This year’s NRF (Retail’s Big Show) at the Javits Center in New York felt like the beginning of Spring following a long COVID winter. Before getting into the details, let’s rewind back to 2019.
The in-person convention was canceled two years in a row, in 2020 and 2021. Last year (2022), many hopeful companies returned to the convention center, but the masks were on, and much of the carpeting was off due to last-minute cancellations. Although Tangiblee exhibited and enjoyed many great conversations, we also missed many international attendees and networking events last year, which couldn’t be replaced by all the hand sanitizer and free mask giveaways in the world.
Finally, NRF ‘23 last week saw a return to near-normalcy. The Tangiblee crew enjoyed a role in the newly shaped future of retail, which has seen a rapid transformation to survive and thrive in the contactless digital age. With temperatures in the upper 40s, the vibe was warm all around. The Tangiblee team enjoyed conversations with top names in retail – both current customers and prospects – who were engaged and delighted by new immersive shopping features, including our scalable VTO Clip, Embed, and contextual shopping solutions across categories.
While would-be competitors at the event may be taking notes on our offerings, one thing is clear: No one except Tangiblee already offers proven, real-world examples of this technology with top names at the scale and affordability we offer. It’s one thing to throw some R&D dollars at digital development but quite another to execute well in the real world. That’s what we have done successfully for the past few years and will continue to build on for 2023.
We are also excited to welcome our new Senior Product Manager, Steven Price, to the Tangiblee team this month. Steven attended many of the sessions and shares his key takeaways from the keynotes and presentations below:
#1: AI is cool
Simply put, “AI” was on every sign, banner, and booth possible, regardless of how much true AI was leveraged in the final solution. At this point, AI is more of a buzzword than a genuine description of the technical solution. Saying that your solution is AI-enabled is the same as saying that your solutions are new, powerful, fast, and adaptable. The feeling among non-technical crowds is that AI is a near-mythical fix-all.
#2: Omnichannel customer experience is on everyone’s mind
Everyone is searching for ways to unify the online and in-store shopping experiences in a way that boosts sales and customer intelligence while curating more brand loyalty.
There is unilateral interest in trends and technologies that relate to the omnichannel customer experience. The big idea is to make the online and in-store shopping experiences as connected and consistent as possible by leveraging technology to build a sales pipeline beyond checkout.
Many companies are looking for ways to bridge the gap between digital and in-store customer experiences with gimmicky technologies like touchscreen mirrors, interactive marketing content, and virtual fit checkers. However, only some are addressing real-world problems for retailers or consumers. Most add unnecessary complexity simultaneously to the customer’s shopping experience and the retailer’s floor operations (associate duties).
#3: 3D is hit and miss
There is a dichotomy of interest in 3D, either complete disinterest or convinced that it’s the next big cornerstone technology for retail. Increasing the quality of scalable solutions is the key to bridging the gap.
Retailers appear either all in or all out when it comes to 3D; there is no in-between state. The quality level of full 3D solutions is too high, and thus too expensive, for most use cases out there, video marketing being a significant outlier in this case. However, the quality level for scalable solutions based on existing product imagery is generally too low or too complicated to be a practical mainstream solution.
#4: There is uncertainty about digital transformation for post-pandemic retail
Consumer trends in 2023 will establish the baseline for post-pandemic customer preferences, which will drive what digital transformation initiatives the big retailers will pursue. Smaller retailers will then follow suit.
There is a general sentiment throughout the industry that retail is essentially out of pandemic mode. Everyone is waiting to see what pandemic-time changes stick, what trends return to pre-pandemic “normal,” and what the next step for digital transformation will be in retail.
For example, verticals like home decor and furniture are seeing success in doubling down on their in-store experiences while letting go of many digital transformation initiatives undertaken to stay afloat during the pandemic. In contrast, verticals like small jewelry continue to have a strong interest in retail applications for emerging technologies.
In summary, retailers have an air of anticipation to see how consumer preferences evolve throughout 2023. Retailers will likely make significant strategic decisions over the next 6-18 months about the role of digital transformation for their brands over the next few years based on how customer shopping preferences and trends play out.
Want to learn how Tangiblee can help your company ensure successful online sales in 2023? Schedule a demo with our team today.
This article references an article posted on Retail Dive.
Chicago, IL - May 3, 2023
Tangiblee, the world’s most scalable immersive shopping experience provider, unveils new client implementations and product features at the upcoming Shoptalk in Barcelona, May 9-11. Since its inception, Tangiblee has gained significant traction among global brands, including the addition of top names in European fashion, such as Lucardi (The Netherlands), MCMWorldwide (Germany), and F. Hinds (UK), to name just a few.
With the retail XR (Extended Reality) market in Europe expected to grow by 25.8% by 2028, clients are motivated by economic advantage plus Tangiblee’s key differentiators, including deployment speed and scalability. Those who have already launched their immersive experiences enjoy proven financial results. Rather than ethereal ideas and futuristic ideas of the metaverse, Tangiblee takes a practical view of AR and immersive technologies. This approach leads to improved e-commerce conversion rates and profit, as expressed by clients in their own words through the company’s case studies:
“When you see numbers like that, it’s a no brainer.”
Elles van Leeuwen, Lucardi’s e-commerce manager.
“For a specific item that used to have a 40% return rate, now we’re looking at a 20% return rate. Wow!”
Jordan Katz, VP, E-commerce, The Sak
"We saw a clear positive revenue impact from adding the Tangiblee tool."
Matt Kirton - Product Owner, Fashionette
At Shoptalk Europe, in addition to showcasing clients’ immersive experiences, Tangiblee will be offering an exclusive preview of its latest technologies, the result of years of R&D and currently unmatched in the industry: These include ring and earring collections, VTO Clip (Jewelry), new size comparison options including “What Fits Inside?” (Handbags), and Virtual Room Design (Home Decor).
“Even in the current volatile business climate, we see a strong demand for our immersive shopping and virtual try-on solutions,” says Eliad Inbar, Tangiblee CEO. “This is a testament to our approach, which focuses on usability and business results over bells and whistles.”
To help retailers boost revenue, Tangiblee offers new integration options for e-commerce sites, such as “Embed” and “PLP Filtering”. “Embed” provides more flexible options for enterprise retailers to incorporate Tangiblee’s immersive experiences, reducing the number of clicks to purchase. “PLP filtering” integrates with existing e-commerce site capabilities including recommendation engines.
To learn more about how Tangiblee can help drive increased online revenue and reduce returns, visit Tangiblee.com or Request a Demo.
About Tangiblee
Tangiblee is an enterprise-ready, immersive shopping and augmented reality (AR) e-commerce platform. The world’s largest brands are working with Tangiblee to deliver highly interactive online experiences in days, not months or years. An alumnus of the Techstars 2014 class, Tangiblee is revolutionizing the online buying experience for some of the world’s top retailers including Fossil, Home24, MCM Worldwide, Lucardi and more. Tangiblee’s interactive eCommerce solutions — including Virtual Try-On (VTO), Contextual Shopping, and Lifestyle Content — dramatically improve the bottom line for retailers, increasing conversions and average order value and reducing returns.
This article references an article posted on Retail Dive.
Chicago, IL - March 22, 2023
Tangiblee, the world’s most scalable immersive shopping experience provider, showcases its next generation of Virtual Try-On (VTO) and AR technology at Shoptalk US (March 26-29). Tangiblee launched its first immersive shopping solution back in 2014, so it’s already a veteran in the AR-powered e-commerce space. Nearly a decade later, the company continues to innovate and deliver proven financial results to hundreds of well-known brands and retailers (including Citizen, Lucardi, Victorinox, and Home24, to name a few).
While new entrants begin to emerge on the AR scene, Tangiblee has already expanded its popular platform capabilities and delivered consistent results for retailers year-over-year. At Shoptalk next week, the company will be offering an exclusive preview of its latest features, the result of years of R&D and currently unmatched in the industry: These include ring and earring collections, VTO Clip (Jewelry), new size comparison options including “What Fits Inside?” (Handbags), and Virtual Room Design (Home Decor).
In addition to technology enhancements across categories, the company will unveil flexible new integration options for retailer e-commerce sites, such as “Embed” and “PLP Filtering” — both designed to further boost conversions and profitability. “Embed” provides more flexible options for enterprise retailers to incorporate Tangiblee’s immersive experiences, reducing the number of clicks to purchase. “PLP filtering” integrates with existing e-commerce site capabilities including recommendation engines. Every platform enhancement offers the same scalability Tangiblee is known for — the ability to process and onboard a volume of more than 5,000 new SKUs a day.
“Even in the current volatile business climate, we see a strong demand for our immersive shopping and virtual try-on solutions,” says Eliad Inbar, Tangiblee CEO. “We now serve 4 out of 5 of the world’s top luxury jewelry retailers. This is a testament to our approach, which focuses on usability and business results over bells and whistles.”
Tangiblee’s retail clients enjoy a recession-proof option for increasing revenue while decreasing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The company’s easy-to-deploy, no-code solution has helped many retailers deliver immersive online shopping experiences at a fraction of the cost and time of any other solutions providers.
To learn more about how Tangiblee can help drive increased online revenue and reduce returns, visit Tangiblee.com or Request a Demo.
About Tangiblee
Tangiblee is an enterprise-ready, immersive shopping and augmented reality (AR) e-commerce platform. The world’s largest brands are working with Tangiblee to deliver highly interactive online experiences in days, not months or years. An alumnus of the Techstars 2014 class, Tangiblee is revolutionizing the online buying experience for some of the world’s top retailers including Fossil, Home24, MCM Worldwide, Lucardi and more. Tangiblee’s interactive eCommerce solutions — including Virtual Try-On (VTO), Contextual Shopping, and Lifestyle Content — dramatically improve the bottom line for retailers, increasing conversions and average order value and reducing returns.