The motivational power of music can be astounding, which is exactly why retailers use it to sell products everyday. In fact, there are a number of companies that are focused entirely on creating in-store listening experiences that make customers more likely to buy stuff.
By now it's basic retailing, but a concept called 'musical dressing rooms' is taking things to an entirely new level. Over the past few months, a group of clothing stores in Singapore has been dynamically shifting the music that plays in dressing rooms to increase the chances of a final sale. In the pilot, a collection of 10,000 songs from 16 different genres shifted according to the article of clothing being tried. The article of clothing then mapped to the demographic in question: male, female, younger, older, hip, utilitarian, whatever.
The system basically works with RFID chips affixed to the merchandise, an installed RFID reader in the dressing room, and directional speakers that go straight to the person trying on the clothing. The above diagram was presented at Midem by UK-based marketing firm Contagious, which actually put the concept (and network of clothing retailers) together for the Singapore-based StarHub Online Music Store.
Here's a snapshot of the RFID reader screwed to the ceiling (it's a little blurry, but you get the idea).
There's another twist: while the person is trying on the clothing, StarHub sends an unsolicited, proximity-based SMS to potential customers. The text message includes the name of the song being played, and lets the user instantly download the track for free from the StarHub Online Music Store.
Not sure if that's too invasive or utterly cool, but keep in mind the customer has no idea that RFID chips and readers are swirling around. Contagious noted that 84 percent of texts resulted in completed downloads, with a total of 47,000 downloads during the campaign. "The important thing is that the user isn't aware of any of that technology," said Contagious' Will Sansom. "They aren't asked to download anything, scan anything, opt-in to anything..."
But wait: does any of this sell more clothing, or downloads for that matter? It may take a while to learn that: for starters, the concept certainly bumped branding and awareness for StarHub, though it's hard to say whether this also builds longer-term loyalty. And, there's probably alot of experimentation and learning ahead on exactly how specific songs and genres stimulate certain types of purchases.
Or, if it makes any difference at all.
Comments Closed
mdti Wednesday, February 08, 2012
>>>>
"The important thing is that the user isn't aware of any of that technology,"
>>>>
may be that's why they are illegal in many countries.
Shops are interested to know where you are going just after the purchase, how often you wash your cloth, etc etc.. to offer better commercial offers or services, or other concerns that are less innocent.
@Charly_SDDD Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Bien ça! Les marques de fringues pourraient créer leur propre identité sonore & qui sait, faire découvrir des artistes?
AdiJayjay Thursday, February 09, 2012
@catherinedavis1 Saturday, February 11, 2012
Interesting, but will it work?
OUR SPONSORS
© 2011 All Rights Reserved
Follow Us