Karen Millen launches new tech pop-up concept

Source: Mintel 27-10-2016

“Fitting rooms that feature the latest technology such as interactive mirrors can help
retailers to significantly improve the shopping experience by bringing the best of
online and offline clothes buying together under one roof. The new pop-up store
concept allows Karen Millen to stand out as an innovative retailer that is prepared to
put technology at the centre of its strategy to add value to the customer journey.”
For more information see Fashion: Technology & Innovation – UK – September
2016 and Womenswear – UK – May 2016.

What we’ve seen

● 30% of clothes shoppers think fitting rooms with interactive mirrors are the
in-store innovation that is most likely to be successful.
● 33% of female shoppers aged 16-24 would like to see changing rooms
improved making it one of the main issues when shopping in-store.
● Several retailers are trialling the latest fitting room technology such as Zara
and Karen Millen.

Karen Millen experiments with technology

Karen Millen has partnered with technology company Retail Assist to launch a pop-up
store in London’s Shoreditch featuring the latest in-store technology. This allows it to
showcase itself as an innovative retailer that is prepared to put technology at the
centre of its strategy as well as to explore ways of improving the shopping
experience.

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FIGURE: Karen Millen Nexpo pop-up store

Retail Assist

The store was launched at the end of September 2016 and showcases innovations
including tech-enhanced fitting rooms, which have tablets that allow customers to
request different sizes and colours. Shop assistants are notified of the request via a
smartwatch and can then take those garments to the customer and thereby prevent
loss of sales.

Time-delayed mirrors film shoppers’ movements and allow them to watch

themselves from different angles trying on clothes and share the videos on social
media.

Other technologies include window detectors that analyse the ratio of people
entering the store, waiting outside or looking at visual merchandise, which can
inform retailers if their window displays are engaging customers or not. Sensors
inside the store record data that retailers can analyse immediately and use to
optimise the store environment, for example creating screen displays relevant to the
audience, changing the store temperature so that customers don’t feel too hot and
want to continue browsing.

Store of the future

US company ShopWithMe launches pop-up retail environments selling different
brands to showcase the store of the future. Its latest store in Chicago sells footwear
from TOMS and clothing from Raven + Lily using smart fixtures. The store features a
30-foot long pixel wall that is made up of individually programmed modules that
allow the retailer to show as many or as few products as it likes. The interactive
shelving, which learns about individual shoppers as they browse, moves towards a
customer to suggest an item that they would like. Interactive digital display tables
with touchscreens allow shoppers to place items on them and they show information
depending on what the customer is interested in, allowing the shopper to view and
then select sizes and colours and suggesting accessories such as a handbag that
complement the footwear. All of the items in the store are RFID tagged and allow
shoppers to scan items on digital touch points and request more information, order
them if they are out of stock or pay for them.

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FIGURE: ShopWithMe Chicago store, 2016

WITHME/MINTEL

The store features pop-up fitting rooms and interactive mirrors that allow consumers
to request new sizes or additional items without leaving their changing rooms.

FIGURE: ShopWithMe Chicago store, 2016

WITHME/MINTEL

Strong interest in interactive mirrors

Fitting rooms with interactive mirrors stand out as the in-store innovation that
consumers see the most potential in, with three in 10 shoppers ranking it first.

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FIGURE: IN-STORE INNOVATIONS THAT CONSUMERS BELIEVE WILL BE MOST
SUCCESSFUL, BY RANKED FIRST, JUNE 2016

Base: 1,861 internet users aged 16+ who have bought clothes, footwear and/or
fashion accessories in-store or online in the last 12 months

LIGHTSPEED/MINTEL

Given that almost seven in 10 shoppers try on items in-store before purchasing
them, changing rooms are a key part of the shopping experience. Despite this, they
remain one of the main sources of customer dissatisfaction when shopping in-store,
with women saying they are the main thing they would like to see improved after
queuing at the till.

Consequently, women of all ages are interested in changing rooms that allow
customers to use a touchscreen mirror to request different sizes or colours and
adjust the lighting, showing the wide appeal for this type of technology. Several big
retailers including Zara and department stores Macy’s and Harvey Nichols are
currently trialling smart fitting room technology. Designer brands Ralph Lauren, Karl
Lagerfeld and Burberry were among the first to introduce interactive mirrors in their
fitting rooms in their flagship stores.

There is scope to deal with the main issues consumers would like to see improved
when shopping for fashion in-store by looking at the experience holistically and
joining up all the systems. For example, shoppers can be given the option of using
their smartphones to scan items that they want to try on and the items in the correct
sizes can be taken directly to a changing room. Customers can then be sent an alert

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telling them when the changing room is ready, avoiding having to queue to try items
on and having to lug all the garments around the store.  They is also scope to
combine interactive fitting rooms with an in-aisle payment system where all the
items customers want to purchase after having tried them on are stored on the
retailer’s app and can be paid for by swiping a contactless payment card or
smartphone in the changing room or over a portable payment terminal.

What it means
● The aim of the high-tech “smart store” is to bring the best of online and
offline shopping together under one roof, creating a personalised experience for each
shopper and to improve the shopping experience.
● By making the fitting room experience as convenient as possible, with new
sizes and colours bought to the changing room and the potential to pay for items at
the same time, retailers can encourage consumers to try on clothes, thereby
reducing the rate of returns.
● The time delayed mirrors displayed at the Karen Millen store take videos of
the customer from different angles and these can be shared on social media sites,
thereby improving the trying on experience and making shopping for clothes more
fun.

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