U.S. Marie Claire has opened the doors to its first retail pop-up store, with the inventory consisting of stock from the publisher’s retail partners. However, the most notable part of the enterprise is the technology used, causing the pop-up to be dubbed "the store of the future".
The likes of Neiman Marcus, Clarins, Rebecca Minkoff and more have all contributed their wares to the “store of the future”, as customers can shop goods via an app that enables mobile checkout, and also give consumers access to a schedule covering the duration of the pop-up.
Marie Claire publisher Nancy Berger said of the venture: “We want to take the Marie Claire brand and lay it out there as the arbiter of what’s coming next for retail, and retail right now is all about experience.
“This shows how in-store innovation ties together all different categories through things like cashless transactions and smart mirrors.”
These “smart mirrors” — developed by Oak Labs and MemoMi — can provide in-store analytics to identify how consumers are interacting with products on the shop floor. Further, anyone walking past the pop-up can see what stock is inside via a touch screen fixed to the front of the building, and after linking their phone can then make purchases after hours.
While many US magazines are expanding into retail opportunities — with GQ launching a shoppable newsletter and Harper’s Bazaar launching an e-commerce site — Marie Claire’s brick-and-mortar foray into retail is instead to solidify its status as a lifestyle brand. Berger told Glossy that she hopes that visitors will remember Marie Claire thanks to the experience that they have in-store and will have a lasting connection with the brand.
