Officials at True Religion Apparel realize how critical effective in-store customer engagement is and they sought to upgrade their Apple Watch Band app.
True Religion Apparel partnered with Aptos and Formula 3 Group to enhance and extend the functionality of its Apple Watch® “Band” app to redefine the practice of clienteling and next-generation in-store customer engagement. The app is now fully integrated with Aptos CRM and Clienteling to deliver a holistic view of shopper history and loyalty program data.
“It’s no secret that today’s retail landscape has shifted from ‘shopping efficiency’ to experiential,” John Hazen, SVP, Direct-To-Consumer & Omnichannel at True Religion, told Loyalty360. “Customers want and expect elevated treatment from their brands, specifically, brands they frequent. Arming the store associate with details on the customer is paramount to providing elevated, intimate experiences−the new Holy Grail of retail. We know that loyalty has to be more than just a glorified discount scheme. It has to be experiential. And we will probably focus it on a shallower tranche of our very best customers.”
Russ Ronchi, owner of Formula 3 Group, told Loyalty360 that working hand-in-hand with True Religion corporate, as well as the store staff, opened a world of possibilities when it comes to customer engagement and intimacy.
“After evaluating version 1 with all stakeholders, we quickly saw the opportunity to turn the Apple Watch into a proactive engagement tool, in addition to using it as an inventory lookup,” Ronchi explained.
Obtaining and leveraging the holistic view of a specific loyalty program member is paramount.
“Often times, it’s the difference between closing a sale and someone walking out the door,” Ronchi added. “It boils down to connection, and often an associate has minutes, if not seconds, to make that connection. The more you can relate and be relevant to a potential customer can make all the difference between them walking out with empty hands, or converting to a sale.”
Ronchi said that Formula 3 Group officials are proud of the fact that all store associates are eager to share how easy the tools are to use.
“They routinely use words like ‘clean, beautiful, modern’ when describing our tools, as well as being complimentary on how little time it takes to pick up the tool and begin using it with little to no formal training,” Ronchi added.