The team over at Slalom Consulting Harnessed the Digitize The Real World, Everyone-Of-A-Kind and Kill The Check Out to rethink the shopping experience at clothing retailer J.Crew.

With the advent of iBeacons and big data analysis, we are entering the true age of anticipation. The time when your presence or actions create a chain of reactions and desired options without you having to make any effort.

This store concept demonstrates how these technologies, along with existing solutions such as CRM, could be deployed. In this store, the customer’s interest in a piece of clothing immediately pulls up information they might need on fit and associated products without them asking. The fact that the customer may want to try on an item and then pay for it is anticipated by minimizing the effort it takes to do this. The benefit is not only for the consumer: the store can reduce floor staff and inventory, and potentially more loyal customers.

It begins when the user checks in to a store using NFC tag enabled entry doors. Alternatively, an iBeacon wakes up the store’s app installed on their phone. As the customer approaches items, the app serves pages with outfit suggestions involving this item. The brand’s app notes the check in (maybe posts to social apps). The app has your profile with shirt sizes, pant  sizes, shoes sizes etc.

Customers have the option to enter a set of their body measurements in the app. When approaching an item in the store, the app can show the user exactly how the item would fit them. If the customer wants to try an item on, they swipe the NFC tag the hanger, sending details to the app + the store’s changing rooms. The store is designed to only have a few pieces of each item on the floor.

When finished shopping, the customer checks at the changing room using an NFC tag and joins the waiting list. When it is their turn they simply pick up their clothes from the attendant. If they need a different size they request it with the app The customer selects which items they want to buy from the a screen in  the changing room (which is synced to the items they scanned). They then pay for the item by swiping the NFC tags in the changing room. A receipt is emailed and all data from the visits stored for analysis.

Via PSFK