Integrated tech finally creates a worthwhile experience
Things I learned following my wife into a fitting room
This past weekend, my wife exclaimed “there’s cool tech in here!” from the Reformation fitting room. On my way! 🏃🏻♂️
If you’re unfamiliar with Reformation, they make women’s clothing. They’re also one of the first retail companies that has truly nailed integrated tech.
Blending the best of online & brick-n-mortar shopping = happy users = profits
Historically, when restaurants, retail, and other low-tech industries force customers to interact with technology, it results in a worse experience for everyone. I still haven’t gotten used to restaurant menu QR codes, and, while self-serve checkouts at the grocery store are nice in some respects, they also sometimes drive me up a wall.
I refer to this as integrated technology – getting you to adopt some type of tech resource into daily practices that have been around forever, such as buying clothes, food, etc.
Reformation has hit the mark when it comes to integrated tech. Their shopping experience is exactly what I had in mind when I started this newsletter – it’s all about optimizing the experience for everyone, whether you’re the employee or customer.
In short, it creates happy users. And since happy users = profits, you best bet Reformation’s making some serious $$$.
The experience
Reformation has touchscreens planted throughout its store and fitting rooms. In short, these touchscreens allow you to browse the store’s catalog, build a cart, and reserve a fitting room.
Reformation doesn’t want you to spend more time in the store; they want you to spend more time in the fitting room. It’s an important distinction, as users in fitting rooms are high-intent. They’re in a buying mindset.
Here’s what happens:
Browse: Use showroom touchscreens to see every item + size available in the store
Build Your Cart: Choose the items you want to try on
Try It On: Walk to a (super large and super comfy) fitting room, where your items magically appear in a double-sided armoire
Find The Right Fit: Use in-fitting-room touchscreens to request additional items or different sizes.
Not only does this provide a whole slew of benefits to both employees and customers, but it also addresses the shortcomings of online and in-person shopping – using integrated tech to create the optimal shopping experience.
If that’s unclear, watch this BuzzFeed News video (LOL) to see the whole thing from start-to-finish.
Employee Benefits
Before we even get to customers, let’s highlight how this helps the employee. During the Great Resignation, it’s important to keep employees happy to retain talent – and integrated tech makes the lives of Reformation’s employees a lot better.
[1] Effortlessly keeps the showroom clean and decluttered.
Since inventory doesn’t sit on the showroom, there’s only one size of everything out on the floor. Plus, all the articles of clothing are on hangers – showcasing the entire item to customers without customers having to touch/unfold it.
As a result, employees don’t need to run around refolding clothing or putting articles back in the appropriate places.
[2] Specializes tasks for each employee & keeps jobs low-lift
Sales Associates are front-of-house, helping clients get acclimated to touch screens, answering questions about clothing items, and assisting with any customer service needs. They’re also sending customers to the appropriate fitting room once they’ve built their initial cart. With these specialized tasks, it also keeps Sales’ job low-lift – they don’t have to worry about finding the appropriate size, checking inventory availability, or keeping the storeroom clean.
Inventory Associates are kept back-of-house, filling the magical armoires whenever a customer requests an item, and restocking unpurchased items once a customer has left the fitting room. As with Sales, it also keeps Inventory’s job straightforward – they have a dedicated place (the fitting room) to receive and restock items.
[3] More efficient and effective way to sell clothes
Over the course of my sales career, I’ve found that salespeople typically over-talk. It’s a delicate art to give the customer space and provide assistance at the right moment. This is most evident when eating at a restaurant with great customer service; great waiters are almost invisible, inserting themselves only at the most appropriate times.
As I mentioned earlier, Reformation’s primary emphasis is to get people into fitting rooms and engaged with the merchandise. This empowers customers to find the right items & fit in privacy, and forces salespeople to naturally give customers space and let the product sell itself.
Customer Benefits
While happy employees certainly help you run a better business, you need happy customers to make money. The good news for Reformation is that its integrated tech is even more beneficial to their clients.
[1] Is this heaven?
As someone who likes to stay organized, a Reformation store is bliss. It’s relaxing, easy-to-navigate, and clutter free. Integrated tech reduces the chaos, streamlining the process for viewing their merchandise, requesting a fitting room, and finding the right size.
[2] Sales experience for any personality type
I’m a firm believer that no one wants to be sold to. Reformation recognizes this, so it gives you an avenue to avoid human interaction.
[3] No searching or refolding
One of the best things about online shopping is the ability to quickly filter which items are available in your size. Reformation’s embedded touchscreens remove the need for searching through piles of clothes to find the right size. This also eliminates you refolding or reorganizing items.
[4] Limitless cart
I’ll admit it, I’m a fashion king. I like to shop. But sometimes my personality gets in the way, as I’m embarrassed to take four or five items into the fitting room. Or, maybe the items you’re shopping for are bulky – and you just don’t have enough hands. These bits of friction add up, limiting your revenue potential. At Reformation, you can send as many items to the fitting room as you want – your cart is limitless.
[5] Easily change sizes and styles
No more leaning out of a fitting room half-naked, requesting a new size or different item from a friend or Salesperson. Simply request changes and they magically appear in the fitting room.
[6] Feel at home
The fitting rooms are huge, which makes you feel comfortable staying a while. You can try out different lighting (low-light, sunlight, white light, etc) to see how garments look in different situations. And you’ve got an aux cord and a phone charger in there too.
Impact on Business Metrics
While happy users naturally drive improved profitability, here’s a quick breakdown of how integrating tech the right way has helped Reformation’s business performance.
[1] Acquisition
Novel concepts typically drive interest. Not everyone will love it, but most people will certainly be intrigued. And that’s the first step – getting users in the door testing it out.
[2] Activation
Sales associates gently force you to use the touchscreens, enabling you to quickly see how their integrated tech combines the best of online shopping (quick views of availability, filtering, no talking to strangers) + in-person shopping (try on multiple sizes and styles).
[3] Retention & Revenue
Ease of finding the right size means you’re more likely to make a purchase.
[4] Referral
Instagram-worthy store + large fitting room that you can bring your friends into + experience that gets people talking (I’m out here writing about it, aren’t I?!?).
Final Words
Most companies get this wrong; Reformation got it right. The reason is because its blended experience addresses the shortcomings of both online & brick-n-mortar stores:
Online shopping shortcomings: inability to decipher quality of garment, texture of material, the true color and how it looks in different lighting settings, and how an item looks on a model vs. yourself.
Brick-n-mortar shopping shortcomings: inability to quickly understand in-store inventory, difficulty filtering through all items of a specific category (t-shirts vs button-ups vs jeans, etc), lack of privacy.
Integrated tech solution: Solves these shortcomings + provides the existing benefits of both online and brick-n-mortar shopping, giving you an enhanced experience.
Til next time.
-Zac