True Religion deploys Apple Watch to salespeople in NY & LA, plans up to 30 more stores

AppleInsider

As part of a new initiative to enhance customer engagement, California-based clothing company True Religion has begun outfitting its retail store employees with the Apple Watch, including integration with iBeacons.

True Religion revealed to AppleInsider this week that it has deployed the Apple Watch at its two flagship locations in New York and Los Angeles. The company plans to roll out the Apple Watch to between 20 and 30 more stores this year.

In the store, associates use the Apple Watch to offer more personalized in-store customer engagement.

True Religion loyalty members who opt in on the company's app will allow associates to know once they have entered the store, thanks to iBeacons. Salespeople will be alerted to their presence with a haptic response from the Apple Watch.

On the app, made in partnership with Aptos and Formula 3 Group, the associate can then access customer information, including buying patterns, sales history, and suggested selling recommendations.

The Apple Watch app also includes product imagery with a virtual view of past purchases. Customers who opt in can also have their social media profiles integrated, allowing associates to recognize and greet the shopper by name.

The ultimate goal of pushing Apple Watch in the retail space is to "liberate" associates from the point of sale, allowing them to move throughout the store and cater to customer needs more freely.

"The Apple Watch clienteling application from Formula 3 Group powered by Aptos CRM/Clienteling is retail personalization realized," said John Hazen, senior vice president, Direct to Consumer & Omnichannel at True Religion, Inc. "For store associates to be notified via haptic touch on the watch that a customer has entered the store and then provided with their purchase history in a visual manner is the 'Holy Grail' of insight and personalization. With this new integration, we hope to empower sales associates with the customer information and tools they need to better serve customers, while elevating the customer experience and converting more sales."

LoneStar88

Sounds like a great idea! I hope it's successful. 

peteo

LoneStar88 said:

Sounds like a great idea! I hope it's successful. 

Really?? Did you see the screen shot? The alert shows how much money you have spent at the store in the past. So you walk in, sales person gets an alert. See's you only spent $20 dollars before and walks away! This the Future!

roake

I can't find any respect for the store or the method.

SnRa

AppleInsider said:

True Religion loyalty members who opt in on the company's app will allow associates to know once they have entered the store, thanks to iBeacons. Salespeople will be alerted to their presence with a haptic response from the Apple Watch.

On the app, made in partnership with Aptos and Formula 3 Group, the associate can then access customer information, including buying patterns, sales history, and suggested selling recommendations.

The Apple Watch app also includes product imagery with a virtual view of past purchases. Customers who opt in can also have their social media profiles integrated, allowing associates to recognize and greet the shopper by name.

The ultimate goal of pushing Apple Watch in the retail space is to "liberate" associates from the point of sale, allowing them to move throughout the store and cater to customer needs more freely.

What's the incentive for someone to opt in? So they can experience the equivalent of internet ads / suggested items in real life? Might as well just have an AI dictate a script from the Apple Watch for each employee to read off to you.

apple ][

Count me out!

I do not want to be walking into any store and the sales person immediately knows my entire purchasing history, what the most expensive item that I bought was, what I ate for dinner last night and when I last took a dump.

Two thumbs down!

chasm

I think you guys (key word: GUYS) are reading too much into this. Yes, that "classism" Peteo spoke of could happen, but the kind of people who would shop at this sort of store (hint: not you dweebs) would probably appreciate having the salesperson have a little insight into how to help them find what they are looking for, and spontaneous custom coupons appear. From my personal perspective, it's a little more invasive that I'd prefer, but it is OPT-IN. You don't have to do it, or have the app, or anything if you don't want. The audience for this is, in a phrase, self-selecting. Go worry about some real problems. Also, if you have any kind of loyalty card, like from the grocery store or gas station, airline, etc ... you've already given those brands as much or more information than what's on display here. Just sayin.

NY1822

apple ][ said:

Count me out!

I do not want to be walking into any store and the sales person immediately knows my entire purchasing history, what the most expensive item that I bought was, what I ate for dinner last night and when I last took a dump.

Two thumbs down!

don't forget, you have the option of linking your social media pages also...hahaha..this has stalking written all over it....hot girl walks in to buy some jeans ...perv salesperson won't leave her alone and starts stalking her Facebook/Instagram 

adamc

NY1822 said:

apple ][ said:

Count me out!

I do not want to be walking into any store and the sales person immediately knows my entire purchasing history, what the most expensive item that I bought was, what I ate for dinner last night and when I last took a dump.

Two thumbs down!

don't forget, you have the option of linking your social media pages also...hahaha..this has stalking written all over it....hot girl walks in to buy some jeans ...perv salesperson won't leave her alone and starts stalking her Facebook/Instagram 

Your imagination is better than the guy featured in the samsung gear ad. Find out more and then let your imagination runs wild.

bobschlob

Ahhhh (sigh). This is the kind of thing that makes me happy I am getting as old as I am, and knowing I will be free of this kind of world sooner rather than later.

ihatescreennames

As chasm said, you're likely looking at this the wrong way. My wife occasionally shops at LV and they have her entire purchase history available but currently have to move her to a computer terminal, verify her credentials and look it up. That might not seem like much but it has sometimes taken 7-10 minutes. I guarantee she would love not having to wait that extra time if the information was already available. 

And why is that helpful? Knowing her purchase history can help the sales person quickly narrow down what to suggest. Why make something take longer than it needs to?

This seems to make a lot of sense, especially for a clothing/fashion retailer. You want something that goes along well with previous purchases. Making it easier for the salesperson makes it easier for you. 

vision33r

Most Americans do not want this type of tracking.  

ihatescreennames

vision33r said:

Most Americans do not want this type of tracking.  

I have to disagree as Facebook and Twitter, etc already track much more than that and all of their users give up more than their purchase history at a store.

As mentioned above, how many Americans have store loyalty cards? The tracking is already in place "everywhere" and customers are willingly signing up. 

baconstang

ihatescreennames said:

vision33r said:

Most Americans do not want this type of tracking.  

I have to disagree as Facebook and Twitter, etc already track much more than that and all of their users give up more than their purchase history at a store.

As mentioned above, how many Americans have store loyalty cards? The tracking is already in place "everywhere" and customers are willingly signing up. 

I'm not on FB or twits.  The only 'club card' I have is Bevmo.   Cheers!  It's Friday night.

foggyhill

chasm said:

I think you guys (key word: GUYS) are reading too much into this. Yes, that "classism" Peteo spoke of could happen, but the kind of people who would shop at this sort of store (hint: not you dweebs) would probably appreciate having the salesperson have a little insight into how to help them find what they are looking for, and spontaneous custom coupons appear. From my personal perspective, it's a little more invasive that I'd prefer, but it is OPT-IN. You don't have to do it, or have the app, or anything if you don't want. The audience for this is, in a phrase, self-selecting. Go worry about some real problems. Also, if you have any kind of loyalty card, like from the grocery store or gas station, airline, etc ... you've already given those brands as much or more information than what's on display here. Just sayin.

People that want this, WANT the store to know they are. That's the whole point of paying more money to shop at those places.
If you want to be incognito,shop a Target.

Rayz2016

peteo said:

LoneStar88 said:

Sounds like a great idea! I hope it's successful. 

Really?? Did you see the screen shot? The alert shows how much money you have spent at the store in the past. So you walk in, sales person gets an alert. See's you only spent $20 dollars before and walks away! This the Future!

Sounds perfect. 

If I've only spent a few quod in a shop then the chances are I'm just browsing and don't want to be accosted by teenage hipster retail workers. If I have spent £100 in that store then the chances are I'm a teenage hipster slacker and would welcome being mumbled at and referred to as 'bro'. 

bestkeptsecret

chasm said:

I think you guys (key word: GUYS) are reading too much into this. Yes, that "classism" Peteo spoke of could happen, but the kind of people who would shop at this sort of store (hint: not you dweebs) would probably appreciate having the salesperson have a little insight into how to help them find what they are looking for, and spontaneous custom coupons appear. From my personal perspective, it's a little more invasive that I'd prefer, but it is OPT-IN. You don't have to do it, or have the app, or anything if you don't want. The audience for this is, in a phrase, self-selecting. Go worry about some real problems. Also, if you have any kind of loyalty card, like from the grocery store or gas station, airline, etc ... you've already given those brands as much or more information than what's on display here. Just sayin.

The problem with an opt-in service is that the alert will say "not opted in" and the sales guy will keep badgering you as you buy stuff to opt-in.

There is a very fine line between knowing just enough to provide true personalised service and knowing a bit too much and letting bias creep in.

prof

ihatescreennames said:

As chasm said, you're likely looking at this the wrong way. My wife occasionally shops at LV and they have her entire purchase history available but currently have to move her to a computer terminal, verify her credentials and look it up. That might not seem like much but it has sometimes taken 7-10 minutes. I guarantee she would love not having to wait that extra time if the information was already available. 

And why is that helpful? Knowing her purchase history can help the sales person quickly narrow down what to suggest. Why make something take longer than it needs to?

This seems to make a lot of sense, especially for a clothing/fashion retailer. You want something that goes along well with previous purchases. Making it easier for the salesperson makes it easier for you. 

You can not be serious. I totally expect that when I walz into a retail store telling them I what I need that they will be able to support me finding something that fits my style regardless of any shopping history. What are they supposed to do if I am a new customer? What if want to make style changes? What if I made bad decisions in the past?

This new approach is very creepy and a certain way to keep me away from there stores (not that would carry a lot of choices for me anyways...).

mac_128

I wonder how this will be implemented. its not just one an Watch the company has to buy for each employee, but one watch and one phone to pair it to. While multiple watches can be paired to one iPhone, only one watch can be used at a time. That's a huge investment, unless the company already buys an iPhone for each of its sales associates. I suppose the SE makes it a little more affordable, but still.

And then there's the fashion issue ... Will the watches be uniform company colors, or will associates be able to match them to their outfits? And if the latter would a sales associate have to buy their own bands, or will the company provide an assortment? In any event, I'm not sure the corporatization of the Watch is the best thing for its image.