Retailers these days are getting all up in your biznazz, but don’t worry — it’s just because they want you to buy more of their stuff. The Business of Fashion reports that the growing trend in retail is gathering information on customers to create unique, curated shops to entice the shopper on a personal level.
Web analytics seems to be a huge part of this with retailers using data like location, personal taste and past purchases to create a specific shopping experience for customers. On the Internet, e-tailers like Net-a-Porter are using this information to build custom stores for each customer, though there is hope that this data can translate in real life. Burberry’s app allows shop staff to store data on each customer like past purchases in order to help better pinpoint what each customer wants and how to sell it to them. Rebecca Minkoff’s connected SoHo flagship has a similar program. It can keep tabs on what items you buy, or even just try on without purchasing. It is all about collecting the right amount of data, so stores can have a more accurate profile of consumers.
Though data collection on the Internet isn’t a new thing, retailers are now trying to bring that experience to life both online and in stores. Of course, for all you Ron Swanson types out there, this method could sound a little invasive. But it looks like you’ll have to get used to it because retailers will do anything to increase sales, and if gathering information on your past purchases is what it takes to sell you another blouse, so be it.
[via The Business of Fashion]
