Shine OnGuideshops: These clothing stores sell nothing, but let you try on the items
What’s your routine when you buy a new outfit? Head out to the store, try on a few things (ok, so maybe those high-waisted leather shorts weren’t such a good idea), make your decisions, buy and go home?
Well, now it’s possible to go to the store, pick out an outfit and uh…go home and buy it online.
According to USA Today, men’s clothing brand Bonobos has opened a new shopping experience, something they call guideshops. There's several across the United States (in places like New York City, Boston and Chicago), and they’re kind of like regular stores -- except for the fact that you can’t actually buy anything there.
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Customers can try stuff on for size, coordinate outfits and even ask salespeople for advice, but once they’ve decided, they have to go home and buy their selections from the Bonobos website.
Weird, right? Apparently not so much. Experts say it’s a way retailers can adapt to the ever-changing virtual world.
Checking items out in stores and then buying them online is becoming an increasingly popular way to shop.
According to a recent survey from IBM, half of all shoppers surveyed use this “showrooming” technique. The survey also notes that one third of shoppers buy from online-only retailers, which makes traditional retailers crazy, Jill Puleri, vice president of retail at IBM, tells USA Today.
This all plays into the shopping habits of millions of Millennials, a key demographic of many retailers.
"This is actually a perfect example of how retail is changing," Evin Sterneckert, vice president of research at business strategy firm Gartner tells USA Today. "Instead of a place where you buy things, it's a place where you're able to experience things."
Many of the customers of at the Bonobos guideshop make fitting appointments online, so there’s never too many customers in the store, which means there doesn’t have to be very many employees either.
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Bonobos isn’t the only brand picking up on this showrooming trend. Online eyewear dealer Warby Parker as well as Gap’s internet-only Piperlime are trying to open physical locations so people can try things on.
And Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos has even hinted there may soon be a store where people can check out the Kindle line.
But isn’t half the point of going shopping the gratification of picking up a great outfit right then? Bonobos founder Andy Dunn doesn’t think so.
"We think service is more important than instant gratification," he tells USA Today. "What's the benefit of walking out of the store with a bag of two shirts and some pants if it'll be on your desk the next day?"
