Categories: Articles

Attention All Robot Shoppers

Do you love shopping? Do you hate shopping?

I’m one of those strange beings that truly loves the act of shopping, but doesn’t really buy all that much. I have no idea how to reconcile this, but nothing makes me happier than strolling through an amazingly large shopping mall while, on the other hand, I’m not a spend thrift (some might actually call me a minimalist). That being said, most people either love shopping or they hate it. Recently, a new kind of retail experience has entered the fray that is attempting to cater to both kinds of shoppers (the lovers and the haters) by creating an experience that is both digital and physical.

The robot will see you now.

It’s called Hointer, they sell jeans and the shopping process works like this:

Step one: download their app.
Step two: stroll through the store and choose your style of jean by scanning the QR code on the pair.
Step three: enter the size of the jeans you would like to try on.
Step four: complete your order by hitting ok and the app tells you which dressing room to visit.
Step five: the jeans are waiting for you in the dressing room! The are delivered by robots behind the scenes. Try them on and buy them!

Let technology remove the pain.

We’ve all struggled with the pain of buying jeans (a first world problem, if ever there was one). The racks and racks of different styles and tough visibility on sizes, etc… It seems like Hointer has figured out a simple and enjoyable experience that brings some of the gimmickry of technology blended with what makes technology so astounding and coupled it with an in-store experience that is unique and utilitarian enough to make it work. While robots work behind the scenes to pick and place the clothing in the appropriate fitting room, all of this makes room for sales associates to spend their time consulting and selling… if the consumer even wants that kind of attention.

Take a peek inside…

What’s you take? Is this the future of retail or just a parlor trick?

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.