Hot customer experience initiatives from a cold winter

A positive customer experience can warm a shopper’s heart on even the frostiest of days.

Although those living in regions like New England know the cold rain and snow can stick around till May, according to the calendar, winter is just about over. Retailers stayed busy during this dark, icy season with a lot of innovative technology projects, but the winter weather seemed to prompt some extra creativity in the area of customer experience.

Let’s take a look at how Men’s Wearhouse, Lululemon, and Petco all took the chill out of the shopping experience they offered customers this winter.

Lululemon Athletica

In January, Lululemon Athletica announced it is deploying a new RFID platform to obtain real-time inventory data so that stores can have the right product assortment available on their floors.

The athleisure, accessories and footwear brand is rolling out the Nedap iD Cloud RFID solution in an effort to maximize the availability of products at its more than 600 global stores. This will help support a seamless customer experience across brick-and-mortar and digital channels.

The company has completed the North American phase of its RFID implementation project and is continuing to scale up its RFID real-time inventory tracking solution across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region throughout the winter, with the goal of streamlining growth in new markets.

Men’s Wearhouse

In February, specialty menswear retailer Men’s Wearhouse launched a new omnichannel promotion called “Prom Your Way," which features a digital hub where customers can begin their tuxedo-fitting process. Men's Wearhouse is utilizing the Snap Magic Mirror solution to provide an interactive shopping experience.

The mirror uses AR to enable shoppers to try on clothes and accessories before buying them, as well as share imagery with their peers. The fit technology embedded in the mirror enables shoppers to see how clothes will look.

Men’s Wearhouse is also introducing the new Snap 2D Try-on Technology solution at select store locations. The AR-based apparel try-on solution repurposes existing product photography to create a virtual try-on experience that visually moves on the customer to provide a sense of realism and personalization.

Petco

February also saw pet supplies, services and wellness retailer Petco start providing shoppers with a more customized experience, aided by its new enterprise platform. Petco is leveraging Adobe Experience Cloud technology to personalize experiences for customers.

The retailer is running enterprise applications on Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) including Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Journey Optimizer. As a result, Petco intends to activate data internally and orchestrate personalized experiences across its online and offline channels.

Adobe Experience Cloud also complements Petco’s existing investment in Adobe Creative Cloud for enterprise, with the goal of ensuring that omnichannel content is delivered to the most relevant audiences.

Utilizing Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform, Petco enables customized, one-to-one interactions, and builds real-time profiles it can activate across any online or offline channel. Petco seeks to engage customers with the most relevant and useful offerings for specific needs and life stages, such as becoming a new pet owner and preparing for an annual veterinarian checkup.