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posted by cmn32480 on Thursday August 20 2015, @06:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the just-wait-until-the-cameras-get-hacked dept.

As online giant Amazon.com Inc. charges into the $300 billion U.S. apparel market, Macy's Inc. is running for the dressing room.

Even Macy's acknowledges there's little it can do to keep customers from shopping online for basic clothing -- like T-shirts, men's jeans and tighty whities. Yet the department store chain is clinging to the idea that many consumers will want to try on other kinds of apparel, such as bikinis, bras and high-fashion items, before making a purchase.
...
As part of its effort, Macy's recently revamped its fitting rooms in the women's swimsuit and athletic department at its Manhattan Beach, California, store. Macy's is using technology - - smartphones and company-provided tablets -- to make it easier for customers to try on items without having to leave the dressing room or ask a sales clerk for more help.
...
Shoppers browse swimsuits and yoga pants displayed on mannequins. When a style looks interesting, they use a Macy's app on their smartphones or the tablets to select their sizes. The items are delivered to a fitting room through a chute. Once in the fitting room, customers can request more sizes and other items using the app.

The result is that shoppers spend more time browsing and less time undressing, redressing and rummaging through racks, increasing the likelihood they'll find something to buy.

The article does not explain how selected items find their way from the rack to the delivery chute--whether by sales employees manually finding the items or some automated process.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by vux984 on Thursday August 20 2015, @10:05PM

    by vux984 (5045) on Thursday August 20 2015, @10:05PM (#225600)

    The *only* reason I shop for cloths at a store is because every brand has a different idea what 'size' is.

    Sizing is just one factor. Fit makes a big difference. a 34" waist might actually be 34" but how is it around your calves? or thighs? Just having a 34" waiste and 30" legs is hardly enough to go on to know if you'll like how it fits. And judging from my wifes clothing shopping its even worse for women. She'll try S/M/L and then walk away declaring that NONE of them fit right. Even the closest fit is still too tight here and too lose there.

    Lack of standardized sizing is just part of the 'fit' problem. Its not surprising that all the dimensions of people and clothing can't be adequate summarized by XS/S/M/L/XL. People simply aren't all the same shape multiplied by a scaling factor.

    Then there is quality of materials and workmanship... I've often put back a T-shirt that was too thin; or a jacket that was not heavy enough or too heavy for what i wanted... or had a poor quality zipper, or the buttons were already barely hanging on... or shoes that fit, but weren't comfortable. Or the leather was low quality, or a zillion other items that made it undesirable or at least undesirable for the price.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 21 2015, @01:41AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 21 2015, @01:41AM (#225653)

    Exactly my point. On top of that even from the same brand you can have 2 shirts that look identical. Same 'sizes' but one fits and the other doesnt. Why because someone didnt make the shirt correctly. There is a staggering amount of badly made clothing out there.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by jimshatt on Friday August 21 2015, @07:12AM

    by jimshatt (978) on Friday August 21 2015, @07:12AM (#225737) Journal
    Sooo, would the dressing-room-tablets be an advantage for you? I completely agree with you, about size and fit and material and whatnot, and actually trying something on makes a huge difference. But even before you try something on, just looking at it and feeling it makes a big difference as well. So I would only use the dressing-room-tablet to get a different size of an item I already picked out by hand (i.e. passes the initial quality tests about material etc.).

    Macy's wants to use the tablets to make home shoppers more comfortable, but I don't think this will help to get the home shoppers (who apparently don't care about material (or just order a lot and send 90% back)) back in the stores.
    • (Score: 2) by vux984 on Friday August 21 2015, @05:48PM

      by vux984 (5045) on Friday August 21 2015, @05:48PM (#225957)

      Sooo, would the dressing-room-tablets be an advantage for you?

      Not really. I think retail clothing needs to compete with amazon by leveraging their brick and mortor presence as a showroom where I can try stuff on, see the material etc. Their challenge however is going to be to convert that to a sale to prevent shoppers from then going back home and ordering it on line.

      Three things need to happen:
      1) The price needs to at least be close. If I'm saving 50%-75% on an item and possibly dodging some taxes on top of that by ordering it from Amazon online it's hard to rationalize buying it in store. I'm willing to pay a small premium to get it here and now, this exact one I tried on... but not a 150% premium.
      2) Ideally they should get out of stocking product that Amazon can get as much as they can. Be exclusive.
      3) Their own online store and direct shipping needs to be solid. If the size/color combo I want isn't in stock, they should be able to have it to my door within two days.

      As for the tablet to reduce people interaction... I dunno... I personally don't find most sales people in retail clothing to be overly pushy; and a genuinely good sales person when I run into one generally improves the shopping experience.