Have you met Meality? She is a machine/sales assistant who helps you find that illusive pair of jeans that will fit you perfectly. I stumbled across her in Santa Monica’s Bloomindales. Meality scans you, takes 200 billion body dimension data points[1] and searches a database to find THE jeans.

I decided to give her a shot. She works like a circular airport security scanner. Her attendant instructed me to stand in the centre and keep my arms by my side. Meality rotated around my body twice a printed a list of 20 styles. The whole process took about three minutes.

So, what’s the big deal?

  • First, it’s novel. Shopping is entertainment and Meality creates a new experience.
  • Second, it’s experimental. It could be extended to dresses, jackets and much more.
  • Third, it suggests personalised items that have a high probability of looking good.
  • Fourth: It captures interesting information about customers that can help buyers develop more accurate patterns and can support personalisation.

But, it has some way to go…

Many of the styles on my list weren’t in stock. If Meality’s database is enhanced to include store stock (and if that stock record is accurate – say through RFID), then she will only suggest styles that are in the store.

And there is potential for more:

  1. Integrate her into changing rooms – The attendant could pick up the styles and bring them to the customer to try on, thereby increasing conversion rates
  2. Understand conversion rates: Track the sales of Meality suggestions to support personalisation and analyse uptake
  3. To improve customer satisfaction, ensure the Meality shopping list is linked with Bloomindales replenishment system. If items are not in stock, they should not go in the Meality printout
  4. Personalise offers: Capture customer data on fit together with colour and brand preferences to personalise offers

To learn more about Meality, visit http://www.me-ality.com.

Maya Swisa

 

[1] http://www.me-ality.com/fit-solutions