[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/06\/15\/integrated-commerce-hype-customer-experience\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/06\/15\/integrated-commerce-hype-customer-experience\/","headline":"Integrated commerce experience: Just hype or the ultimate CX?","name":"Integrated commerce experience: Just hype or the ultimate CX?","description":"Changing the customer experience in the dressing room can make big wins for retailers as they move toward an integrated commerce experience.","datePublished":"2016-06-15","dateModified":"2023-02-07","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/ted-rubin\/#Person","name":"Ted Rubin","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/ted-rubin\/","identifier":120,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c668c8821df1a2ed296584c5b0b15e9cacfc7ce1ed2cdbd97351315123a748e7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c668c8821df1a2ed296584c5b0b15e9cacfc7ce1ed2cdbd97351315123a748e7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/thumbnail-b0bb218c9f91aff310868379ab5068ce.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/thumbnail-b0bb218c9f91aff310868379ab5068ce.jpeg","height":375,"width":1220},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/06\/15\/integrated-commerce-hype-customer-experience\/","video":[null,{"@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/538851535-6cd053d751f634d256f69cb79f512d2a06e37884573a8402791ff7483af49d54-d_295x166?region=us","name":"The Oak Interactive Fitting Room","description":"Learn more about Oak Labs: www.oaklabs.is","thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/538851535-6cd053d751f634d256f69cb79f512d2a06e37884573a8402791ff7483af49d54-d_295x166?region=us","uploadDate":"2015-10-08T02:57:46+00:00","duration":"P0DT0H1M20S"}],"about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},"Retail Trends, Data, News",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":952,"keywords":["Omnichannel Commerce","Retail Trends","Technology"],"articleBody":"A clothing retailer\u2019s ideal customer has a recurring nightmare \u2013 but the good news is that an integrated commerce experience can solve this for them.They\u2019re in a dressing room with the four-to-six pieces the clerk has allowed, staring at themselves in an unflattering mirror. Not only is the lighting awful (is my skin really that green?), but piece after piece doesn\u2019t seem to fit; or it\u2019s the wrong color; or it doesn\u2019t really go with those pants.Ugh! Now they\u2019ve got to throw on their street clothes, go back out to find a salesperson and\/or select something else, then go back into a dressing room and start over\u2014again and again.Unless your customer is blessed with a personal clothing assistant tethered to them with Bluetooth who follows them everywhere, shopping for clothing in most stores is an off-putting experience. They might be motivated to buy when they go in, but when the experience is cumbersome and frustrating, they often give up and leave without a purchase.They lose interest in your brand, and you lose money without even knowing exactly why.Isn\u2019t there an app for that yet? Some way to make the shopping experience more pleasant so you can make more sales?I\u2019m glad you asked that question, and yes, there is; it\u2019s called \u201cintegrated commerce.\u201d Right now some of the high-end clothiers like Ralph Lauren and Rebecca Minkoff are experimenting with fitting room touchscreen technologies that remove some of the headaches (and barriers to purchase) for shoppers, as outlined in the video below from Oak Labs.This content is hosted by a third party ( player.vimeo.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowWant to see what your outfit looks like in low light or daylight? A touch of the mirror screen makes it so. Want your selection in a different size or color? A salesperson on the floor instantly sees your request on their tablet and will bring it to you. Are there other options in stock other than what you\u2019ve chosen that could do the trick?Staff can make suggestions based on what he\/she knows you\u2019ve already tried on. You can pay for your purchase right from the screen or save the fitting room experience on your phone so you can purchase items later. The barrier of long check-out lines is circumvented, and you\u2019re on your way in minutes.      What is customer experience in 2025: Definition, strategy, examples                Everything you need to know about customer experience, including: CX meaning, tools, strategies, measurements, and real life examples.      Less friction = customer happiness = more moneyNow, you won\u2019t be seeing this in Walmart or Marshall\u2019s, or local dress boutique fitting rooms any time soon\u2014the technology is still pretty pricey.However, the experiment is paying off in more purchases and less \u201ccart abandonment\u201d for those retailers who have tried it. Why? Because it makes the shopping experience exponentially easier\u2014garnering more loyalty and higher customer lifetime value. Makes sense, right?In an article in issuu.com published by Payment Week, Healey Cypher, CEO and Co-Founder of Oak Labs\u00a0notes that in the world of physical shopping, \u201cPaying is the SINGLE biggest point of friction that can lose the sale\u2026 and at the moment when the customer has the strongest indication of intent: they\u2019ve got an item in-hand and are waiting in line.\u201dAs an example, he shared in the article that a national grocery chain saw a 9% lift in sales when they used queue distribution to reduce checkout wait time from five to seven minutes to less than three minutes.\u201cIf you can make experiences able to match the exact pace of the customer (read: as quickly as they want), they will be happier. Guaranteed. And they\u2019ll buy more,\u201d he says. Frictionless commerce is where retailers need to go.      Frictionless CX: Create the experiences that win customers [INFOGRAPHIC]                Frictionless CX is the reality that every part of an organization is needed - that there can be no turf wars in the race for the customer.      What can retailers learn from this?Today\u2019s app-centered buyers are always on the lookout for convenience, and an enhanced customer experience, whether they\u2019re shopping online or in a brick-and-mortar store, so it pays to be willing to think outside the box and build an integrated commerce experience.Buying clothing in a store is very personal\u2014and right now the consumer does all the work himself. The whole process is riddled with barricades to sales.However, emerging technology enhances the customer\u2019s experience in two ways:It personalizes the relationship with the sales associate, so he\/she gets the chance to be more of a \u201cpersonal clothing assistant\u201d to the customer, making it easier and less time-consuming for customers to view, select and purchase clothing items.It allows in-store collection of data that up until now has been lost. What products are customers most interested in? What sizes, colors and styles work best? For instance, you can now learn a lot from knowing which pieces were rejected (and why). This gives the retailer new insights into customer preferences so they can make inventory modifications that further enhance the experience.I\u2019ve often said that the most dangerous words a businessperson can utter are, \u201cwe\u2019ve always done it this way,\u201d and that\u2019s doubly true of retail in the digital age. These new innovations in technology are exciting! They get you thinking about new ways your brand can enhance customer relationships by creating a better buying experience\u2014the epitome of “Return on Relationship. “"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2016","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"15","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/06\/\/15\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Integrated commerce experience: Just hype or the ultimate CX?","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/06\/15\/integrated-commerce-hype-customer-experience\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]