“We strongly believe that the future of commerce will still be physical retail,” said Sandrine Deveaux, executive vice president of future retail at luxury fashion platform Farfetch, in a presentation at Tuesday’s Wired Smarter conference. The multi-thematic business conference, held in London on October 11, explored the future of retail, finance and security, bringing together industry experts and executives who shared their insights through exhibitions, presentations and panel discussions.
“A characteristic of luxury is that the emotions are determined by the people. The magic is still in seeing the product, trying it on, and interacting with the store associates that makes all of these experiences truly unique,” said Deveaux, who leads Farfetch’s retail innovation department, in her talk titled ” Digitally enhanced: The store of the future is here, almost”. That’s why the e-tailer acquired British luxury boutique Browns in 2015 as part of its omnichannel growth strategy.
“We very quickly used the store as a testing laboratory where we launched new models,” said Deveaux. In recent years, the retailer has primarily established Browns as a platform for innovation to unite physical and digital components in its brick-and-mortar stores. Following the closure of Browns East Shoreditch store in September, Farfetch is now focusing on its flagship store, Browns Brook Street, which opened in the heart of Mayfair last year.
According to Deveaux, one of the most important factors in luxury retail is the empowerment of the sales force and customer recognition. “It comes down to how you connect the sellers to what the customers have viewed on your website and how you create that rich data so when the customers come to your store, you already know what they’ve been watching and what they like,” she explained.
At Browns, sales advisors have their own app that serves as a link between the online and brick-and-mortar store experiences, allowing them to access customer profiles, view global inventory, recommend products to customers, and connect Smart, among other things Send mirrors and process payments. “Thanks to this technology, we have seen an increase in sales of about 30 percent in our business. The reason for this is that these new retail formats tend more and more to be more fun and engaging, rather than just showcasing a big pile of goods,” says Deveaux.
With the in-store app, sellers can tell the story of a product without it having to be present in the store. “If you can present customers with an outfit or a look that combines these products from the warehouse, that is very appealing. We’ve seen a three-digit improvement in conversion rates as a result,” she continued.
Web3 consistent with the physical store
Everything should be in line with the physical store – also in relation to cryptocurrencies and Web3, Deveaux clarified. “Don’t think you just have to roll out an NFT tomorrow. It has to be balanced with the physical experience,” she said. “So what we’ve been trying to do is primarily tap into these communities by giving them the ability to buy their products on Farfetch using cryptocurrencies. It is so easy.”
Farfetch launched crypto terminals at Browns back in February this year and recently began accepting crypto payments in 37 countries on its e-commerce platform. “It’s a way of attracting these new customers and giving them an incentive to buy from Farfetch,” Deveaux concludes.
This post has been translated from English.