eBay, the very same company that is about to split from PayPal because its investors think it is pulling PayPal back, is about to reinvent retail therapy.
Its glory days as the top e-commerce platform are dead, and its investors clearly aren't happy with the way things have been going on at the company's corporate headquarters in San Jose, California. However, eBay is not giving up on its mission to provide a venue for all sorts of commerce, and that includes retail done offline inside physical stores.
This is why eBay has partnered with popular fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff to use new eBay technology in two boutiques, one in San Francisco and another in New York, to create the very first smart stores. The stores are not set to open until December, but The Verge sister site Racked was given a preview of what the stores would look and feel like.
Upon entering the store, one is greeted by full-length panels of mirrors that are actually interactive screens where customers can tap and view the hottest fashion items. They can also choose to browse the racks the old-fashioned way, or they can choose which items they want to try on by swiping through the items presented on the touchscreen mirrors.
Customers are then asked to enter their mobile numbers where they will receive a notification through an accompanying app on their smartphone that the items they chose for the fitting room are ready. All the while, they can also tap the mirrors to order drinks while waiting for the stylist to place their items in the fitting room.
Once inside the high-tech fitting rooms, shoppers can adjust the lighting in various ways to see how the outfit looks on them in different environments. If they don't like the way a certain dress fits or looks on them, they don't have to ask a shopping buddy to get a new size or color for them. Simply tapping a command on the mirror will alert the stylist as to what item the shopper wants to try on. This is made possible by the RFID tags attached to all the items in the store, so that shoppers and stylists know exactly what sizes and colors are in stock without sending anyone to the back room to dig into the inventory.
When it's time to ring up the items at the cashier, buyers can pay through PayPal, of course, or through other modes of payment including credit card, mobile wallet and cash. Shoppers can also leave the store without buying anything. All the items they have tried on are saved in their online profile so they can go back to their account to purchase these items later on.
"This female millennial consumer is so fast, she's so educated," says Uri Minkoff, CEO of Rebecca Minkoff. "With the power of [her phone], she has so many things under her control. So we said, what would a retail store look like if it was at her speed? Because there have been no real advances in retail since the Apple stores."
Aside from Rebecca Minkoff's two boutiques, eBay is also partnering with upscale retailer Nordstrom to test out its huge magic mirrors for two of its stores, one in San Jose and another in Seattle. eBay is looking forward to test its technology on a bigger rollout, given how Nordstrom's department stores have significantly bigger inventories than Rebecca Minkoff's.
