28 28 FABRICARE continued from page 27 requests new sizes and/or colors via a touch screen in her fitting room (or via the sales assistant’s mobile device), she places product she no longer wants in the wardrobe and this is “magically” returned to stock and replaced with whatever has been requested. Store operations are simplified so that sales associates can focus on styling and helping customers instead of store clean-up. But the real advantage is that the brand gains valuable in-store data on what the customer likes and dislikes based on her fitting room session. This data then allows the design team in the head office to make and ship more of what’s popular, and stop creating products that aren’t selling. Reformation produces most of its product in California, and ships new collections to stores in as few as two weeks. Farfetch, an online fashion retail platform that sells more than 700 luxury brands globally with no inventory, launched Farfetch OS, a suite of software applications that are designed to capture in-store consumer behavioral data. In the physical world, mobile devices capture physical location data, and in the digital world, mobile devices capture data on where we’ve been in the digital world, explains Tom McLaughlin, data science and predictive analytics leader. When these are combined, we get contextual data, he says. And it is this contextual data that allows data scientists and analysts to predict when a consumer is likely to buy. As an example, he cites getting on an airplane for a long-haul flight as an opportunity for an insurance company to offer travel insurance. Harnessing in-store data and combining it with online behavioral data gives retailers the ability to predictively sell—as opposed to basing future sales on history. OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES “In the FMCG [Fast Moving Consumer Goods] sector, manufacturers deploy people to the field to ensure store shelves are stocked,” Williams explains. “But now, with IOT [Internet of Things] sensory mats on shelves, not only can store replenishment and stock re-orders be automated, but analysis of which shelf is performing better, and store-to-store comparisons can be performed in real time,” he explains. While this tech deployment has previously been focused on grocers and other FMCG, the focus is now turning to apparel and accessory brands. “Imagine holding your phone up to the shelf and seeing a special price just for you, based on loyalty, based on who you are, or special offers,” Williams says. “Dynamic pricing in-store can be a reality.” “Online you can change prices as often and as individualized as you like. What if you could do that in-store? With ESEL [Electronic Shelf Edge Labels], you can.” With ESEL, when product pricing is loaded into the point of sale, the labels on the shelves are uploaded at the same time. Retailers then have the ability to change prices in real time. “This goes far beyond markdowns and promotions,” Williams says. “A retailer can order lunch-time specials for categories of product instead of everything in store,” he explains. DIGITAL TO DRIVE TRAFFIC IN-STORE Notifications can also be sent to customers to drive footfall in-store. “Sensors outside of stores can help retailers target— in real time—customers who are nearby,” Williams explains. “Footfall is still really important,” says Dan Ballin, founder and CEO of Ideas Crucible, a firm that helps entrepreneurs grow and corporations innovate. “Some have predicted that online will plateau by 2020,” he says. One of the startups Ideas Crucible is working with is Shopest—a location-based tech platform that makes nearby retailers searchable and shoppable. continued on page 29 Digital services can drive in-store sales. FE ATURE