a blueprint for the mobile-enhanced boutique

First, you have to get your audience’s attention. Once you’ve done that, you have to present your message in a clear, logical fashion–the beginning, then middle, then the ending. You have to deliver the information the way people absorb it, a bit at a time, a layer at a time, and in the proper sequence. If you don’t get their attention first, nothing that follows will register. If you tell too much too soon, you’ll overload them and they’ll give up. If you confuse them, they’ll ignore the message altogether.

Paco Underhill – Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

Instantaneous access to information, location awareness, social connectedness, personalization, immediate accessibility – these characteristics form the inherent value proposition of mobile devices as natural extensions of ourselves. Our lives are inextricably tied to these extraordinarily powerful devices – our address book, phone directory, pictures of family and friends, our social network, our tastes and preferences, our mobile wallet, our identity. The less we as Luxury retail marketers limit these devices as simple inanimate objects designed to stand alone as a fourth channel for shoppers to search, browse, and buy our products on the go and the more we continue to creatively conceive imaginative use cases that these extensions of shoppers’ identities can solve to enhance the essence of the Luxury brand experience – the sensual, opulent, mysterious in-boutique experience – the more effectively we can cater to our legions of brand loyalists in a manner befitting their value and in a manner consistent with the mystique of the brand.

Mobile, as a medium and an “always-on” retail channel, has the unique ability to serve as a galvanizing force behind multi-channel unification, uniting online, boutique, and catalog channels in a highly targeted and personally relevant manner through a device that is always within arms reach. The question becomes, however, how can mobile solutions offer extended functional capabilities designed to enhance the shopper in-boutique experience and provide a deep level of engagement with the brand’s legions of loyalists?  Additionally, how can we increase brand loyalty among those shoppers who historically choose from a wider portfolio of Luxury brands by providing a differentiated, utility-driven mobile experience in the store?

With the often overwhelming proliferation of mobility-based solutions descending upon the marketplace, Luxury brands must be prudent in their selection of the vehicles employed to augment the in-boutique experience. Moreover, the brand must cognizant of the teachings of Underhill and create a mobile-accentuated in-boutique experience that is without noise and clutter and poor timing and deliver a well-orchestrated augmentative series of events with the shopper at the forefront of functional consideration. In her November 17th Fashion’s Collective article, entitled Establishing an Online / Offline Connection, Elizabeth Schofield effectively articulates the need for tight orchestration to deliver an augmentative in-boutique experience:

… brands can ensure that relevant campaigns have several touch points, all working in conjunction to convey a singular message. Interactive in-store elements, like Diesel’s fitting room kiosk that allowed customers to try on clothes and immediately post pictures of themselves to Facebook, getting instant feedback from their friends that potentially influenced purchase, or MaxMara stores recent in-store contest surrounding their iPhone Cube application, all help to connect online with offline … It all comes down to structuring internal communications to ensure brand initiatives are executed on various levels and that teams, from the in-store staff to the corporate marketers, are involved in brand activations.

With the importance of effective orchestration in mind, let’s view the sequences that make-up the shopper’s experience as a blueprint for the mobile-enhanced boutique, using the logic Underhill suggests:

The Entrance Sequence
“We don’t know where our first impressions come from or precisely what they mean, so we don’t always appreciate their fragility.”
Malcolm Gladwell

Few experiences in the retail world elicit the emotions of entering a Luxury boutique. It is akin to pulling back a veil of mystery that assuredly hides opulence, sensuality, attention to detail, craftsmanship, and heritage. Allowing shoppers the opportunity to initially breathe in the atmosphere without crowding is absolutely essential, so how and when can mobile be most effectively and unobtrusively engaged in the Entrance Sequence?

Doubtless sales staff will initially approach the shopper, welcoming and inquiring. Sales Associates are irreplaceable in their knowledge of product, brand heritage, and personal touch that are the core of the boutique experience, however mobile solutions can add more context and engagement opportunities beyond the spoken word. I would propose adding a simple question in initial dialogue as to whether the shopper has downloaded the brand’s mobile application for their smartphone or tablet. If so, invite the shopper to check-in to the boutique to receive loyalty rewards (if the brand offers such rewards), exclusive video content such as heritage, runway, or making of the collection, or to receive pre-release access to upcoming product. If the shopper has not downloaded the branded app, via device camera capability, the shopper can scan a QR code embedded in signage to take them to the appropriate app store to download while in the boutique to receive access to similar content, rewards, or exclusive access to product.

The Shopping Sequence
“Creating a successful and enduring luxury marque is about forging a deep emotional bond with the consumer. The luxury brand must aim to become a soulmate. When you have a one-to-one relationship, you don’t need to ‘brand’ yourself, you already exist in the mind and hopefully, heart of the other. You are unique to your client and your client is unique to you … Every luxury ‘brand’ should aim to become a new soulmate.”
Philippe Mihailovich

Blurring the lines between the true attraction of luxury brands – the opulence of the in-store experience – and the augmentative engagement capabilities possible with mobile rich applications is at the core of Mobile 2.0. Making it difficult to comprehend where one experience ends and another begins in a seamlessly interconnected clienteling effort is the most clear and present opportunity for mobile to make a positive impact on the luxury shopper’s experience with the brand.

Allowing shoppers the ability to scan product bar codes while shopping allows them to add items to their personal wish list within the mobile application – the curation of a mobile closet of sorts. This mobile closet can be extremely powerful before the shopper even arrives at the boutique. The shopper can assemble her closet within the brand’s app and forward the contents of the closet to the boutique nearest her, have her dressing room pre-picked and awaiting her arrival, and elicit a very personal greeting from store associates who are fully aware of her impending arrival. The in-app mobile closet also allows shoppers to share their prospective purchases on their social networks to elicit opinions and subject matter expertise from among their social network of like-minded Luxury enthusiasts to bring the powerful influence of social shopping to the in-boutique experience to confirm purchase decisions.

While on the topic of social shopping, much has been recently debated concerning the role, if any, of consumer product reviews on Luxury and Prestige brand e-Commerce sites. Regardless of which side a brand takes in the debate, if reviews or other forms of consumer-generated content are a component of your e-Marketing mix, the same scanning function referenced above can be leveraged to render such content in the boutique to provide an additional layer of objective insights and work to further instill shopper confidence to drive purchase decisions.

The Cash/Wrap Sequence
“Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.”
Gucci Slogan

With all of the opulence and mystique and personal service inherent in the Entrance and Shopping sequences, where the Luxury shopper is seduced by the experience of the boutique and lavished by the the brand, the Cash/Wrap sequence – where the ultimate exchange of currency for goods commences and concludes – is historically the most awkward sequence in the Luxury retail experience.  Underhill describes this dilemma perfectly:

… for all the glamorization and glorification of the 21st Century shopping experience, for all the art and science that have brought to bear by geniuses of commerce, nobody has found a way to make cash/wrap lovable … In theory, since it’s where the shopper is being separated from his or her dough, it should be where all the dazzle goes.  Instead, it’s the dreariest part of the process.  It’s also the source of most shopper anxiety … If the machine is badly designed, or poorly built, or misunderstood by its operator, here is where it shows.

Any mobile solution to the cash/wrap dilemma is only as good as its practitioner, but emerging technologies will ultimately (in the not-too-distant future) render the traditional stand-in-line-for-the-register approach prehistoric.  For a current example of a retailer that has eased the cash/wrap process leveraging mobile technologies, we need look no further that the Apple Store.  Nowhere in the store will you find a traditional register.  Payments are accepted on Apple devices, product is wrapped while the transaction is authorized, and shoppers are out the door as expediently and efficiently as exists in the retail realm.  In addition to the Apple Store model, emerging technologies in the area of Near-Field Communications (NFC) will soon allow for contactless payments, where shoppers simply wave their device near a reader module in the boutique, thus eliminating the need for for traditional monolithic point of sale systems as well as the lines and anxiety that accompany them.

Mobile as a channel for Luxury Retail (and Retail in general) represents far more opportunity than simply serving as a pared-down version of a retailer’s e-Commerce presence on a small screen.  Mobile 2.0 is predicated on leveraging the intimately personal, highly relevant, device extensions of shoppers’ lives to design solutions that galvanize all existing retail channel touch points.  From in-boutique to e-Commerce, from print advertising to print and digital catalog, mobile is unique as a channel in its ability to tie all touch points to a common medium and augment shoppers’ experiences with brands, regardless of how they prefer to engage with them.  For Luxury and Prestige Retail, where the in-boutique experience is the essence of what makes brands luxurious and desired, the mobile medium and its ability to serve as an augmentative force in enhancing that experience should be at the center of any thoughtful multi-channel strategy.

la mobile beauté contre

“The most beautiful make-up on a woman is passion, but cosmetics are easier to buy.” –Yves Saint Laurent

In a September 7th Wall Street Journal article, “Estée Lauder’s Counter Makeover,” an investigation into the venerable beauty brand’s revised department store strategy reveals a significant shift in in-store shopper engagement that directly correlates with the on-going (r)evolution in Luxury retail from a traditional B2C model, complete with hidden price tags, aggressive consultants, and out of reach glass cases, to a revised C2B retail paradigm, where shoppers are armed with previously inconceivable access to information, opinions, and accessibility to brands than ever before:

Walking through Clinique’s new counter in Bloomingdale’s New York flagship, Lynne Greene, president of Estée Lauder’s Clinique, Origins and Ojon brands, demonstrated the new ways women can now shop for the brand’s cosmetics: An express line for consumers who already know what they want, areas to browse on their own, and seats for those who want a full consultation.

As more beauty brands begin to follow suit, offering store shoppers far greater flexibility and far less pressure in terms of how they engage with the brand, the mobile channel is posed to serve as an augmentative medium to further enhance the in-store experience.  As I have preached ad nauseum in prior posts, those brands that view mobile as simply a scaled down one to one extension of their e-commerce presence on the small screen are severely limiting the capabilities of their mobile strategy and further exposing the inherent disconnect between the online and in-store customer experience, which is at the core of Luxury retail’s oft-maligned reluctance to engage the online channel:

The historical hesitance among many Luxury brands to delve into the realm of e-commerce and, more importantly, where the medium has fallen short for brands is most obviously evidenced in its inherent disconnectedness from the essence of the luxury experience – the exclusivity and uniqueness of the brand and the tactile, sensual in-boutique experience.  E-commerce, by its very nature and definition is all-inclusive – a world wide web of accessibility to brands that heretofore were accessible to only a select few.

Mobile, as a medium and an “always-on” channel, has the unique ability to serve as a galvanizing force behind multi-channel unification, uniting online, boutique, and catalog channels in a highly targeted and personally relevant manner through a device that is always within arms reach.  Given the example of Estée Lauder’s revised counter strategy that puts more control in the hands of shoppers and engages them on their own terms, how can mobile solutions offer extended functional capabilities designed to enhance the shopper in-store experience and provide a deep level of engagement with the brand’s legions of loyalists – while increasing brand loyalty among those shoppers who typically choose from a wide portfolio of beauty brands – by providing a differentiated, utility-driven mobile experience in the store?

John Demsey, group president of several Estée Lauder brands, unknowingly, but effectively articulates the need for this type of solution:

“People today are looking for real know-how, but they want to be served in the way they choose.”

Conceive for a moment a mobile application construct that serves as a “Mobile Beauty Counter,” combining information, utility, education, consultation, social shopping, and location awareness all within the palm of your hand:

The “Mobile Beauty Counter” provides a complete view of the brand’s product catalog, complete with rich displays and enhanced navigational capabilities, allowing shoppers to access descriptions of product and, in the case of Estée Lauder, access customer reviews that provide transparent consumer insights in the store to provide additional levels of confidence in considered purchases.  Tapping into the immense power of a global bazaar, where word of mouth about the quality of product is given additional relevance by allowing shoppers to sort consumer-generated content based on attributes or applications of product important to them, such sort by usage by “skin type” or “skin tone,” creates an immensely powerful and influential application of mobile as a research mechanism.

Integration of video tutorials on device allows shoppers who wish to forego the time- intensive in-chair consultation with a beauty consultant to access branded tips and tricks usage of application videos that educate them on how best to use the product while standing near the display counter.  The incorporation of shopper “wish lists,” that allow shoppers to add selected items to their “Mobile Beauty Counter” for fully-integrated social sharing on Facebook and Twitter to consult with beauty experts within their social network, wraps a tremendously-influential element of social shopping to the solution and provides shoppers with the ability to glean expertise and experiences from their social networks to positively influence purchase behavior. Lastly, support for GPS or cell tower triangulation for location determination and store location functions can serve as a powerful driver of traffic into stores and support for click to call functionality allows shoppers to contact stores in their vicinity immediately to check inventory availability and arrange for in-store pick-up at the shopper’s convenience.

As Luxury beauty brands continue to formulate comprehensive mobile strategies, a targeted focus on application utility, speed, and simplicity – leveraging the ubiquitous mobile web platform and its efficiencies as an “always on” delivery medium – can and will yield a significantly enhanced in-store shopper experience that serves to increase brand loyalty among the brand’s legion of loyalists and those peripheral shoppers searching for brands who actively seek to engage them on their own terms.

brand authenticity is the new black

Since the dawn of commerce in the bazaars of Istanbul, consumer word of mouth has always been the most powerful form of retail advertising. There has been much buzz stemming from the October 16th Wall Street Journal article, “Luxe Lowdown: Tony Sites Begin to Invite Buyer Reviews,” concerning the long-standing debate of whether consumer generated content in the form of product reviews should have a place in a Luxury retailer’s online lexicon.

Debate rages on both sides as to whether reviews are contrary to definition of a Luxury brand. One side argues that brands such as Cartier or Hermes are “five star” in and of themselves, thus it is counter to the brand to open up their product catalogs to any degree of public scrutiny. The other will argue that this form of consumer word-of-mouth is being shared daily around the world and that reviews captured on a retailer’s site provide a degree of brand authenticity and aids in instilling consumer confidence in products and brands based on the opinions and experiences of real people, without the influence of advertising.

Regardless of where you stand in the debate, one thing is certain – for those attainable luxury retailers such as Saks and Nordstrom or brands like Brooks Brothers or La Mer, customer reviews have been adopted on their e-Commerce sites based firmly on the realization that customers want the ability to take shopping advice from their peers. As the WSJ article quotes Denise Incandela, President of Saks Inc.’s Saks Direct:

“The customer wants a more objective voice saying, ‘I own this, and these are the things you need to know about it.”‘

I realize that this topic revolves entirely around social media marketing as opposed to my primary focus on mobile, but I felt this topic too important not to address with the interest of Luxury retailers in mind. The purpose of today’s posting is not to weigh the inherent value (or lack thereof) of consumer generated content for Luxury brands but, rather, how brands can capture consumer sentiment in a manner that remains true to the essence of the Luxury brand experience, yet provide the authenticity and openness that consumers have come to expect from brands in this (r)evolution to a C2B retail paradigm.

As brands begin investigating how best to capture consumer sentiment in a manner that remains true to the essence of the Luxury brand experience, it is important to distinguish between two very different forms of consumer generated content: product level content and brand level content. The examples cited in the WSJ article focus entirely on product level content, primarily in the form of customer reviews. It is precisely this content, spoken directly from the mouths of consumers, that has always been the barrier to entry for consumer generated content on Luxury brand sites. The statement from a Chanel representative reached for comment by the reporter speaks volumes – “We will not comment on this topic.”

Scott Galloway, founder of L2, a think tank that specializes in prestige brands, accurately surmises, “The notion of having a user saying that Chanel No. 5 smells like Brooklyn is so scary that [luxury brands] were literally paralyzed.” Note Galloway’s choice of words – literally paralyzed. Luxury brands have always existed as arbiters of fashion, defining stylistic trends for a global audience based on the brand’s view of the fashion universe. This paradigm, however, is steadily shifting as the C2B (r)evolution continues to gain momentum. Shoppers are armed with previously inconceivable access to information, opinions, and accessibility to brands than ever before. At some point in the not-too-distant future there will be a forced assimilation to engage consumers in open dialogue and those brands which ardently refuse to engage risk relevancy extinction. The question remains, how to best engage in open dialogue with customers and offer freedom of speech while maintaining the veil of mystery that Luxury brands inherently possess.

Let’s turn our attention for a moment to brand level content. As Luxury marketers shift strategies to adopt a more lifestyle-driven approach to market, brand level consumer generated content is uniquely capable of providing the level of authenticity and transparency that consumers are craving. Imagine a brand like Cartier running a campaign soliciting love stories from their customers, curating those they feel most representative of the brand essence, and leveraging this authentic branding exercise to position them as purveyors not only of fine jewelry, but as purveyors of love. That strategy has potential, no?

The underlying advantage of brand level consumer generated content is that it does not require the same degree of transparency as product level content. At a product level, regardless of whether a review is overwhelmingly five star positive or underwhelmingly two star, that content requires display in order for consumers to glean from others’ experiences and provide that level of authenticity and transparency. Brand level content does not require the same degree of transparency. A brand can curate only that content that they feel is most representative of the essence of the brand and the values it represents. In this manner, a Luxury brand can solicit content from customers, which could be limited to those in the appropriate demographic, customer value category, etc., that allows real people to tell inspiring stories with the brand at the apex of the experience.

The cosmetics brand Philosophy has continuously provided excellent examples of this type of brand level content campaign strategy. Although this campaign has concluded, Philosophy developed a campaign around the launch of their Unconditional Love product line that solicited content from its brand loyalists about their stories of unconditional love.

Through this campaign, Philosophy effectively positioned itself as a social brand that encourages its loyalists to share stories about topics that are important to them while promoting a brand image that is not about beauty product but, rather, about love.

Authenticity and transparency are the new black for Luxury retail brands, however careful consideration must be given to how to engage customers in dialogue that is authentic while maintaining the essence of the Luxury brand experience.

pop-up mobile for luxury retail v2:beyond the velvet rope

Whether we as Luxury retail marketers choose to acknowledge it or not, we are in the midst of a revolution in retail and will be soon forced to assimilate or risk relevancy extinction.  Although this may, on the surface, seem entirely counter to essence of the Luxury brand as an exclusive entity, Luxury marketers must step outside the perceived “velvet rope,” where status and means dictate who may come to us, and engage our influentials where they live – outside the boutique.

This revolution I speak of has been quietly gaining momentum since the advent of smartphone technology.  A revolution given impetus by shoppers’ access to previously unprecedented amounts of instantaneous information, social sharing, opinion insights, and real-time engagement on their own terms.  Like it or not, we are in the midst of a 180 degree transition in the retail paradigm – from a traditional Business to Consumer (B2C) model to a Consumer to Business (C2B) model.  The question is not how to combat this revolution but, rather, how we can use it to our strategic advantage.  Luxury retail can choose not to adapt and evolve at its own peril.

Enough with the impending doom and gloom.  How do Luxury retailers step outside the “velvet rope” and add intrigue and uniqueness to the Luxury shopper experience while maintaining exclusivity and the veil of mystery that fuels shoppers desire to seek out our brand experience?

On October 14th, PSFK showcased an excellent example of a branded campaign that stepped outside the velvet rope to engage consumers on their own turf and did so, in my opinion, very successfully.  The campaign was ideated and delivered by BLT & Associates for HBO in coordination with the launch of their new program “Boardwalk Empire.”  From PSFK’s overview of this element of the launch campaign:

During the weeks leading up to the September 23rd premiere of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, the cable network and BLT & Associates took a rather standard form of media – bus shelters, and employed QR codes to turn it into a more interactive form of media, with the end goal of generating curiosity and excitement for the show. The billboards were shaped like a large whiskey bottle, and embedded with a QR code which, when read by a cellphone, offered directions and password for users to gain entry to  a secret “speakeasy” event, where the first drink was on the house.

This campaign initiative perfectly illustrates both what I term the creation of a brand-aligned “mobile moment” as well as the effective execution of “journeying beyond the velvet rope.”  The objectives, however, remain how to ensure that this type of message is not only seen by the “right” type of audience (most likely as easily solved by effective placement in desired geographies) and how to deliver an experience that remains aligned with the core values of the brand.  Would a Luxury brand’s ultimate engagement objective be to drive consumers of the media to an undercover speakeasy for a cocktail?  More than likely not, unless the brand in question is, for example, Moet Hennessey, but the core tenets of such a campaign form the framework for a Luxury retailer’s opportunity to engage in a lifestyle marketing event with the “right” audience to create a unique and exclusive event.  Hence, journeying beyond the velvet rope draws the desired audience back inside it.

In Fashion Collective’s October 19th post entitled “Creating a Vantage Point for Customers Online through Lifestyle Marketing,” Elizabeth Schofield eloquently describes the value of a revised marketing focus gaining adoption momentum among Luxury brands towards lifestyle marketing as such:

Lifestyle marketing has become increasingly popular as brands work to associate themselves with a way of life customers aspire to. In doing so, brands become purveyors of the tastes, styles, activities, etc. that compliment their identities and product offerings.

Much like concept stores, brands who take a lifestyle approach seek to create a perspective or viewpoint, a lens from which the customer can interpret and perceive the collection and how it applies to their own lives.

For lifestyle marketing, it’s important for brands to recognize that, while it certainly helps to set a brand identity, associations with external brands or categories should be meaningful. After all, if you are a ready-to-wear brand, customers don’t expect to receive information on upcoming concerts, gallery openings, etc. While these can be value-adds for customers, brands should understand that the majority of customers might not access the brand for this type of content regularly.

Rather, customers can be enticed through both the brand and the product, and the stories behind each of these. Having lifestyle content that is a natural extension of the brand not only makes sense, but it makes for an interesting experience.

By that accurate definition, the HBO case study analyzed here, although targeted at a slightly different audience, is an excellent example of a media brand journeying beyond their four walls to engage media consumers where they live.  Mobile technologies present a uniquely compelling engagement medium to accomplish this objective and, given the very personal nature of the device, coupled with the medium always being within a consumer’s reach, the experience rendered by the brand fits the equation of delivering a Luxury branded experience – luxury + utility + effective “storybuilding” = brand loyalty.

crossing the e-commerce chasm through “experience blurring” (and the wisdom of Don Draper)

In the opening scene of Episode 401 of Mad Men, Don Draper, Senior Partner and Creative Director for Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce, is asked by a reporter from Advertising Age what was the genesis of his idea for the Glo-Coat floor wax ad that, ultimately, earns him a CLIO.  His response strikes at the essence of where, I believe, the opportunity for mobile applications to truly add value to the luxury retail segment begin to take form.

I wanted it (the ad) to be indistinguishable from the movies.  I wanted people to ask, “what’s happening in the story now? … oh, it’s something else.” It’s not an ad.  At least not the first thirty seconds.

What I find particularly relevant in this quote is the concept of blurring the lines between the attraction and advertisement.  This concept represents the opportunity for mobile in luxury retail. Blurring the lines between the true attraction of luxury brands – the opulence of the in-store experience – and the augmentative engagement capabilities possible with mobile rich applications is at the core of Mobile 2.0.  Making it difficult to comprehend where one experience ends and another begins in a seamlessly interconnected clienteling effort is the most clear and present opportunity for mobile to make a positive impact on the luxury shopper’s experience with the brand.

This practice of blurring the lines between the very tactile, sensual in-store shopping experience and the shopper’s experience with the brand on their mobile device serves to effectively bridge the chasm that e-commerce has been unable to construct and maintain for luxury brands.  The inherent disconnection from the essence of the physical brand experience in a tethered e-commerce environment has always been at the core of luxury brands’ reluctance to venture into its realm.  Mobile, by contrast, is far more than simply a one-to-one representation of retailers’ e-commerce presence (if they even have one).  Mobile is, instead, the galvanizing medium for multi-channel unification, providing efficiencies in a time-starved world and adding value to the lives of luxury shoppers.

In their April 2010 Trends Briefing, trendwatching.com re-introduced the concept of Brand Butlers as an emerging trend in retail defined by the simple tagline “Serving is the New Selling:”

With pragmatic, convenience-loving consumers enjoying instant access to an ever-growing number of supporting services and tools (both offline and online), brands urgently need to hone their ‘butlering skills’*, focusing on assisting consumers to make the most of their daily lives, versus the old model of selling them a lifestyle if not identity.

The retail revolution currently underway is certainly far more powerful than any tool designed to facilitate its movement.  The real heart of this revolution is shift from traditional B2C go-to-market strategies to a C2B model where consumers are armed with more information resources, access to social shopping applications, and technologies than ever before in the history of retail.  To address this, Luxury Retailers who take a proactive, strategic approach to providing applications that enhance the in-store experience for shoppers, including:

• barcode/QR code scanning to access to exclusive content and product/brand stories from print, in-store signage, etc.
• location-based check-in to drive loyalty program participation, integrated private label video “lookbook”  content, exclusive access to pre-release product available only through the app
• “virtual closet” capabilities allowing for the assembly of “wish lists” to be forwarded to the boutique, picked and arranged in the dressing room before arrival
• etc.

… will be at the forefront of this new revolution in retailing.

The overarching point here being – mobile is not e-commerce on a four inch screen.  It’s implications on the in-store clienteling initiatives for luxury retailers are extraordinarily powerful.

I want the app to be indistinguishable from the store.  Where one ends, the other begins and, in the midst, complete synergy that stays true to the essence of the brand experience and the experience we provide to our customers.

Ok, I’m not Don Draper but, hell, who is … ?