TECH

You Can Try On, But Don't Touch

Until it’s safe to haul 47 pairs of jeans to the dressing room, mall owner Brookfield Properties is trying a virtual workaround. Brookfield is bringing 3D body-scanning kiosks by tech firm Fit:Match to three malls. 

Fit:Match is some Year 3000 tech, so I’ll break it down: 

• Shoppers enter a Fit:Match kiosk for a 10-second body scan. 
• Measurements from the scan sync up with retailers’ inventory. 
• Shoppers then see items available in their suggested size.

Fit:Match founder and CEO Haniff Brown tells Retail Brew that 35+ DTC brands are participating in the initial launch. More brands, and more malls, are on the way “in the very near term,” Brown says. 

History lesson: Brookfield and Fit:Match had decided to partner up pre-COVID in an effort to 1) zhuzh up dusty malls and 2) reduce returns due to Goldilocks problems. Now, their collab has new urgency as department stores and brands are limiting or closing fitting rooms during the pandemic. 

Here’s the thing...

Online-only tools built for contactless apparel and accessories fittings have been available for ages. 

• True Fit, a tool that launched in 2005 to virtually ID customers’ sizes using body measurements and past purchases, is used by 250+ apparel brands online.
• Since 2019, shoppers have used the app Forma to virtually try on outfits from digital-first retailers like Farfetch.
• Amazon has its own proprietary virtual try-on tool, Outfit-VITON, in the works.

For the services already available, popularity is expanding faster than sourdough starter. Forma users are spending twice as much time on the app as they did pre-COVID; since March, True Fit has added about two million new users per week. Forma also told Vogue Business more and more retailers have asked to collaborate. 

There’s the rub. With similar tools offered in two places (online and offline), the choice right now is obvious. Shoppers still prefer the relative safety of scrolling from their La-Z-Boys: 59% of U.S. consumers in a June Coresight Research study said they’re avoiding malls and shopping centers, as spending online increases. 

My takeaway: Fit:Match addresses retailers’ current fitting room conundrum, but it’s not a 1:1 replacement for the tactile experiences that made malls worth visiting to begin with. Virtual tools may just belong in the virtual world.

WORKFORCE

Paystub History Repeating

Many big box retailers made plans to terminate their hourly wage increases for frontline workers...and it didn’t go over well.

Now retailers are attempting a do-over. In the past week, several chains signed checks to address employees’ criticism that they’re not receiving enough support. 

• Walmart issued its third round of bonuses, totaling more than $390 million, on Thursday. 
• Lowe’s said Monday it’s dedicating another $100 million to employee bonuses.
• Amazon also said Monday it’s delivering bonuses between $150 and $500 to its workers, based on their job function. 

Here’s the thing: $150 checks can disappear in a week, but the pandemic is expected to last months. Workers staffing cash registers or warehouses through it all say they deserve more than sporadic extra payments for risking their health. So do their unions. 

Long term...operating retailers may want to consider a permanent wage hike à la Target. It won’t make retailers immune to scrutiny, but it will signal a commitment to employees’ welfare.

SPONSORED BY KLAVIYO

Meet CARLY: Gen Z’s New, Socially Conscious Shopper

Let us introduce you to CARLY (Can’t Afford Real Life Yet). CARLY is the new psychographic of a Gen Z consumer, and is one of the nine retail categories featured in Klaviyo’s new report with Future Commerce. 

Ever heard of HENRY (High Earner Not Rich Yet)? Think of CARLY as his polar opposite—drawn to impermanence, social justice, and flawed beauty.

Nine by Nine: 81 Brands Changing Our World isn’t just another list. The report examines what makes a brand meaningful and highlights brands that are making the world a better place (which is super important to CARLY).

Get the report to learn what CARLY looks for in the DTC brands she shops and discover which brands are leading the way in customer experience.

Brands like Chubbies, Brooklinen, and Living Proof trust Klaviyo to learn about their customers and drive higher-value relationships. It’s time for your brand to do the same.

Get your encyclopedia on all things CARLY, retail, and e-commerce here.

EXPERIENCE

Let's Reflect on a Certain Acquisition...

I’ll forgive Lululemon for revealing it spent $500 million in cash on Mirror, the maker of wall mirrors that broadcast fitness classes, after I sent Monday’s Retail Brew. The deal’s more transformative than a six-day silent retreat, so I can write about it two days later.

The store angle: Lululemon’s so big on manifesting its brand aura IRL that it still opened an international flagship during a pandemic. But stores haven’t reopened worldwide yet. 

• For now, Mirror’s equipment provides a high-tech, at-home alternative to the community-building activities Lululemon has long offered in stores. 
• When stores do reopen, Lululemon could optimize Mirror’s mirrors for virtual fittings. 

The loyalty angle: There’s a reason every workout offering of the 2010s started with “cult.” Crossovers between boutique workouts and barre-to-brunch apparel often increase customers’ devotion to both brands. Lululemon’s Mirror acquisition is a more ambitious take on launches such as...

• Peloton and Outdoor Voices, which joined forces on a capsule last summer. 
• SoulCycle’s private label clothing line, which debuted last fall. 

My takeaway: Buying Mirror brings Lululemon closer to its goal of more than doubling digital revenues through shopping experiences by 2023. The purchase could usher in more, and permanent, experiential acquisitions by its athleticwear competitors.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Stitch Fix stylists say the company perpetuated a toxic culture for its remote stylists, Modern Retail reports. 
• Adidas’s head of HR resigned following widespread criticism of the company’s approach to handling racist incidents.
• New York Fashion Week will be shortened to three days—and go fully virtual.
• Macy’s isn’t anticipating another store shutdown despite posting a nearly $4 billion loss in Q1.
• LVMH said the pandemic will suppress earnings for several months. 
• Elliot, the e-comm storefronts platform, is shutting down.
• Pandemic swag is the community-building tool of choice for several large corporations.

SPONSORED BY WITHIN

The key to beating your e-commerce benchmarks? Data. And that’s where WITHIN comes in. They are tracking YoY revenue, ad spend, and conversion rates—and share insights on how you can actually act on all that data. Plus, it all happens within, ahem, WITHIN’s Retail Pulse Dashboard—so you can outpace competitors and adjust in real time. Unlock WITHIN’s Retail Pulse Dashboard today.

TRIVIA

YCharts ranked the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 over the past 20 years. I was surprised by the retailer that clinched the No. 2 overall spot on the list, so let’s see if your stock market instincts are better than mine. 

Which S&P 500 retailer claimed the highest-ranking performance over the past two decades? Here are some clues: 

• Pre-pandemic, it had 1,800+ stores in 49 states. 
• It started as a mail-order business in 1938. 
• Its logo is a red trapezoid.

And here’s its stock chart:

Google

Figured it out yet? Keep reading for the answer.

FROM THE CREW

In case you missed Monday’s ~personal news~, the Morning Brew fam just welcomed another newsletter to the fold, Marketing Brew.

It’s only 48 hours old, but Marketing Brew is already the go-to newsletter for over 60,000 marketing pros. The first issue tackled Facebook boycotts and TikTok’s move into YouTube’s turf, and it’ll only get better from there. Read the first edition (and subscribe) here.

SWAPPING SKUS

You already know life at home’s obvious effects on retail: clear Clorox aisles, full pantries, malls lose. Let’s explore the underexplored side, shall we?

• Families juggling career, chores, and childcare have swarmed to iRobot for Roombas, the self-driving vacuums. The company wasn’t prepared (Marker).
• Learn about the surprising connection between fashion influencers and home interiors (Fashionista).

Bonus watch: Catch me running the FYC campaign for Planet Money’s explainer of J.Crew’s bankruptcy. This TikTok deserves an Oscar.

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Retail Brew stories from the past week. 

• Will Outdoor Voices Bounce Back With New Leadership?
• Investors Are Taking Casper to Court Over Its IPO 
• 150+ Retail Companies That Are Still Hiring  

TRIVIA ANSWER

Tractor Supply. If you’ve got time, check out this report on how Tractor Supply is leveraging tech to service its rural customers during the pandemic.