True Religion turns to Apple Watch to improve customers’ experiences
Associates working at True Religion stores in Beverly Hills and New York’s SoHo neighborhood will soon be wearing Apple Watches. No, it won’t be to make a fashion statement, but instead will serve as a tool intended to raise the level of customer service in the specialty apparel retailer’s stores.
The initiative known as Band by True Religion, which requires customers to download an app from the retailer, enables associates to share a virtual endless aisle of products with shoppers. The associates will also gain access to information about customers’ preferences for products and forms of communication.
True Religion announced its endless aisle capability earlier in the year. In January, the company announced that its app enables employees to tie-in to its inventory system to quickly locate the exact items customers seek. Once located, an image of the item is displayed on a high-definition monitor inside the store. The image, which includes a bar code, is scanned by the sales associate to complete the purchase. If the product is not in stock at the store, it can be shipped directly to the customer.
John Hazen, True Religion’s vice president for omni-channel commerce and digital innovation, said (via California Apparel News) that the technology will enable store associates to make shopping more enjoyable for shoppers.
“People just don’t want to shop,” said Mr. Hazen. “They want an experience. Experience is the difference between a great retailer and a struggling retailer.”
- True Religion’s App Brings Science Fiction Tech to Retail Reality – California Apparel News
- True Religion Rolls Out Apple Watch Endless Aisle With Aptos – Apparel
Source: True Religion
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Will the technology behind Band by True Religion help elevate the shopping experience in stores and advance the company’s omnichannel commerce objectives? Which type of wearable technology makes the most sense for store associate use going forward over the next few years?
Poll
BrainTrust
Laura Davis
Founder, Branded Ground
Bob Amster
Principal, Retail Technology Group
At first this sounded like a non-starter, but as I re-read the releases, I’m not sure customers are actually required to download an app; it sounds like the app is for employees.
Paired with a larger display, it seems like the watch might be driving employee engagement with the new endless aisle and omnichannel service elements. Training and engaging staff are half the battle, so perhaps this has potential.
If Siri catches up to Alexa, I could imagine voice commands to the watch like “Find me a store where this product is in stock” might be even more powerful in-aisle.
Great differentiator for the retailer. Even a better promotion of confidence for the device manufacturer. It will succeed if the store staff sees it as intuitive and convenient, and if the shopper agrees!
My specialty is in-store digital experience design and the first thing that I thought of is, why do this versus a touchscreen or tablet that doesn’t require a download and can be used as a more visually appealing tool for sales engagement? These are very small format stores where a larger screen or tablet could be mounted and easily accessible by all. This feels like something done to be cool versus it being the best available technology option, but I’d have to see it in action to properly judge it.
I expect this will help True Religion attract and retain associates who are enthusiastic about technology. Retaining more experienced and more enthusiastic associates ought to translate into improved customer experience for shoppers.
True Religion is brilliant for deploying hip technology directly to its associates. They would have achieved the exact opposite result had they mandated associates strap on an “uncool” wearable.
This strikes me as use of “cool” technology for technology’s sake.
Put me in the column with those who think that — because of screen size — this is an app better suited to a tablet.
Reading through the comments it isn’t clear to me if this is really a consumer app, but if it is, doesn’t that reduce the value of the one-on-one in-store experience by encouraging pre-shopping or even bypassing the store altogether?
I think many retailers would do well to remember that ancient admonition, usually handed down by parents, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
Having access to technology to check inventory, offer to sell the item from wherever the item is located, and complete the purchase in one transaction does offer a great customer experience. Assuming the picture on the watch is viewable by both parties, this is a great idea. However, the only difference between using a tablet or a watch is that the watch is wearable. I think the distinguishing difference is whether or not the image is large enough to be readable and shareable. Whatever the digital tool, being able to complete the transaction in one spot with one person regardless of where the item is should be a great customer experience.
I believe we all agree that “elevating the shopping experience” is the not-so-secret sauce of 21st-century retailing. Given the wealth of alternative shopping outlets, if it’s not fun to shop here they will go where it is fun. As to whether the Apple Watch is the right vehicle or not (and I am a big Apple fan), we have been espousing the hands-free/heads-up approach so that the associate doesn’t have to lose visual touch with the customer.
The idea that the customer has to opt into yet another app is a barrier that has to be overcome before the Apple Watch concept yields any fruit. Wearable, wireless, voice-activated technology may be more appropriate and we have been working with that concept.
While a watch app is pretty cool and very mobile, I think it will be a difficult form factor (because of its small size) for associates to explore endless aisle capabilities. It seems like a smartphone might be easier for the associates to work with.
Linking the Apple Watch with a big screen in the True Religion store is a great way to display the products and interact with the customer. It makes shopping fun. Many consumers enjoy the theater of shopping and this technology brings the customer experience to the next level. Perhaps voice activation coupled with the Apple Watch and Apple TV would be the more likely combination to best marry the theatrical presentation with the technology.
Faux omnichannel is a big risk in retail today, and this wearable technology strikes me as a potential example.
I think the concept has legs, however, not so much on the watch. Why the watch? Cool factor? Yes. Usability? No.
Customers do love experiences and the use of the digital screen is perfect.
I’m with Laura on this one. Skip the watch.
And that’s my 2 cents!
Actually, I disagree with Mr. Hazen. People DO just want to shop, and they want an experience that makes shopping easier and faster. Technology, no matter how cool it is, needs to increase the possibility of easier and faster shopping. The shortest path from question to answer should be the goal for any technology solution.
Shopping isn’t the endgame for consumers, it’s the means to an end. Finding and buying what they want when they want it as painlessly as possible is what people desire.
Cool tech, but the store associate is going to browse a watch app when there is a question from customer? I can see it being a conversation piece for the first 5 minutes, but the ergonomics for the associate are off. I have been helped by associates using a phone before. It breaks eye contact plus it’s not easy to browse. Overall, it is see to believe.
Given the highly competitive nature of the blue jean market and the need to differentiate on customer experience, leveraging the Apple Watch will add a unique cache to the True Religion store experience. The key differentiator will be whether or not the user experience on the limited real estate of the watch will actually benefit the customer or not. If not, then it is an expensive gimmick. If so, then TR has leveraged a different wearable to drive customer experience.
The other question is whether or not the Apple Watch has a high enough penetration of the TR user base to let customers use the Watch in addition to the store associates.
The idea is not new or revolutionary, and the use of Apple watch over iPads/Tablets is not adding any benefit other than maybe to free up the hands of the sales agent to do other work.
The device is too small for this kind of use, I think. There have been countless other endless aisle deployments, not many of which have been adopted. The key to a great experience is leveraging the users own mobile devices with in-store technology.
I love that they are focusing this initiative on enabling their store associates to deliver elevated service and I like the multi-screen approach with the monitor presumably controlled from the watch. If consumers have to download an app to make this work, that could be an Achilles heel leading to low adoption. They should build experiences that work for 3 tiers of consumers: walk ins, those with a True Religion username (from eCommerce), and those with the app. Those consumers with the deeper connection to the brand could have the richest experience, but they shouldn’t throw up barriers to engagement for the casual customer.
The technology should not be separated from the solution. The integration of these systems produces a solution — an experience.
I can see the client, True Religion, saying: We want endless aisles and we want to use huuuge digital signs that our sales people can control to show product in a seamless way. We want those signs right on the shelves themselves and we don’t want wires or a mess, or our sales people looking for remote controls or going to keyboards. We don’t want keyboards, we want it clean. We don’t want TVs, we want the highest resolution simple screens to control costs.
I can see the solution provider saying: We’ll we can use the Apple Watch to control these huge screens. Nice and clean.
Client says: Our employees will love the perk and it can be a talking point to their friends. Nice.
Note how I didn’t say high definition monitors or wearable technology or associates using the tech for other purposes — even though they do subliminally say (or not so subliminally): we care about design and what we do with tech, we also do in our clothing, and everywhere frankly!
What are your thoughts about the store technology involving a plurality of main stair bodies disposed and traveling along adjacent skirt plates with a gap between the lateral edge of each of the main stair bodies?
Oh, escalators, those moving stairs that enable us to build multistory stores. Love em! Shoppers won’t have to wait for elevators or walk up stairs.