and Uniqlo do with their sportswear and Heattech products respectively. The prospect of a combination of all these technologies is where the true innovation exists. As customers demand more in terms of performance, this is likely to become the norm, rather than the exception, especially considering the improvements in handle and design.

we have seen a big trend in textile innovations that allow for even lighter-weight outdoor performance fabrics than those available in the pastDan Horsham, senior materials developer, Berghaus

Home and dry: Schoeller’s Nanosphere technology is a showerproof coating that repels water

Multichannel may be a firm reality for today’s retailers but, behind the scenes, many are still in the process of refining

their inventory management, restocking and forecasting processes in order to meet the needs of customers shopping across several channels. Add to this unpredictable weather patterns impacting stock requirements, and the increased internationalisation of UK fashion retail businesses, and you have a decidedly complex recipe.

“Omnichannel is an incredibly powerful tool,” says Matt deWerff, business consultant and solution architect for retail software provider Quantum Retail, which counts New Look, Marks & Spencer and Footlocker among its customers. “Five years ago you could order something from a catalogue and it would be with you in six to eight weeks. Now when you order something it could be with you tomorrow, so you just have to think about the demand that is placing on a retailer’s assortment planning, order planning and allocation replenishment systems.”

Craig Sears-Black, managing director for supply chain platform provider Manhattan Associates, which has River Island, Matalan, House of Fraser and Debenhams among its customers, agrees, as retailers no longer simply forecast and then manage the replenishment of a set of retail stores.

He says businesses need to look increasingly at international sales as well, which requires a new set of disciplines, as the complexities around forecasting and replenishment go up. “Those


merchandIsIngMerchandising in a multichannel world

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when you order something it could be with you tomorrow, so you have to think about the demand that is placing on a retailer’s order planning and allocation replenishment systemsMatt deWerff, business consultant and solution architect, Quantum Retail

who could previously work on a series of connected spreadsheets and a bit of customs code written to specifically do the job of forecasting have had to relook at how they do things,” he says.

“The business is all about what we call multi-echelon – rolling up your forecasts from each of your channels to market. And the key thing is really understanding how one channel impacts on another.”

heather PhiliP, menswear merchandiser for Matalan, agrees that gaining this understanding is vital: “In the current economic climate, stock

planning and forecasting are more key than ever. I think having the tools and resource to gain accurate insight and detailed planning are [allowing] some to lead in this, showing how vital this is for businesses to stay ahead of the competition.”

She adds: “As merchandisers it’s really key to have the knowledge on the product you’re working with and knowing how you can effectively trade through to deliver the best for your customers, without having to go into distress [by not having the product in stock when needed].”

However, with a long cold spring and a long hot summer, forecasting can be difficult. “One of the main challenges for us was making sure that we had enough product for the peak summer sales and then also going into ‘back to school’, because it has been quite a lot warmer than normal and we had lots of jackets that we planned to sell,” says Francesca Herman, head of buying and merchandising for online department store Surfdome.

Sears-Black says flexibility is key: “Your web sales will feel the impact the same day as an event happens or a celebrity wears your dress. So you need to have supply chain systems in the background that are sufficiently flexible.”

He says an immediacy of forecast is required

By James knowles

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In the know: Lifestyle retailer White Stuff aims to have a single view of its stock by next year

for example, price changes, promotions, the weather or special events – and make informed, evidence-based decisions to ensure the best possible outcome going forward. Once retailers have made decisions using analytical insight, they can have more confidence about their inventory requirements and capital can be unlocked from within the supply chain.”

sears-Black says iNveNtory management is a key trend, with retailers moving towards gaining a complete view of total stock, much like Aurora Fashions did in 2011 with its ‘Anywhere Everywhere’ stock management system.

Aurora, which will be fully demerged in 2014, has since seen full-price sell-through on some of its best-selling product rise from about 80% to 98%, highlighting the advantages of a single (virtual) view of stock.

Jo Penny, merchandising director for White Stuff, agrees that a single view of stock is ideal, and says this is something the business is working towards for its stores and wholesale

and advises that retailers ring-fence stock with virtual segmentation so that they are able to “dynamically re-allocate stock between channels.”

dewerrf says successful forecasting relies on really understanding “true historical demand”, along with other factors, such as performance by location and channel, and that progressive systems are required to do this. “Fashion is seasonal. So you need to factor that in, as well as seasonality by geography and the right channel. And you also need to think about product lifecycle by location and channel. That can play a pivotal part in when you decide to mark down,” he says.

Ruth Jackson, retail specialist for business analytics software provider SAS UK & Ireland, whose customers include Brooks Brothers and Macy’s in the US, agrees that retailers must analyse sales data to improve profits: “The use of analytics is one of the innovative ways that fashion retailers can be ahead of the game, through appropriate stock allocations, competitive pricing and balanced inventory levels.”

Herman says as an online retailer Surfdome has the benefit of lots of consumer data to draw on, and the ability to quickly identify product lines that aren’t selling. “Targeted sales are quite key online. And we are easily able to identify individual products that aren’t selling well, rather than discounting a whole category or brand,” she says.

Jackson adds that it is important for retailers to gain a single view of their business: “This approach enables retailers to understand the impacts that have previously affected demand –


merchandIsIng

customers. “We’re in the process of doing that. Our aim is to get to that in the next year. However, we will soon have one view of all of our distribution centre stock, which is important for our website as it is 20% of the business and growing rapidly.”

Sears-Black adds that inventory accuracy is essential – something he says retailers are struggling with. “If you look at the majority of retailers’ store inventory accuracy is exceptionally low. So the first step in this journey for anyone to go down that route is to get store inventory accurate and that includes cycle counting, improving discipline around stock management receiving and everything else.”

There is no doubt that many UK brands’ and retailers’ inventory management, restocking and forecasting processes have become increasingly more sophisticated. However, as their multichannel operations continue to develop not just here, but internationally, they will need to continue to think innovatively about how they ensure that they have the right product, at the right time, and in the right place.

we will soon have one view of all of our distribution centre stock, which is important for our website as it is 20% of the business and growing rapidlyJo Penny, merchandising director, White Stuff

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For today’s fashion industry, data remains king. Online and offline, retailers are furiously finding new ways to glean as much information about their customers as possible in a bid

to optimise sales. Capturing data comes in all shapes and sizes

as retailers encourage shoppers to sign up to their email alerts, social media pages and catalogues. If retailers invest significantly in their customer relationship management (CRM), they can merge all of this data together to better understand their customer and target them with more precision than ever before.

Chiara Varese, director of CRM and personal shopping services for Harrods, says the luxury department store is continually evolving its CRM strategy and improving its use of shopper information and being more customer-centric.

With such a variety of ways to mine this golden data, retailers have to be smart about how to make this information useful to the business.

Varese says: “When you have built a good infrastructure like we have the main problem with CRM is not about the ability to capture data but about the ability to use it effectively, to improve customer engagement and therefore influence behaviour and drive results for the organisation.”

oNe way retailers accrue further insight into their customer base is through loyalty schemes. Many retailers segment these programmes to provide more targeted marketing. Take Harrods, which has developed Elite – a programme catering for its top spenders.

Varese says this programme “greatly enriches our knowledge on these customers and allows us to communicate with them on a true one-to-one basis”.

As well as Elite, Harrods runs a membership programme for children and parents. Mini Harrods, aimed at children aged between two and 10, offers exclusive in-store events, contests and benefits, so the retailer can “understand better the needs of customers with young families and engage them with content and initiatives relevant to their lifecycle,” according to Varese.

This approach of personalisation has also been adopted by My-Wardrobe, where the etailer


data and crmThe strategies retailers use to capture customer data

segments customers via loyalty, transactions and browsing behaviour.

My-Wardrobe organises its customers into different tiers – bronze, silver and gold, and black for its highest-spending shoppers. By segmenting its customers into categories, it is able to send targeted seasonal discounts and offers based on their tier.

Joanna Stephenson, trading director for My-Wardrobe, believes the My-Loyalty scheme has helped drive new customers and build brand awareness.

“Nearly 90% of our sales come from customers engaged with our loyalty scheme, which gives the equivalent of 5% back to customers in gift vouchers,” says Stephenson. “We’re able to see who is interacting with the loyalty scheme, and how they are using the benefits available to them, as well as the purchases they are making as a result. This provides further insight for us to be able to offer added value for these customers, setting ourselves and our loyalty scheme apart from others on the market.”

Stephenson says My-Wardrobe has worked to utilise the data from the loyalty scheme for targeted email campaigns.

“We have recently improved the customer experience by building a customer-centric CRM strategy rather than a campaign-centric strategy that has been common place for so long.”

She continues: “We use customer behaviour – purchasing, browsing, social interaction – to inform our communications, ensuring that the most relevant and engaging message is received be it via email, social or on the site. This results in increased loyalty, engagement and life-long customers.”

harrods’ americaN exPress card, integrated into the retailer’s loyalty programme, gives the luxury department store even more access to information on its customers’ spending habits, and uses this data to target customers more accurately.

Making sure customer data is unified rather than sitting in separate silos is the holy grail for every marketer. One company on its way to achieving this is home shopping giant Shop Direct. Richard Boston, head of customer insight for Shop Direct, says with about 90% of its customer data now flowing into a single warehouse, the business is at a point where its data is very well structured.

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By suzanne Bearne

Big rewards: My-Wardrobe’s My-Loyalty scheme helps drive new customers and build brand awareness

Domenico Antonucci, fashion sector manager at K3 Retail, says: “Social networking is already providing a great way to integrate CRM data, the challenge is bringing the client data together with their Twitter and Facebook pages.” To do this, he suggests retailers should allow customers to sign into their website via their Facebook or Twitter account.

However, as much as retailers are investing in CRM, many experts believe there’s still a long way to go before we see true innovation in this area.

“But we’re still on a journey in terms of developing the single customer view that we currently have and we still have lots to achieve,” says Boston. “The next phase of our journey will be to link the mass of data that we hold on each customer to a real-time decision engine in order to truly personalise the on-site customer experience.”

a receNt survey from aNalyst firm Conlumino found that nearly 50% of shoppers would be likely to use a retailer again if it provided personalised offers. At Shop Direct, personalisation is one of its biggest strategies – its Very brand plans to present a different experience to each visitor to its site. From knowing its customers’ preferences it will be able to provide relevant products, delivery options and messages.

Jon Owen, retail director for Very and Isme, says this will create a more intuitive, easy experience for customers and, in turn, lead to a rise in sales. “As a department store, we believe there is a particular opportunity to help each customer by showing exactly what’s right for them. For example, we stock nearly 1,000 different dresses and the 10 most relevant to one customer might be very different to the 10 most relevant to another.”

Given the proliferation and amount of time consumers spend on social media, retailers should tap into these sites to collect information on their users.


data and crm

Amanda Squires, head of retail and luxury for customer experience company Seren, believes the channel-led strategy that many brands have taken online has resulted in under investment in CRM, from both strategic and technology perspectives.

“The data is there, often the budget to implement a measurement framework and integrate it is not,” she says. “There are a number of businesses still trying to work with transactional and multiple marketing databases in silo, it’s not only a mess, but much of the data is meaningless.”

However, Alex Sbardella, platform architect for digital agency Red Ant, is optimistic that some retailers are beginning to use data more intelligently. “Smart fashion retailers are replatforming to more open platforms with better API [application programming interface] support so they can get that data to whoever needs it, such as those on the shopfloor, the online team and logistics.”

Slowly innovation is happening but it appears that retailers are still a long way from that much sought-after holy grail.

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the next phase will be to link the mass of data that we hold on each customer to a real-time decision engine in order to truly personalise the customer experienceRichard Boston, head of customer insight, Shop Direct

Touch sensitive: Shop Direct plans to tailor the on-site experience for each of its customers

r etailers are transforming their stores into futuristic shopping experiences, as slick gadgets, interactive mirrors and digital screens hit shopfloors

across the high street. It might all seem a lot like the science-

fiction film Minority Report but retailers are investing heavily in their stores and replacing traditional retail space with interactive shopping experiences.

One of the most innovative periods is arguably London Fashion Week (LFW), where new concepts are launched, often led by Burberry. The luxury brand has a creative team that regularly surprises its fans with groundbreaking runway shows and a boundary-breaking social media strategy. At this year’s February edition, the brand embedded technology into its garments, which when scanned by a mobile triggered a short film, depicting the production behind each piece.

at sePtemBer’s lfw, toPshoP, together with retail technology specialist MediaZest, swapped its usual creative windows at its Oxford Street store for a 170-inch window projection, which streamed live footage from the catwalk during the event. Passersby could also listen to the content from Topshop’s ‘whispering windows’ after small speaker devices were attached to the windows.

Topshop’s high level of innovation during LFW wasn’t limited to its windows. The Arcadia-owned retailer hooked up with


In-store InnovatIonWhy retailers are making the shopping experience more interactive

our current plan is to focus on enabling in-store, public wi-fiDanny Barrasso, head of multichannel digital marketing, New Look

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sound-based sharing technology platform Chirp to give shoppers at its flagship store exclusive behind-the-scenes access to its autumn 13 fashion show. This meant that its Oxford Circus store featured a Chirp and Twitter ‘garden’ where customers could receive images of the show, such as models walking down the catwalk and a look at the collection backstage on their phones, and share it via Twitter.

Arcadia boss Sir Philip Green said at the time: “The link with Chirp is fun and we love the fact that it allows people to discover new aspects of the collection and what goes on behind the scenes at Unique [Topshop’s premium line], through creating iconic images to tell stories.”

This season has seen a wave of retailers find ways to woo customers with further digital innovations. Marks & Spencer has introduced a feature called ‘Inspiration Station’ at its footwear and accessories departments at its Oxford Street Pantheon, London Colney and Bluewater stores. Powered by RFID

technology, this multichannel unit tells the story behind the shoes on a 32-inch digital screen and advises which accessories match a particular shoe every time a customer places a product on the sample shelf.

maNy retailers use augmeNted reality to impress customers and create a buzz and a more exciting store environment. Again M&S has invested in this area, as the welcome zones of its stores feature six to eight up-lit catwalk-style mannequins. They also feature augmented reality-enabled postcards using photographer Annie Leibovitz’s shots, which push customers through to video content about the women and products featured.

An M&S spokeswoman said the initiatives form part of the retailer’s “aim to use digital to offer customers more inspiration, greater choice and availability, as well as making the shopping experience easier and more convenient”.

Speaking to technology experts, it appears that much of the next wave of

By suzanne Bearne

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Show and tell: Topshop’s Chirp and Twitter ‘garden’ at its Oxford Circus store gave shoppers behind-the-scenes access to its autumn 13 fashion show at LFW in September

pages just like a magazine. He explains: “They can mail the lookbook to themselves and receive a code, so when they’re on the retailer’s website they enter the code and it brings up all the products from their lookbook.”

click-aNd-collect has become a standard operation across much of the high street. However, retailers are still looking at ways to make this system more efficient.

House of Fraser is trialling a virtual queuing system at its London City store. Here

innovation in this field is shrouded in secrecy, with suppliers gagged when it comes to disclosing the names of retailers they’re working with.

still, maNy caN reveal the innovations they’re up to. MediaZest, for one, says it is working with an undisclosed womenswear retailer to trial an interactive mirror. It looks like a traditional mirror but provides useful functions such as having a five-second delay so when a customer tries on an outfit and turns around, they are later presented with an image of their rear view. The mirror also recognises the clothes in front of it and using RFID technology, showcases what accessories match the outfit via a digital display on the side of the mirror.

One premium womenswear retailer is plotting to offer a lookbook on a large touchscreen throughout its stores, allowing customers to build their own version of it.

According to Tony Bryant, head of business development for retail and business solutions provider K3 Retail, which is working with the retailer, the digital lookbook turns


In-store InnovatIon

customers can collect their online purchases by checking-in to a virtual queuing system from self-service kiosks or the buy-and-collect department. Every customer who checks-in enters a virtual queue and receives a text message informing them of the estimated waiting time.

The roll-out of the 4G network should enhance the multichannel technologies that retailers have embraced and help customers make speedier mobile payments in store. However, like many retailers, New Look is concentrating on its in-store wi-fi.

Danny Barrasso, head of multichannel digital marketing for the retailer, says: “Our current plan is to focus on enabling in-store, public wi-fi, as in many of our stores the mobile reception, including 4G, is quite weak. We’re reviewing what applications will best support the customers’ in-store shopping experience and they will need wi-fi to support accessing many of these if they do not have a good mobile signal.”

When it comes to purchasing a product, retailers could soon be providing customers with a more innovative – and seamless –technology through a payments app such as Paddle. The start-up company is working with a womenswear retailer to potentially allow customers to pay for their shopping through their mobile. Paddle founder Ed Lea explains that “customers could pick up an item from a shelf, scan the item using the app on their mobile and buy it there and then without queuing or seeing a sales assistant.”

Given this level of innovation, perhaps all the high-concepts from Minority Report aren’t too far off in the future after all.

customers could pick up an item from a shelf, scan the item using the app on their mobile and buy it there and then without queuing or seeing a sales assistantEd Lea, founder, Paddle

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Inspiration Station: M&S’s new multichannel unit advises which accessories match a particular shoe


ecommerceevolutIonReplicating the in-store experience online

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In the early years of the internet revolution, the biggest question for retailers was whether customers would ever buy clothes online. Fast forward to 2013 and while this has been answered with a resounding yes, there

are still many challenges that retailers are battling with in order to replicate that bricks-and-mortar experience.

One major challenge on the web is the inability for customers to try before they buy. This can often result in consumers purchasing the item in the wrong size, or a number of different sizes to try on at home, therefore increasing the return rate. One solution retailers are beginning to trial is online fit functionality.

Shirt retailer Hawes & Curtis have used virtual fitting solution Fits.me for the past three years and are so far pleased with the results. Antony Comyns, head of ecommerce at Hawes & Curtis, says: “Customers that have gone through the process of looking at the garment on the digital mannequin have had a much better conversion rate. You could argue that if they are prepared to go through that process, then they will be more likely to buy, but at the same time we have also seen return rates go down across the board.”

Fits.me works by the customer entering their own measurements into the tool and using proprietary algorithms and data to calculate the measurements and apply them to the online mannequin to show the customer what the item will look like with their measurements.

warehouse has moved its virtual fitting tool, Metail, into the next phase as it is available across the site at all times and not just on product pages.

Whereas the Fits.me digital mannequin is quite robotic, Metail has a more human approach in design and phase two of the tool will allow

virtual fitting is in the early stages. i can definitely see there still being some type of fitting solution in the digital space in the futureFiona Harrison, head of digital, Warehouse

users to change the model they see to best represent their own image (skin tone, face shape, hair colour, and hairstyle) or even upload a photo of themselves to use on the model. It also allows users to build an outfit onto the virtual model.

Fiona Harrison, head of digital for Warehouse, says: “Virtual fitting is in the early stages for retailers – and also for consumers – but I can definitely see there still being some type of fitting solution in the digital space in the future.”

Harrison says the technology is developing quickly and moving into phase two with Metail after just 10 months proves how rapidly it is evolving.

Online fitting solution Virtusize, which was founded in 2011, is live on Asos and instructs users to measure their own garments rather than their body shape and input them into the Virtusize tool to match against garments on the site to confirm the size required. Peder Stubert, co-founder of Virtusize, says: “Fit-related returns are a huge problem for online retailers. The average cost of one return is approximately e19 [£16.10]. This is because of freight cost, handling cost, credit card fees and the risk that the garment could go out of season.”

house of fraser has choseN to implement online fitting solution True Fit, which asks customers to input their height and weight and then answer a number of questions on their own body shape as well as which brands currently fit them best.

With a range of online fitting options, retailers need to consider which will be the best fit for their customer and their own technological infrastructure.

Michael Ross, director of ecommerce consultancy eCommera, says while online fitting is clearly important, it is still in the initial phase.

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The size of it: online fitting solution Virtusize helps shoppers work out the size of garment they require


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He says: “We are only probably in round two of a game that will be many rounds until someone nails it. These kinds of tools can be a little bit faddy or too expensive at the start and they don’t give enough of an uplift in sales. It is easy to see what the end game is but it can often be hard to get there.”

ross also says the challeNge of seeing the ROI with online tools can be in deciphering the data: “Making sense and understanding personalised tools can be very, very complex – it would be easy if all customer behaviour was the same but that’s not the case. For example, those customers that use online fitting tools, you would expect to see lower returns rate but it could result in higher returns because the people that use it are more concerned about fit. You have to be very careful how you measure it.”

Harrison agrees that while Warehouse is pleased with the results of the Metail solution on the site, when looking at statistics, they need to be put into context. She explains that rather than looking at these things in isolation, at Warehouse they are also doing a lot of other activity that could affect statistics. “At the same time of launching the new phase of Metail, we also upgraded the look and feel of the site – everything impacts the conversion rate. I think it’s not just about the statistics but [introducing new online tools] is also about customer expectation – customers want to see what we’re doing to make their experience even better.”

Where this sector of the industry will go in the future is still in question. Comyns

speculates: “We will get to the point where you can tailor the mannequin to look like yourself and it follows you from site to site. At some stage you’ll be able to get a far more realistic view of what it is going to look on the actual individual – not only does it fit, but does it look good on you.”

However, Harrison thinks that in such a busy marketplace it will never be a case of one solution fits all. “It is a competitive market so I don’t think there will ever be a clear front runner

or one solution that fits all but I think it’s good to give the retailers and the customers a choice to see which tool fits them best.”

It remains to be seen which solution will come out on top but as more retailers introduce online fitting solutions onto their sites, it is going to be a feature customers expect to see. And those retailers that have failed to invest in experimenting with the technology risk losing those customers that need the added reassurance when buying online.

Mix and match: Phase two of Warehouse’s Metail tool will allow users to change the model’s skin tone, face shape, hair colour and hairstyle to match their own

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