Dawsons Music has become the first retailer to use new wearable technology that promises to close the divide between online and the store.
The chain of music shops is using smart glasses from GoInStore to show its online customers a real-time view of the store and its products. Visitors to the Dawsons website can speak to a member of the store’s staff who, equipped with a pair of smart glasses or an Android handheld device can take them through the store to show them items, and answer questions.
An Assignation Engine, powered by artificial intelligence, analyses online data to connect each visitor to the most relevant staff member in the most relevant store.
“Our staff are musicians first and foremost, which means the expertise you receive by visiting one of our stores is second to none,” said Mark Taylor, managing director of Dawsons Music. “GoInStore allows our most valuable sales asset – our staff – to engage with customers far beyond the typical catchment areas of our stores and has unleashed their potential across the web.”
He added: “Although this is cutting-edge technology, it’s facilitating a human-to-human connection in a comfortable and familiar way for staff and customers alike. The end result is much greater synergy between the web and stores.”
Dawsons’ head of ecommerce Nicola Tibbs said GoInStore can be particularly useful with higher value purchases, and its effect can be attributed and measured.
GoInStore service co-founder Andre Hordagoda said the technology was designed to narrow the gap between high in-store conversion rates and relatively low online conversion rates. “The service has since demonstrated not only a dramatic improvement in online conversion rates, but other hugely valuable benefits for retailers, ranging from increased average order value to improved customer satisfaction and a reduction in the rate of returns,” he said, adding: “With our first-to-market technology, early adopters and visionary retailers such as Dawsons Music are set to benefit from a real first-mover advantage. This fast-evolving space will see rapid expansion as enhancements to hardware and bandwidth deliver continuous improvements to quality of service for consumers.”
