Like a fashionable avatar, Gilt is taking its brand concept on an exploratory tour from the virtual world to the real world, and then carrying its discoveries back to its digital home.Īnd they are valuable discoveries. Some may call it virtual-to-reality retail, or bricks and avatars – the use of physical settings to test selections and enhance how a brand interacts with customers in its original, digital environment. “That is what our core business was at launch, and we’re making sure we are focused on it now.” “This is why we came up with the idea of the studio, for inspiration,” said Clay Cowan, chief marketing officer at Gilt. Unexpected brands, styles or products – such as evening bags – can change a person’s shopping mission in a flash when these items are there to be touched. The online retailer, known for parlaying the concept of flash sales into a shopping pastime, has had a few newsflashes of its own since recently opening Gilt by Appointment, an in-person shopping studio in New York that is exclusive to Gilt members.Īmong the key lessons: Gilt shoppers act unpredictably when in the physical studio compared with Gilt’s virtual site. So many that Gilt could no longer keep them in stock. The “aha” moment arrived with an evening bag. Then the surprises came, and its members’ unexpected behaviors are now inspiring Gilt’s digital showroom. When luxury flash-sale site Gilt opened its shopping studio, Gilt by Appointment, it was essentially taking a virtual-to-reality tour to learn what inspired its members.
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