NISSA implemented am innovative project based on installing digital mirrors in eight of its stores in Romania. The role of digital devices is to provide NISSA customers with a unique shopping experience, facilities for choosing the right content and the possibility to order online.
The introduction of digital devices in NISSA stores was aimed at creating a link between physical stores and the online environment in order to boost online sales.
Conținut
Context
In order to understand the profile of NISSA clients and what their specific needs are, but also to identify the device usage behaviors, MKOR conducted a complex research for NISSA over 15 months, which consisted of:
- Sector analysis of the fashion market in Romania;
- Analysis of the development trends of tech solutions, in the retail field, globally;
- Interviews with clients, interviews with a NISSA client control group;
- Direct observation of the behavior of NISSA customers in the store;
- Observation of customer behavior, online;
- Face-to-face interviews with sales staff, before installing devices in stores;
- Direct observation of sales advisers through mystery shopping, before and after installing devices in stores.
The research was carried out in several stages, before the implementation of the application and after the implementation of some modifications to the application, in order to obtain immediate feedback from its beneficiaries.
Research on the Fashion Market in Romania
MKOR’s consultants carried out a sector analysis of the Romanian fashion market for the NISSA brand. The study provided important information about the position the brand holds in the market, compared to its competitors (benchmarking).
The sector analysis provided a broader context of the position the brand holds before the implementation of the strategic development project. The overall picture has proven useful in making long-term impact decisions.
Device Design
The project was an ambitious one, aiming to bring innovations to the Romanian fashion retail market, the first natural step to take was desk research to put the NISSA client’s initiative in context.
The office research (desk research) aimed to identify trends in innovation and technology.
Industry trends and technical solutions that best meet the requirements were identified globally.
NISSA brand management benefited from a report that included conclusions and recommendations on tech trends and smart solutions implemented by major fashion brands around the world.
Thus, the digital device development team had, from the design stage, a great understanding of what’s on the market.
Once the device was developed, the developers continued to receive feedback from real users (collected by MKOR), during the following research stages.
Testing and Measurement
An important and necessary part of any innovation project is testing the idea and seeing how the clients react to it.
Thus, MKOR’s consultants developed an interview guide to measure the customers acceptance of the concept. We also identified the main features clients would like from an innovative device with a digital mirror.
The information obtained directly from the beneficiaries helped the development team to better understand the needs of the clients and thus identify the technical solutions necessary for the implementation.
Currently, the role of the digital device is to assist clients in choosing the outfits according to their body conformation. Customers also benefit from discounts when placing orders in the store through the digital device.
Measuring the Business Impact of the Devices
Subsequent to device installation, three data collection sessions were held to measure feedback from device use.
At each stage of the research, MKOR delivered intermediate reports whose results they used to make the application and to improve it.
The insights we collected were relevant in the context of NISSA’s sustained effort to meet the customers’ wishes through digitalization and innovation. Thus, digital devices attract new visits to brand stores from 54% of customers, while over 60% of them are interested in using the device.
One of the innovative approaches of the methodology was given by the creation of a control group that was interviewed in the three sessions realized after the installation of the devices in order to have a constant measurement during the implementation of the project.
At the end of the four sessions of interviews with NISSA clients, MKOR performed a comparative analysis of the results of the four research stages, offering longitudinal information on:
- customer expectations for the device (before and after installation);
- how to use the devices;
- evaluating the interaction with the device during the 15 months;
- image of NISSA products and stores;
- buying behaviors and interactions with sales staff.
In addition, the study provides an image of the incremental influence that digital devices have on the purchase behavior of NISSA customers online and offline.
Assessing the Impact of the Device
The qualitative research was completed by Mystery Shopping sessions in each of the eight stores in the country.
The purpose of the mystery shopping sessions was to observe how the smart devices were accepted and adopted by the sales advisers.
Mysterious customers provided information on the placement of new digital devices and were attentive to the behavior of sales staff in relation to them.
Information obtained this way was corroborated and analyzed in a comprehensive report made by MKOR’s research specialists and based on which suggestions and recommendations were made regarding the optimization of the positioning of the devices.
Fashion Research — Results
Through the collaboration with MKOR, NISSA’s brand management had access to a series of data that facilitated strategic business decisions to spur business growth.
NISSA’s business turnover increased by 9% in 2018, compared to 2017, thanks to the results revealed in our research and installation of the digital device in stores. NISSA’s growth has not stopped, development of the digital device continues.
Together, MKOR and NISSA have developed an innovative product on the Romanian market, taking into account fashion clients’ expectations.
Customers in NISSA stores can now enjoy a personalized shopping experience, whether they are at the test booth, in front of the digital mirror or in the comfort of their own home.
NISSA Appreciates MKOR’s Professionalism
At the end of this project, we realized that involving multiple parties (management team, sales advisors and clients) led to a complete perspective on the objectives originally formulated.
In terms of achieving the objectives, the mix of methodologies, the multi-disciplinary team and the time allotted for testing from the project stage have led to obtaining insights that have helped develop an innovative local brand, differentiated by digitization and innovation.
NISSA appreciates the professionalism of MKOR, and because an image makes a thousand words, here is the recommendation we received from them:
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