Research; Virtual Presentations / Showroom

Virtual Presentations / Showroom

With certain programmes and tools you can create a virtual model of your garments which will compliment design flats and swatches and really give a clear visual representation of the garment / outfit

Jimmy Choo launched an online showroom for customers to browse and pre-order items from their newest collection before they hit shops. The technology was created by Avenue Imperial and some small London boutiques have already used the technology, but Jimmy Choo is the first major company to take it global. Buyers will be internet shopping as if in the store, and for some stores there will be an option to interact with a real shop assistant via instant message or video chat, making the experience even more realistic. Pros; if you don’t have time to go to the store you can get a similar experience online, in half the time it would take you physically getting to and back from the store. If a shop isn’t near by, or even in your country, you have access to the products and can get a similar experience to being in the shop from your laptop. Possibility of pre-ordering products before they are out, which is something you can rarely do when it comes to fashion, especially if there are a limited number of pieces available and they get snapped up quickly. The stores online display can be much more extravagant as it doesn’t have to be physically created. Cons; encourages customers to shop from their computers which could mean store seems less busy, staff hours / numbers may be cut. Customers are more likely to just buy the item they’re looking for, rather than seeing instore offers and buying more than they anticipated. Customers cannot try things on from a computer, perhaps meaning more returns and refunds for items that are purchased but do not fit. – Having looked at the online showroom, all the products seem to not be available online and you can’t have a close up look at them, which is a little pointless. It’s very much like google earth, you can click on spots and move to them, then look around with your mouse. The set up looks good, it’s a real studio with the items superimposed (I think?) but because of how you view it, things look a little distorted like on google earth, so I would say there are issues with how you are able to move around and the view you have. It’s an innovative idea but personally I’d prefer to visit the actual store.