JUST LOOKING THANKS
A brand-new fashion store opens in Tokyo today, lined with clothes, shoes and handbags, but with a twist: shoppers will walk away empty-handed.
The GU Style Studio store, owned by Fast Retailing — Asia’s largest clothier and operator of the Uniqlo brand — is for customers to try clothing and place online orders for later delivery. They can also try out extra services such as playing with clothing combinations on a virtual mannequin.
Although showcase shopping has been around for a while, such stores have usually been reserved for electronics, household items and knick-knacks. Seldom has the idea been tried with clothing. But as e-commerce threatens to upend the global retail industry, apparel makers are experimenting with new ways of selling clothes.
“Among large specialty chain retailers, Fast Retailing has one of the most developed digital strategies,” says Dairo Murata, an analyst at JP Morgan Securities.
The line separating online and offline storefronts is becoming blurrier as e-commerce moves into physical locations and bricks-andmortar retailers shift online. That has resulted in new shopping experiences such as Amazon’s Prime Wardrobe, which sends boxes of clothing to customers to try on, letting them send back what they don’t like.
And GU isn’t the first to open a try-on store; Zara also temporarily opened a look-and-buy outlet in Tokyo this year.
Shoppers at the new GU store can scan QR codes attached to clothes to bring up purchase links on their phones, and are also encouraged to test clothing combinations on a virtual mannequin on a separate app.
Cameras placed in the store can also be used to create a virtual avatar of a shopper, although the resemblance was unconvincing.
The store is able to collect and use data on how customers are shopping, such as what items they scan into their phones, which clothing they try on and whether or not they purchase it. That could serve an important function for Fast Retailing’s efforts to automate its entire supply chain.
“That kind of data from customers can be connected immediately to product development and manufacturing plans,” says GU’s chief executive, Osamu Yunoki.
At the same time, he says, the company is trying to offer something new for shoppers.
“We’re fusing the in-store experience and e-commerce to offer a fun and convenient experience.”
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