Net-A-Porter pop up interactive store

Luxury fashion etailer Net-a-Porter.com made its first move into bricks-and-mortar last night with an augmented reality pop-up window shop.

It opened two stores, one on Mount Street in London and the other on Mercer Street in New York, that allowed customers to scan pictures of products on the wall using their phones, and buy or win the items.

The stores were open for one night as part of Vogue’s Fashion Night Out event. After downloading the Window Shop application, which has augmented reality technology called Aurasma embedded, customers’ mobile phones were able to recognise product images.

After scanning a particular image the phones took customers to multimedia content related to products, and to Net-a-Porter’s online shop. Any purchases were sent by next day delivery to shoppers.

Net-a-Porter, which worked with software company Autonomy, said it is keen to help customers use their mobile phones to shop.

VP of marketing and sales Alison Loehnis said: “With the Window Shops concept, we found a way to participate in the excitement of Fashion Night Out that is true to our brand with the innovative use of technology, shopping on the go from one’s mobile device, our edit of the most relevant and sought-after fashions of the moment, and the added bonus of having the opportunity to win prizes.”

Rebecca Thomson - Retail Week

The largest inner city shopping development in Europe - now open.

Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland opened proceedings at the new Westfield Stratford City shopping centre yesterday declaring that the M&S store will “carry the torch for the best of UK retailing”.

Continuing the Olympics analogy, Bolland likened the crowds outside the store facing the M&S Stratford team to a “rugby match”.

Crowds grew so big that security at the shopping centre asked some retailers, including US fashion giant Forever 21, to open before its official 10am opening.

Both Westfield chairman Frank Lowy and Mayor of London Boris Johnson made speeches to mark the launch of the centre, before an energetic performance by singer Nicole Scherzinger.

Lowy said: “This is a very proud day for Westfield but an even more momentous day for east London. The 2012 Olympics will be a fantastic launch for this centre. It will do so much for the revival of east London.

“This wonderful shopping centre is certainly for the long term, for next year and beyond.”

Retail leaders including Sir Philip Green, Marc Bolland and Charlie Mayfield helped cut the ribbon to officially open the centre – the largest inner city shopping development in Europe.











Retail Week

Shoppable videos

Target’s collaboration with Missoni, debuting in stores next month, also marks the retailer’s first use of “shoppable videos.” A range of brands have been testing this technology, which enables consumers to click on items within a video; then they’re either redirected to an e-commerce page or able to add the item to a shopping cart without leaving the video. Some videos are visually arresting (Gucci and high-end men’s retailer Oki-Ni), some use music video-style storytelling (Canadian sportswear brand Roots) and others use basic stylist tips.

These videos engage shoppers in a way that static shots can’t and let viewers quickly transition into a transaction, perfect for today’s instant-gratification temperament. Expect more shoppable videos as seasonal shopping gets under way later this year.

Patty Orsini for JWT Intelligence

Interactive engagement

When the going gets tough – INNOVATE

That's my view of retail and I think over the coming years we are due to see a lot more of it on Aussie shores. As the retail sector suffers and the country sits on the brink of a recession it's no secret that the coming months are set to become a challenging period. We’ve seen it in the Northern Hemisphere but if we are smart we can at least learn from their experiences.
What’s interesting is that the one thing nearly all retailers forget with diminishing revenue and cut budgets, is innovation. And that innovation and creativity is what will set them apart.

As Australian Retail Outlook deftly notes, “the money is there for the taking. It is up to retailers to create a compelling reason for them to part with it… Apple, JB Hi-Fi, Zara and Super Retail Group are all examples of retailers who are unzipping consumers’ wallets in supposedly bleak times.”

ALDO and Topshop are both great examples of retailers putting back a sense of fun, a sense of joy into shopping. Because quite frankly, it should be fun, I think we've just forgotten how to sell that.

This week Topshop teamed up with gaming app SCVNGR to provide an interactive store experience for students in the UK and US. By doing so Topshop bring cute challenges students can play to unlock exclusive rewards. For example, 20% off, a shopping spree, competitions and giveaways. Students are asked to simply download the app, do the challenges set to earn points and collect badges to receive rewards and prizes.

ALDO also revealed a new campaign called 'Shoes For Life'. An online competition where users are encouraged to play 3 games. Once completed (assuming you win each round which, quite frankly who cares if it's rigged that way or not) you receive a discount voucher to redeem against your next ALDO purchase, plus the chance to go into the draw to win shoes for life (well, 2 pairs per year for 25 years). A simple fun engagement piece that gives consumers a reason to shop there over Wittner or NineWest for example.

Selfridges - The shop of everything

What can the shop that has everything offer to customers this season but The Museum of Everything.

Selfridges Oxford Street kicks off a two-month exhibition created by The Museum of Everything in its Ultralounge in the store’s basement tomorrow. To mark the occasion it has cleared all of its Oxford Street windows of stock, replacing this with enlarged images and cutouts taken from the show. This is the first time that the deparment store has chosen not to show any product in its Oxford Street windows and was the subject of considerable debate, according to a spokeswoman.

The Museum of Everything will run in Selfridges until the end of October and shoppers wishing to buy something from the exhibition will be able to purchase limited edition prints amd t-shirts taken from the show in the store’s Wonder Room.







John Ryan For Retail Week