Alibaba's new Hong Kong store combines the best parts of physical and online shopping — take a closer look

There are a lot of reasons to prefer online shopping to the real-life experience — avoiding the crowds, being able to see all the available sizes and colors, and not having to lug around bags all come to mind.

But there's also a glaring inconvenience with online shopping: You can't try on clothes or accessories before you buy them.

Alibaba wants to close that gap by merging the two experiences. Its newest venture FashionAI takes almost all of the conveniences of online shopping and puts them into an inventory-filled brick-and-mortar store built with RFID racks and AI mirrors.

The store, a collaboration with students from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, is located right next to the college's fashion faculty, "where academics, engineers, and fashionistas are working together to envision the future of fashion retail," according to Alibaba Group blog Alizila.

Employees man the store to assist customers in dressing rooms and help with the process, but the technology runs the show. Mirror-screens display color and size options, suggest outfits, direct you to items within the store, and place items in a bag so they're waiting for you in a dressing room when you arrive. 

You still have to figure out how to leave the comfort of your couch, though. 

Here's how customers navigate FashionAI, the automated Hong Kong store where brick-and-mortar shopping meets e-commerce:

Customers check into the store with a mobile ID code by Taobao — the world's largest e-commerce website owned by Alibaba — before roaming the store and choosing items to put in their "bag."

Shoppers also have the option use a face scan for a more personalized experience.

When you pick an item off of the rack, an RFID rack tells the adjacent mirror what you've chosen and brings it up on the screen.

Here, the customer can see size and color options, as well as suggestions for the right outfit.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Contributer : Tech Insider https://ift.tt/2u7lIXW

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