CSA Q&A: Adore Me goes digital with the dressing room
Digitally native lingerie retailer Adore Me is bringing omnichannel customer intimacy to a sensitive part of the in-store shopping process.
Based in New York City, Adore Me started out as a pure-play ecommerce retailer and recently opened its first two brick-and-mortar stores. Adore Me plans to open two more physical locations by the end of this month and a total of 300 in the next five years.
However, Adore Me is staying true to its digital roots by offering a seamless, connected customer experience in its stores. This includes the use of smart fitting room technology from Store Advise. Store Advise is providing IoT, RFID labels and smart fitting-room displays that combine to allow shoppers to relax in their fitting room while interacting with store associates in real time. A customer can request a different size, style or color garment by using the smart display in her dressing room. Store associates are immediately notified on a mobile device when a shopper requests an item using the display.
Stephanie Maes, VP retail performance of Adore Me, spoke with Chain Store Age during the NRF 2019 Big Show to explain in more detail what Adore Me is doing with smart fitting rooms, and why.
How does the Adore Me customer benefit from your smart fitting rooms?
When shopping for lingerie, women are in a vulnerable state. They get fully naked and may have body issues. We want to make the customer as comfortable as possible. The system is intuitive – the touchscreen doesn’t need an explanation to use.
How does the smart fitting room technology help drive sales?
The customer enters the fitting room with a product and can see it on the video monitor. They can interact with the monitor and request alternate sizes, colors and products. The associate enters the fitting room with however many products the customer wants. Finding the right size becomes much easier, why not make a purchase?
How does Adore Me better understand the customer with smart fitting rooms?
The RFID technology allows us to see what products enter the fitting room and what products wind up being purchased. We can “connect the dots,” since before we didn’t know exactly what was going on in that part of the store.
How do smart fitting rooms aid Adore Me operationally?
We can see if associates are doing their jobs. The technology helps drive decisions to develop our sales teams. Also, there are a lot of size variances on bras. If things have fit issues, we can relay that information to the design team.
How has Store Advise been as a technology partner?
Store Advise has been a good partner. They are helping us navigate (brick-and-mortar) retail. They make recommendations based on our expansion.