EBay's Fashion Outlet

EBay is soon to launch a new service that allows users of it's new fashion outlet store to create their own preferences. No longer will you have to trawl through different pages of designers or sizes. You simply select the size, brand and format you frequently search for and you'll receive customized search results. The service will search through all the clothing, shoes and accessories available on eBay, from the smaller boutique outlet stores to the 20 major retailers that use eBay as their outlet source.

This new feature is part of eBay's 'User Labs' which takes feedback from users and adapts that into their product. Yes, some retailers do listen!

Real-Time interactive wall

The Canadian Tourism Commission and DDB Vancouver have developed a great interactive campaign to drive awareness of Canada as a tourist destination to a number of Cities in the US. The campaign integrates interactive digital screes installed in ‘screen-scapes’ with supporting print media. The screens display real time feeds from social media such as Twitter, Youtube and Facebook, providing live feeds of people’s experiences as they travel around Canada. Passers by can choose to glance at the feeds or interact with them and ‘dive’ deeper into the feeds.

This is a great demonstration of integrating social media and digital signage to drive advertising campaigns outside of the traditional channels.

Mind the Gap

Gap has dropped plans to change its logo after being ridiculed by bloggers and tweeters for a new design unveiled last week.

The new look (pictured, above) was meant to give Gap a more contemporary look but was criticised for its uninspiring design. Gap consumers also objected to the change being introduced without any warning. Gap North America president Marka Hansen admitted that the US casualwear giant had not approached the launch of the new logo in the right way, adding:

“We’ve learned a lot in this process. And we are clear that we did not go about this in the right way. We recognize that we missed the opportunity to engage with the online community. This wasn’t the right project at the right time for crowd sourcing.”

She added that the logo may be changed in the future but that “when that time comes, we’ll handle it in a different way“.

The retailer said that it would revert to its traditional logo on www.gap.com and would turn it red for the US holiday season.

Exerts from Retail Week

3 to use Augmented Reality instore

Store staff for mobile phone retailer Three are to use an augmented reality app in stores to improve customers’ perception of its network coverage.

Smartphones using the app will allow store staff to point the phone camera in any direction and show the masts that 3 own to potential customers. Augmented reality involves superimposing images onto live pictures captured using the phone’s camera.

One or two handsets with the app installed will start to go into Three’s 307 stores in the coming months.

A spokesman for Three said that it is in the pipeline expand the app’s capabilities to display where stores are located.

The current app allows selection of a mast to show where it is exactly and how far away it is from where the user are standing. The app will not be available directly to consumers.

The masts will be categorized by different colours to show which ones have been added since Three’s has completed its three-year long network upgrade yesterday through sharing mast sites with T-mobile.

Post: retailweek

Shopping Hauls

Yep, online spruking is the future.

I guess it just taps into that innate female inquisitiveness of what other chicks have bought and what they paid for them. After all, a recommendation from a like minded person is far more compelling that the retailers stamping out what they think I should buy. In that sense it's the fashion world's version of Tripadvisor.

Currently millions of viewers are voyeuristically soaking up every minute of the 150,000 haul videos on YouTube about mundane purchases, from a bargain bag of apples to a mascara wand.

Have a look at these shoppers' hauls: xoFemmeBeauty | eyedollbeautytv | snorkleyy

"It really is exactly like show and tell," hauler Holly Go-Lightly said. "This is essentially what haul videos are, showcasing all the pretty things you found on your shopping trip, but to a larger audience in the comfort of your own home."

It's video blogging or 'vlogging' and it's got tweens, teens and adults around the world taking note. And like blogging it's already being tapped into by PR and Marketing departments alike to flog, sorry vlog their goods.

FCUK's Youtique

Clothing retailer FCUK tapped 'Poke London' to create Youtique, a direct sales channel on Youtube featuring stylist Louise Roe. Roe doles out fashion tips in annotated videos that allow consumers to directly purchase the featured items through contextual links to the frenchconnection.com website, providing for a streamlined user experience.

http://www.youtube.com/user/frenchconnection

Awesome. Shopping just keeps getting more and more convenient.

Smiggle

Australian stationers 'Smiggle' has today run away with the prize of Australian Retailer of the year 2010 at the ARA Australian Retail Awards.

Smiggle was born in 2003 when its founder noticed a gap in the market for colourful, fun, fashion-forward stationery. The first store opened in South Yarra, Melbourne and it fast becoming the hottest retailer for bright pens, notebooks and gadgets.

Smiggle then joined Just Group's strong portfolio of brands in August 2007 and has not looked back since! In December 2008 Smiggle jumped the seas and opened its first international store in New Zealand. It's all part of the plan to be the world's most famous stationery brand.