Retailers
work at the Nordstrom Local store in West Hollywood, Calif. The personal shoppers assist patrons in picking out apparel and accessories while pampering them with extras such as manicures or a glass of beer or wine as they go through possible selections.
Walmart. The world’s largest retailer, engaged in a fierce delivery war with online giant Amazon, upped the ante by announcing it was testing a service in which a driver not only delivered groceries to a customer’s home, but toted them inside and placed them in the refrigerator. The delivery option, tested in California’s Silicon Valley, was in partnership with August Home, which produces the smartphone-controlled keyless locks necessary for the service.
MasterCard. The electronic payments company partnered with Marie Claire magazine to open a temporary pop-up shop in Manhattan that featured Neiman Marcus stylists and merchandise. Dressing room mirrors recognized and displayed the clothing shoppers tried on. Instead of checking out at a counter, shoppers could simply touch the item’s image on the dressing-room mirror in order to see the dress or coat pop up in a virtual cart on their mobile device and then pay for it.
Shoppers also didn’t have to wait until the store opened if an item in the display window caught their eye. They could tap the glass, peck out their phone number, and a text would be sent to their smartphones providing a link to a mobile site where they could make the purchase.
JCPenney. The department store recently launched a partnership that will allow it to offer its large-sized men’s apparel through subscription service Bombfell. Calling “special sizes ... one of several long-term growth initiatives outlined by the company,” JCPenney spokesman Joey Thomas said the partnership with Bombfell is “an all-new way of connecting with this customer.”
Not all of the innovations will work. Some, like Walmart’s idea of having delivery workers enter a customer’s kitchen when they aren’t home, may not catch on, some industry watchers say.
“I think it’s misguided,” said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner of the retail advisory company RSR Research. ”What could possibly go wrong? Just about everything.”
But Walmart is working on various fronts, making bold moves that could lead to other new ideas through its purchase of e-commerce marketplace Jet and online menswear seller Bonobos, among other niche sites. The acquisitions bolster its online experience and also appeal to a more upscale customer.
“They’re reinventing themselves,’” Robertson says. “Walmart suddenly is an interesting company thinking in potentially new directions.”
At a time when the industry is being upended by the rise of e-commerce, and in particular the dominance of online giant Amazon, retailers thinking in new ways is a good sign.
“I would hope that retailers will start overspending on innovations, especially in stores, which are terribly behind the technology curve,’’ Rosenblum says. She noted that the battle between Amazon and Walmart may, in particular, ig- nite a race to roll out cutting-edge innovations.
Nordstrom is a good example of a retailer trying to have a presence that appeals to different types of shoppers, from the deal hunters who patronize Nordstrom Rack to those who like the personal service at its traditional stores. It’s also catering to customers who pre- fer to make purchases online, Robertson says.
Such moves are necessary for the entire industry. “Especially in retailing today, you don’t have the ability to stand still,” Robertson says. “If you’re not moving ahead and growing and trying out new ideas, you’re not going to be around for long.”