British luxury store chain Harvey Nichols is the latest retailer to jump on the Omni-channel train.
The multi-brand seller of fashion and lifestyle products has partnered with retail tech firm Hero to bridge the gap between online and offline selling operations.
With this alliance, the retailer is launching a live shopping platform that connects the company’s in-store stylists or assistants with online shoppers.
Complete with features like photo sharing, texting and video chat all happening in real time, customers can talk directly to staff in the store rather than a remote customer care specialist.
The feature will be released to all the shoppers in the UK and 12-month pilot test of the project has already been conducted via the flagship on Knightsbridge in London.
Adam Levene, Founder and CEO of Hero added, “Sales associates are armed with iPhones and iPads and it’s really game-changing. It means they are no longer waiting for customers to come into the store. They can, instead, proactively assist millions of shoppers throughout the site.”
The way this service will work is that employees will be directed to log onto the Hero site when the store visitation is comparatively low. On the other site, consumers can simply use an add-on button on the Harvey Nichols website to talk to these assistants.
The interactions that will ensue thanks to this new feature will also help the retailer in understanding the way customers converse, their demands as well the performance of the assistants. This data will further assist in acting as base to train store managers and better equip them to handle the queries.
Pearson Poon, Executive Director, Harvey Nichols explained, “We are bridging that gap between online and offline because ultimately from a strategic perspective you want the customer shopping experience to be seamless, whether you are shopping online or offline.”