London-based online retailer Farfetch is planning on revolutionizing brick-and-mortar shopping. Having recently partnered with B2C giant JD.com, the company is now working on its “Store of the Future,” where customers will be able to flag a wish list of items on their phones as they stroll in and alert assistants via mobile that they’re not feeling chatty.
While brick-and-mortar sales are slowing, e-commerce’s share of luxury sales has doubled to 8% since 2014. However, luxury is still one of the slowest segments to embrace e-commerce. The portion of personal luxury goods purchases that happen online is expected to plateau around 20% by 2025, implying that the majority of sales will continue to take place in physical stores.
Therefore, brands in L2’s Digital IQ Index: Fashion are working to create a more seamless online-to-offline shopping experience, introducing features like online appointment booking and in-store pickup for online orders. While in-store technology can run the risk of being gimmicky, Farfetch’s “Store of the Future” aims to make the shopping experience easier for consumers.