The change in shopping experience

Robotic assistance, iBeacons, e-mannequins, virtual changing rooms, there’s no doubt about it that the 21st century has taken a big step toward the digital advancements. In a report published by Deloitte, 27.9% of the Canadian respondents prefer to shop online than go to the mall, which helps us understand why online sales figures in Canada increased by 12% from the previous year’s, reaching $136-billion.

Yet as technology and our shopping experience subtly merges, we’re complacent when it comes to noticing how much the industry has changed through digital enhancements and gadgets that sway and manipulate our shopping habits.

Omni-channel retailers are becoming more popular, these are companies that can offer a presence both on and offline as well as providing apps and additional extras that can help the typical shopper. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘try before you buy’ and it’s a term virtually catching on with companies that would like to capitalise on the online market. In particular now for home owners, Ikea launched their 3D app which transforms their catalogue to an online preview of furniture in your house. This means that you and I can check out Ikea’s catalogue via its app, check if the furniture matches our current interior and go in store to collect our reserved item. It’s all about functioning as one.   

Ten years ago, we’d have laughed at people if they told us we could try on virtual clothes in a space of minutes, yet now it’s an expectation to have the luxury of trialling clothes without having to visit a store. The nature of trying on clothes has drastically changed as we can browse through online shops, type in our measurements and see our favourite collections on the ‘virtual me’.

Whilst our ‘virtual me’ can show us the fitting of the products, they don’t quite portray the type of material and how it really sits on the moving body. Most fashion companies like Superdry there offer catwalk videos for their products for an extra helping hand.

This year has also seen iBeacons come to stores, Bluetooth transmitting mannequins that are able to send across alerts to neighbouring smartphones announcing in-store offers as well as what their mannequins are wearing. The tracking accuracy is on par beaming through set information at the optimal time to encourage us to buy. The iBeacons also gather information on us as shoppers, our habits and desired items to improve their targeted messages making sure it’s personal to us.  

High-end fashion stores have even implemented iPad’s into their walls to allow their entire collection to be viewed online, whilst developments are being made to allow us to interact with a virtual assistance via the technology. Even signs and banners that we see in supermarkets will be replaced with smart labels and sensors that have the intelligence to suggest products that will go with the ingredients in our basket, nutritional advice, its source and even alert you of potential allergy threats.

Consumer Behaviour

Yet with so many products being placed online and new ‘e-tailers’ emerging, a consumer has the scope of the entire web to select a store for their one-stop shop, be it clothes, groceries or appliances. We can buy what we want, when we want. With so much choice at hand, it’s no surprise that already the online platform has become too diverse for us as consumers, often leading us to neglect an online shopping spree and deciding to breathe the fresh air and heading out ourselves.

All the while, statistics do show that the internet has helped retailer’s profits as we are in fact becoming impulsive buyers, continuously adding products to our online basket as we browse. Research by Milo shows that it’s the checkout stage where we typically abandon our baskets as 67% of us decide to not go ahead with the order; 55% of shoppers wave goodbye to their online goodies because the shipping costs are too expensive.

As the online generation adapts to the constant development of the net, we’re a demanding folk that have a need for speed with the quickest possible delivery. Companies that capitalize on quick and efficient delivery are preferred services, especially if it involves a drone. A drone you ask? Having a robot deliver your parcel within minutes of ordering could soon be the norm after Amazon has asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to lift the rule of prohibiting the use of drones for commercial purposes.  The concept of thirty minute deliveries via robots could become reality.

What does the future hold?

Whilst we’ve already entered a world of what we once thought was unthinkable, wireless payments and ‘Click & Collect’ are becoming quickly outdated and what the future of shopping could see are even quicker payments via multiple opportunities. It could be that in the coming years it’s the click of our watch that could pre-order groceries or software specialized to voice recognition that memorizes our typical shopping list. Gesture controlled devices are also in the midst of being trialled looking to improve our relationship and natural experience with computers and making online shopping feel lifelike. The future is all about personalization and connecting with the shopper, creating cutting edge technology that will make memorize, understand and deliver.  

Charlotte Corner is a Content & Online PR Assistant at Search Laboratory, specializing in search and content marketing.

Two million pairs of shoes from over 600 designers. That’s what will soon be available on DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse’s Canadian e-commerce site. The popular American-owned value-priced multi-brand footwear retailer is expanding into Canada in a big way, both online as well as with multiple bricks-and-mortar store locations. We interviewed the company’s Canadian CEO about the new website, as well as DSW’s plans for brick-and-mortar stores across Canada. 

Town Shoes President and CEO Bruce Dinan runs DSW’s Canadian operations. In April of 2014, DSW bought a 49.2% stake in Town Shoes, paving the way for DSW’s entry into Canada. The Canadian e-commerce site is unique in how it features not only DSW footwear, but separate tabs for its Town Shoes, The Shoe Company, and Shoe Warehouse websites. The company’s popular Shoe Lovers Rewards program also applies to online DSW purchases, where after meeting a spending threshold, shipping is free for ‘VIP clients’. For those otherwise not looking to pay for shipping, purchases can be shipped to a local Town Shoes-owned retail location. Some shoppers prefer the in-store pickup option, according to Mr. Dinan, as product may be retrieved at the customer’s convenience.  

Mr. Dinan explained how footwear ordered from DSW’s Canadian website will be shipped from its current two Ontario locations, and how this will change when DSW opens more Canadian locations. He says that we’ll soon be able to report on more Canadian DSW locations, including its first for Western Canada. 

DSW’s strategy for entering Canada was initially a cautious one. Its first two locations, both in suburban Toronto, tested the market to ensure that they are able to provide the same quality experience as its US locations. Its first two Canadian locations opened on August 7th at Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga, and at Woodland Hills Shopping Centre in Newmarket.

According to Mr. Dinan, DSW’s Canadian stores will all be about the same size as its American locations. Its first two Canadian stores, both about 20,000 square feet, are only slightly smaller than DSW’s average store size of 22,000 square feet. DSW ultimately seeks Canadian retail space in the 18,000 to 24,000 square foot range. Each Canadian DSW store will have over 22,000 pairs of shoes, as well as an extensive selection of handbags and accessories. About 80% of the brands in DSW’s American stores are carried in Canada, and Canada’s DSW stores also carry brands exclusive to Town Shoes. 

Buying Town Shoes was a strategic move on the part of DSW. Not only does DSW gain Town Shoes’ Canadian market expertise, it also secures its pre-existing national distribution network. The 62 year old Town Shoes brand will also continue to grow and expand in Canada, as will company-owned The Shoe Company, Shoe Warehouse, and Sterling Shoes.

DSW is hugely popular in the United States with over 430 stores in that country. Its name indicates its business model – it sells designer shoes at discounted prices. The company has hundreds of millions in cash and no debt. 

By: Miranda Sam, Founder and Editor of Style by Fire

On a cloudy Vancouver morning, Indochino CEO Kyle Vucko met with us at a café near the company’s head office to discuss his new retail strategy. This past summer, Indochino added permanent physical retail fronts to its custom clothing menswear business. It started rolling out stores in August 2014 by turning Toronto’s pop-up shop into a permanent location. Then came New York, San Francisco, and most recently, Vancouver’s trendy Gastown neighbourhood. 

Vucko described the online custom suit maker’s humble beginnings, giving perspective to its entry into retail. “We didn’t set out to build an e-commerce company, we set out to help one man, my cofounder, get dressed.” His position on the transition from online to offline was simple, “From a business perspective it would have been easier to stay online, but from a customer perspective the right thing to do was to go offline.”

This is part of a larger e-commerce business trend of venturing into physical retail space to compete with traditional bricks-and mortar-retail. Warby Parker, Clearly Contacts, Frank & Oak, and most recently, online behemoth Amazon, have all notably set up physical shop. With a storefront, companies can build strong customer relationships, engage in real time market research, and provide hands-on assistance to those still wary of shopping online. 

In 2011, Indochino started experimenting with pop-up shops. At that time, the pop-up retail concept had already been around for a decade, though it was not widely used by e-commerce businesses. The company’s pop-up shop, the ‘Traveling Tailor’, set up shop in some of North America’s most high traffic and beautiful spaces, such as New York City’s Grand Central Station. For summer 2014, a number of Traveling Tailor locations had been planned, but having gained a solid understanding of its success offline, the company decided to forgo the remaining short-term shops and instead build on something permanent to better serve their customers’ needs. 

“We didn’t see a differentiation between online and going offline. That’s just where we chose to go first. We knew that we needed to go offline for a certain group of customers and to offer a great experience. Traveling Tailor was our first iteration, and retail was our second.”

Indochino sells to over 130 countries around the world, though most sales are in North America. When asked specifically about its Canadian retail strategy, Vucko steadfastly stated that there is no difference in strategy between the borders. “Our retail strategy is relatively consistent. We want to be close to our guys. Most of our guys are in bigger cities. For us, we try to be convenient to their lives. We know that most of our customers are younger professionals, so it’s trying to be close to that – being in the downtown core, usually within walking distance of the business district or near a metro line. For us, it’s about convenience; something you can go to on a lunch break or come down to on a weekend relatively quickly.”

Not only does the foray into the retail world add another channel to Indochino’s already multi-channel marketing strategy, retail is the last piece of the puzzle that allows the company to provide a truly omni-channel experience. According to ICSC president Mike Kercheval, omni-channel retail strategies are those “in which mobile, online and in-store experiences complement, rather than compete with, one another.” 

Having only been in the online apparel customization business for seven years, this young company has been quick to adapt to meeting customers’ shopping needs on all fronts. Since day one Indochino has existed as an online store, has an active social media presence, takes customer service calls, offers a great mobile shopping experience, and now with retail store fronts, they’re in every channel possible (at least for now). Vucko laughed and remarked, “I don’t know what channels are left to be honest!”

This makes strong business sense. AT Kearney’s Omni-channel Shopping Preferences Study revealed that upwards of 90% of people still prefer to shop in person. As well, the omni-channel customer spends 3.5 times more than other types of shoppers. Vucko said of Indochino, “Truly it’s a concept of a unified experience; there are no channels. A customer interacts with your product or service and he can do that any way he wants. There is no differentiation.”

Now with bricks-and-mortar retail under its belt, international expansion is on the mind of the CEO, but not in the next year. Vucko is holding off with continental retail growth until the company perfects its retail operations. Even though Europe boasts Saville Row, bespoke tailoring, and in general a culture of dressing up while Asia has a strong industry of tailors, like all entrepreneurs, Vucko sees it as an opportunity. He said, “You don’t have to educate the population the same way because they’ve already bought into the concept. I think what we bring is accessibility for a fraction of the price you can have a custom suit.” Vucko and his team are currently focused on looking for real estate in another 4 to 5 North American markets, including Chicago and Washington D.C. According to Indochino’s website, a Philadelphia location is about to be announced. 

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether Indochino sells online, offline, or through the many channels in between. As long as the company sticks to its core purpose, it will remain free to serve its customers in whatever new channels pop up in the future. “We don’t necessarily sell clothes, we sell a guy’s ability to be successful in the world,” says Vucko. 

Miranda Sam is the founder and editor of Style by Fire, the source for Vancouver fashion events and retail news. She is also a freelance writer and marketing professional who loves a good soy latte. Connect with Miranda on Twitter via @stylebyfire and Facebook

North America’s second location for British men’s accessories brand Tateossian has opened with Harry Rosen’s new Ottawa flagship. The 200 square foot Rideau Centre boutique features the luxury brand’s line of men’s cufflinks and jewellery, as well as watches, bracelets, tie clips and more. 

Tateossian’s designs have become so popular, in fact, that that he’s become known as the ‘King of Cufflinks’ among fans. The brand was founded in London in 1990 by Robert Tateossian. After seven years as an investment banker, Mr. Tateossian decided to follow his dream and start a jewellery and accessory design business, setting up offices in London and a workshop in Birmingham – in the heart of England’s silversmith industry. The brand is now available in over 60 countries and in some of the world’s most prestigious stores. It’s carried at selected Holt Renfrew and Harry Rosen stores in Canada, as well as at selected Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s locations.

Tateossian’s first North American boutique opened in November of 2013 at Harry Rosen’s expanded Yorkdale Shopping Centre location in Toronto.

On Saturday, November 15th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, founder Robert Tateossian will make a personal appearance at Harry Rosen’s Rideau Centre store. He’ll be showcasing his jewellery collection and officially unveiling his second North American boutique.