Top 10 luxury retail efforts of H1

Canine Collection shoot for Lyst

Retailers are embracing new ways of selling, aided by advances in technology.

From points of sale in hotel room mirrors to shoppable red carpet events, it is becoming easier for consumers to purchase luxury goods when they want, where they want. Other retailers showed their personalities through cheeky or controversial efforts, getting consumers’ attention for causes and commerce.

Here are the top 10 retail efforts from the first half of 2016, in alphabetical order:

Barneys’ downtown central staircase, photo by Scott Frances

Barney’s beacons
Department store chain Barneys New York is furthering its omnichannel capabilities through the use of integrated iBeacon technology and a personalization platform.

Powered by RichRelevance’s Relevance Cloud, Barneys is emphasising its dedication to creating an in-store experience enhanced by digital touchpoints. The initiative has created a first-of-its-kind digital customer experience at Barneys’ recently opened downtown flagship in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.

According to the retailer, it is the first luxury department store to launch iBeacon technology within a bricks-and-mortar space. Barneys plans to use iBeacons to share rich multimedia content such as videos, look books and interviews with designers to inform and entertain its consumers while creating a seamless and efficient in-store experience (see story).

Bloomingdale’s New York flagship

Bloomingdale’s in-store scavenger hunt
Department store chain Bloomingdale’s generated excitement with an interactive shopping experience.

The retailer partnered with Museum Hack to create #BloomiesHack scavenger hunt shopping experiences at its flagship store on 59th Street in New York. The potential for prizes likely attracted new and aspirational customers, allowing Bloomingdale’s to initiate a positive lasting relationship with a new market segment.

The promotion, part of the retailer’s 100 Percent campaign, aimed to show off Bloomingdale’s history and products in a competitive and fun new light (see story).

During the same campaign, Bloomingdale’s helped consumers express themselves through custom emojis.

The retailer’s Bloomoticons app, developed in partnership with DabApps, lets users create messages using graphics that are reflective of the store’s voice, including fashion items and phrases, and then share them on social media or in a message (see story).

Harvey Nichols’ “Great Men” campaign featuring Boris Johnson

Harvey Nichols’ makeovers
British department store chain Harvey Nichols is showing the impact its newly remodeled menswear shopping destination could have on iconic figures’ images.

The retailer’s campaign operates on the premise that “Great Men Deserve Great Style,” giving personalities as diverse as Charles Darwin and Barack Obama a sartorial update. This cheeky take on the power of fashion may help convince consumers that they too could work on their style (see story).

Rendering of Japan Duty Free Ginza

Isetan’s tourist destination
Japanese department store Isetan Mitsukoshi opened an airport-style duty-free store within its Ginza, Tokyo location to appeal to the increasing number of tourists visiting the country.

Isetan opened the Japan Duty Free Ginza store on Jan. 27 on the 8th floor of the Mitsukoshi department store, in partnership with Tokyo’s airport authorities and the NAA Retailing Corp. As the first of its kind, albeit not likely for long since others are in the works, Japan Duty Free Ginza will offer foreign and domestic travelers outside Japan’s main airports the perks of duty-free shopping (see story).

Canine Collection shoot for Lyst

Lyst in the dog house
Online retailer Lyst went viral courtesy of a controversial launch of a collection marketing dogs as fashion accessories.

After unveiling its “Canine Collection” on May 9, which put dogs of varying breeds up for pre-order, the ecommerce site drew criticism from the RSPCA and concerned consumers, who were worried about the seemingly flippant attitude shown towards the dogs’ well-being. After sticking to its narrative, Lyst revealed that the stunt was fake, and used its increased attention and mentions to spotlight the issue of “handbag dogs.”

The site had listings for 33 breeds ranging from dachshunds to great danes, which it categorized by sizes x-small through x-large. Much like fashion ecommerce, consumers could filter the “products” by color or size, which it claimed lets them pick out the dog that will best match their style sensibility.

On May 10, Lyst removed the ability to pre-order the pets, labeling the pooches “not for sale.” It followed this up with a statement sent out via Twitter, which talks about the 3.9 million dogs that are abandoned each year and links to the updated product page (see story).

Neiman Marcus School of Self Expression promotional photo

Neiman Marcus’ festival appearance
Department store chain Neiman Marcus schooled fashion-forward females in the art of self expression.

Neiman Marcus and Refinery29 will host the School of Self Expression during South by Southwest in Austin, TX, with workshops and presentations going on throughout the festival. By having a presence at one of America’s premiere destination events, Neiman Marcus hoped to endear itself to a younger group cultured and stylish women.

At the school, “students” were able to explore the Neiman Marcus Dream Closet, make stop-motion gifs, complete life-sized coloring books and other creative work and attend discussion sessions and workshops (see story).

Nordstrom’s accessories suite for the Tony Awards

Nordstrom’s ecommerce act
Department store chain Nordstrom is ensuring it has ample visibility and accessibility at the 70th Tony Awards.

In addition to styling the nominees and presenters, Nordstrom will make accessories available online as the performers are seen wearing them. Instantly gratifying viewers will likely cause a spike in sales as consumers seek to emulate their favorite stars.

The awards ceremony took place at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on June 12 and aired simultaneously on CBS. A live-stream of the red carpet show that takes place prior to the ceremony was also available on Nordstrom’s blog The Thread and the Web sites of Vogue, People and Entertainment Weekly.

Viewers enjoying the show on any of the channels were able to shop stars’ accessories as they watched (see story).

Promotional image for Saks’ Glam Gardens 2016

Saks’ blossoming beauty campaign
Department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue hosted a botanical beauty blowout in its flagship store to usher in spring.

Establishing a tradition, the retailer’s Glam Gardens campaign was back for the second year, this time playing off the theme of “The Secret Garden.” Presented by Mastercard, the multichannel effort saw the launch of a dedicated magalog, store window displays, a dedicated Snapchat filter and a special high tea.

A 360-degree virtual reality video created in support of Glam Gardens was intended to introduce consumers unable to attend the physical aspects of the initiative to the beauty brands offered by Saks.

Saks’ virtual camera leads consumers down the facade of its flagship between 50th and 49th Streets and Fifth Avenue. The consumer can interact by either using her mouse on the desktop version or with her finger and by pivoting the screen on a mobile device (see story).

Selfridges’ The Body Studio

Selfridges’ inclusive intimates
London department store Selfridges showed its love for EveryBODY with the opening of a new wellness destination.

The Body Studio is the largest department in the store at 37,000 square feet and will offer clothing and accessories that will satisfy women’s demand for more sophisticated and inclusive bodywear. A consciously inclusive shopping destination will hold appeal for a broad base of consumers, particularly those who are younger and more health-conscious.

Aside from a selection of lingerie, sleepwear, swimwear, activewear and more, the department also features two new retail concepts. Hemsley + Hemsley at Selfridges will have “The Art of Eating Well” authors Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley curating a nutritious and delicious all-day menu. Celebrity hairdresser Daniel Galvin will also be on hand.

For the advertising campaign, entitled EveryBODY, director and choreographer Wayne McGregor will shoot non-professional bodies of various sizes, body types and ethnicities. EveryBODY will also include a short film examining the relationship women have with their bodywear and a number of exclusive branded products (see story).

Westfield London smart mirror

Westfield London opens in-suite shopping
Shopping center Westfield London brought the personal styling experience to affluent travelers with the help of virtual technology.

The mall set up shop at the Sanderson Hotel through the installation of a smart interactive mirror, allowing guests to browse and purchase apparel from designers including Gucci and Armani. The mirror made its trial run from April 18-21 in the property’s Loft Terrace suite, with the possibility of extending it to other hotels in the London area.

One screen contains a video feed with a personal stylist, while the other is a search engine powered by Google and Westfield’s Product Search technology. The consumer can then browse with the help of their personal style guru.

After products are selected, the user can make their purchase from the screen. After an order has been made, it will arrive at the hotel in less than 90 minutes (see story).

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