PURCHASE, N.Y.—Another development for credit unions to be paying attention to: The lines between digital and physical are being removed inside retail stores.
“The future of retail is redesigning the physical store to make the shopping experience as digitally savvy as the shopper itself,” Mastercard said.
“Imagine going into your favorite store and trying on clothing, but then realizing one piece isn’t the right fit and the other not the right color. Instead of calling for a sales assistant, you’re able to continue the consumer journey right from your dressing room mirror,” said Stephane Wyper, VP, startup engagement and acceleration, Mastercard. “By interacting with the mirror, you’re able to see if your size is in-store, view color variations of your items and explore additional recommendations based on what you brought into the dressing room or purchased before. Once you’ve moved items into your cart you seamlessly transfer those into an app environment to complete the purchase and decide what items you want shipped or to take home. You decide to select in-store purchase and as you walk out, a sales associate is outside your fitting room with your items packaged and ready to go.”
The best innovation starts with solving for one tangible pain point and then expanding from there, said Wyper.
“The one thing that matters is always ensuring that a consumer knows immediately whether the product they are trying is available in any color or size, and then offering them the flexibility of taking it with them or having it sent to their home – all through a few clicks or swipes from the dressing room,” said Wyper.
Wyper said that what he described is just a glimpse of how the company is collaborating with leading innovators in retail technology, including Oak Labs, to reinvigorate the in-store experience together.
“Mastercard will introduce merchants a bundled IoT offering of our digital payment, loyalty and data capabilities combined with complementary technologies provided by partners, such as Oak Labs, that will power the success of retail going forward,” he said.
On September 23, Marie Claire and Mastercard are partnering to bring this future retail experience “to life through The Next Big Thing – a discovery in to what’s next in crave worthy products and shopping tech,” said Wyper.
A full look into the experience can be seen on The Next Big Thing dedicated microsite.