Fashion retailer Oasis plans to introduce iPad shopping to its stores across the UK, following the success of the technology in its flagship London store.
The company introduced the tablet computers as a point of sale when it launched its Argyll Street flagship store in London last year. Now it says the move was such a success that it will now roll out the technology to all its 74 stores in the UK and Ireland.
Liz Evans, managing director of Oasis, says iPads have provided “a more fun, intuitive and innovative way to shop.” In the first week of use, she said, iPad transactions accounted for 20% of sales.
“Customers now demand more from physical stores: more excitement, outstanding service and a more personalised experience driven by new technology,” said Evans. “We are delighted to see that Argyll Street is leading the way in fulfilling this new kind of shopping experience.”
In the Argyll Street store, iPad point of sale terminals outnumber fixed tills. Customers can use them to flick through the latest online Lookbook, and can also pay for their purchase on them. Staff can use them to access Oasis’ websites, check product availability and place online orders when stock is not available. The company says that the Argyll Street store shows how technology can be used to provide “a seamless, truly omnichannel experience, by merging web, mobile, social and physical retailing channels.”
Ish Patel, group omnichannel director at Oasis’ parent company Aurora Fashions, said the technology “shortens queue times and makes the payment process mobile, simpler and more engaging,” while empowering store teams to “be as information-rich as the customer and freeing up time for engagement at the point of decision, not payment.”
The use of iPads in the Argyll Street store recently won Oasis the Technology Initiative of the Year award at the 2012 Retail Week Awards.
