The retail sector has evolved over the past two decades. Online sales have increased, and high street footfall has fallen. Technology has played a big part in changing how customers interact with clothing brands. Retail digital solutions are now key to connecting with customers in-store.
However, fitting rooms have been largely overlooked in this time of innovation. This has led to frustrated consumers who are no longer accustomed to waiting or having to search for help. Assist.me wanted to change this by enhancing customer experience with retail apps.
Our task was to design and implement a solution to revolutionise fitting rooms. An app that enabled customers to digitally communicate with staff whilst trying on clothes. This would also double up as a new platform for promotional content that would keep fitting rooms on brand with the rest of the store.
The concept was to create a user-friendly app that would engage consumers, increase customer satisfaction, and reduce waiting times. The aim was to make the overall fitting room experience more fluid to boost sales, make people aware of new deals, and encourage repeat visits. Improved staff efficiency would also mean more dynamic and personalised services could be offered to customers.
We wanted a retail digital solution that would be accessible, user-friendly, and sparked engagement. We started the process off with several rounds of low-fidelity wireframes. This was instrumental in helping us determine the best approach to developing a stand-alone app. We also needed to consider the physical aspects of delivering the experience.
Aesthetics were more important than ever as this was a new way to interact with the target audience and people are not always receptive to change. Attention-grabbing visuals were needed to encourage user engagement. We combined modern graphics and familiar typefaces with a clear layout to create an attractive app that generated interest.
The colour scheme was selected to blend with potential co-branding in the retailer’s space. We also implemented a traffic light system for background gradients to create a sense of direction with red softened to dark pink for a gentler impact.
Customers could access the app from securely mounted tablets in the fitting rooms using a simple four-step process to call for assistance. The background could also display promotional content, images and videos from the retailer. We created a separate “butler” app with an added walkie-talkie mode and job management tools for staff to coordinate outstanding calls.
Enhancing customer experience with retail apps was at the core of what we wanted to achieve with this project. The solution successfully brought fitting rooms into the 21st century, increasing consumer engagement and interaction in-store.
The design and implementation strategy created a seamless flow of communication between retail customers, employees, and management. The “butler” app improved staff efficiency and provided operational data on response rates, average assistance rates, and total call time. These metrics could then be used to streamline the service further.
We made sure the solution was easy to use and integrate. We also gave people a better understanding of the concept through animations, leaflets, videos, and PowerPoint presentations. Our intuitive interface helped to reduce waiting times and increase customer satisfaction.
The integration of promotional content meant that a captive target audience could see the latest sales and marketing campaigns and access further buying opportunities. This also enabled store consistency as fitting rooms would stay relevant to the retailer’s trends and initiatives.
Our logical approach tapped into consumer concerns and created a solution that has benefitted the overall retail sector. The app has since been adapted and rolled out to shopping aisles in DIY chains, grocery stores, and tech stores.
