New fashion stores in the online era: more functional than techie

Not screens, not augmented reality and neither virtual mirrors. The first step to adapt stores to the new reality of fashion distribution, more and more dominated by the day by online commerce and omnichannel, depend on the reorganisation of stores considering both efficiency and functionality.

That is what the report Reimagine Stores to Enhance the Shopping Experience elaborated by Boston Consulting Group claims. Although about 85% of clothes are still purchased in physical stores, the document states that productivity in these kinds of stores is generally stagnating.

The consultant underlines that e-commerce has changed the way consumers have to transit and seek articles inside a physical store, and therefore stores must adapt consequently.

Although 85% of fashion sales continue to take place in the physical channel, stores will have to be reordered

First of all, the report gives some clues for companies specialised in the distribution of women’s clothes. The way to purchase in a physical store is much more intuitive than through a computer screen. Because of that, points of sale must optimise the presentation of products and the collocation of them around the space so as to facilitate their search.

On the other hand, stores will have to reorganise their products per activity categories. For example, a space dedicated to party clothes, an independent one with proposals for working clothes and another area more for sports clothes. According to the report, the creation of these sorts of spaces will add a greater value for consumers at the time of purchasing or even entering a store.

Points of sales will have to divide their space according to the products present in their collections

Furthermore, traditional stores will have to reorganise the presentation of products in accordance to the preferences of each consumer. The report states that clients already separate buying areas per intuition or per structure. That means that the spaces for sales that are designed more creatively offer more modern products and they are more appropriate to the trends of the moment. However, the more functional areas are reserved to basic articles with products that can be found more easily.

In that sense, chains would have to reorder their space according to that principle. Within that framework, the consultant claims that retailers will have to divide the locations inside the store so as to accommodate it to the preferences of consumers.

The trendiest offer will have to be placed at the entrance, as it is used to attract the attention of consumers, whereas the functional area should be in the posterior part or also the centre of the store, in a more comfortable place, as clients will spend more time purchasing there.