DDi - August 2011 - (Page 42)

42 | In-Store Technology Things Remembered iPad nation Retailers scale up with tablet applications By Janet Groeber I n just under 18 months since the debut of Apple’s iPad, the company has sold some 25 million units worldwide. It didn’t take long for the electronic tablet to morph from e-reader and gaming device for consumers, to a tool for retailers to launch interactive catalogs and conduct in-store e-commerce. The iPhone’s interactivity marriage to the iPad’s crisp graphics and screen size offers retailers considerable ﬂexibility for blurring the line between digital marketing and online retailing. Apple itself deployed iPads as virtual sales assistants chainwide, using its intuitive, user-friendly technology to create a new in-store channel to deliver content to the customer. Purveyors of everything from luxury items and gifts to everyday sundries are riding the tablet wave. It is retail’s response to being where their consumers are—online, on smart phones and in-store. In other words, everywhere. Here’s a roundup: Things Remembered, the mall-based merchant known for engraved and personalized gifts, now allows customers to design their own items on in-store iPads with a solution called “imuse personalization studio.” Available in a handful of stores, Things Remembered is replacing its paper-based process with an iPad experience. “This not only puts more personalization options at our customers’ ﬁngertips, but also reduces their overall transaction time,” says Amy Myers, vice president of creative services, Things Remembered. “Ultimately, it allows us to showcase what we do best—personalized, thoughtful gifts—using the technology today’s consumers enjoy and embrace.” No stranger to iPhone apps, Gap debuted its iPad app—1969 Stream—in its 1969 Jeans shop in West Hollywood, Calif. Created with a “magazine-like mindset,” says its designer AKQA, a San Francisco-based agency, customers approach the single, large, mosaic screen with multiple icons, images and links to click. There are videos from other designers, musicians and celebrities. In true social-commerce style, the program includes social media, so users can share content and experiences. JCPenney has an iPad test currently underway in 50 of its ﬁne jewelry departments. (Note: This is the company who recently hired Ron Johnson, the man who directed Apple’s stores for 11 years, to take over as CEO this coming November.) The new iPad assistant allows shoppers to compare ring features side by side and to look at ring styles, cuts, sizes and metals not in offered instore. The iPad joins the Plano, Texas-based retailer’s giant “ﬁndmore” touchscreen kiosks in-store. Customers visiting freestanding Puma stores can design their own sneakers at The Creative Factory, its in-store iPad station. The German shoe and sportswear company connects Puma wearers around the globe through an app for comparing shoe designs and learning more about the footwear’s creators. Stations are currently operational in Europe, Asia and Africa, with plans to head stateside. After testing for several months last year, iconic British brand Burberry is rolling out “Retail Theatre” in 25 of its ﬂagship stores worldwide. Partnering with Verizon, Burberry’s Retail Theatre iPad app allows customers to view its London runway shows in real time and place orders. A division of LVMH, Make Up For Ever has an iPad pilot in three Sephora stores (New York, Costa Mesa, Calif., and Las Vegas). Afﬁxed to a gondola, the iPad allows customers to visit and update Facebook pages, tweet about their shopping experience and browse makeup combinations. Eventually, customers will be able to complete virtual makeovers by uploading a digital photo of their own faces. “It enables us to create a connection between the brand and a client in the stores where we don’t have our own staffs,” says Gilles Kortzagadarian, vice president, Make Up For Ever. Plans call for a 60-store rollout. To e-mail this article, visit www.ddionline.com/magazine. Photos: TRG Reality Editor’s note: DDI is on the iPad bandwagon as well. Download the new DDI Mobile app for the iPhone and iPad at www.ddionline.com/mobile. www.ddionline.com | August 2011 http://www.ddionline.com/magazine http://www.ddionline.com/mobile http://www.ddionline.com/mobile http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - August 2011

DDi - August 2011
Contents
From the Editor
From the Show Director
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Visual Perspectives
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
Channel Focus: Green
Express
Visual Trends
Big-impact visualShopping with Paco
Store Windows Showcase
Visual Products
Right Light
In-Store Technology
Product Spotlight
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Shopping with Paco

DDi - August 2011