Underlines welcomes guest writer, Alain Sévaux, RFID Market Development Manager, Avery Dennison Smartrac (RFID – Radio Frequency Identification)
Omnichannel retailing has become a gold standard for the fashion industry in recent years and now we’re seeing the intimates sector evolve too, reflecting not only consumer trends but also wider societal change. The merging of physical and digital retail has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the pressure to create a seamless omnichannel experience is the new reality for brands and retailers.
Today, consumers are discovering brands in new ways, and seeking convenience, transparency and new experiences to guide their shopping decisions. Research from Periscope McKinsey illustrates how shopper behaviour and expectations have shifted in the pandemic. Consumers reiterated their demand for frictionless experiences and their stated importance to easily find products in store increased by 14%. An effective omnichannel strategy meets these needs by providing a convenient and consistent experience across all customer touch points, whether it is a desktop, mobile app or tablet, or brick and mortar shop.
According to Allied Market Research the global intimate wear market will be worth a staggering $325 billion by 2025: that figure alone is proof to how influential the sector is and when we consider that retailers with a strong omnichannel strategy enjoy an average retention rate of 89% compared to 33%, the business value is evident.
A successful omnichannel strategy must start with accurate store inventory. Retail stores have traditionally struggled at accurately tracking inventory. Consider the complexity of stores where everything is unpacked and individually displayed and potentially hundreds of people have access to each item. Not having an accurate picture of your inventory in real time can lead to item shrinkage resulting in loss of sales as well as disappointed customers and a negative brand experience.
This problem is heightened when we consider increased consumer expectation that an item is available in store for pickup or same-day delivery. Customers have no patience for waiting, they expect instant availability and an omnichannel approach enables them to get the same experience everywhere and make their purchase via their choice of channel without any delay.
Technological innovation
The right technology can help brands overcome store inventory accuracy hurdles. At Avery Dennison Smartrac we’re helping multiple brands across the fashion and intimates’ sectors to digitise their store inventory tracking using IoT solutions like RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) . We’ve found that RFID technology can bring inventory accuracy up to 99 percent compared to traditional store inventory accuracy, which is often below 70 per cent. In the apparel industry alone, RFID has proven to reduce inventories by 2-13% while at the same time providing a sales lift of 1.5-5.5%. Moreover, according to a recent Accenture retail report, 87% of the respondents said focusing on RFID enabled them to deliver better omnichannel experiences during the pandemic.
The first step to implement RFID inventory is to add a RFID label to each item. Technological advancements mean the size of the RFID tag is small enough, so it integrates into a hangtag in a discreet and elegant way. In essence, it replaces traditional inventory systems like the barcode. With the addition of the RFID label, every part of a product receives a unique identifier, what we sometimes refer to as a “digital twin”. It means that for every single item you can store details such as location, serial number, manufacturer, photo, use history, materials used, source origins and much more.
One of the many advantages of RFID is that it can track inventory more efficiently and provide real-time data. In fact, our customers tell us that the technology is easy to use and results in time savings; simply wave a scanner over a rack of undergarments, eliminating the need for line-of-sight barcode scanning and the need to touch every individual object in order to count it.
Best-in-class
One brand getting very creative with RFID technology is Etam. As the number one lingerie brand in France with a long heritage of more than 100 years, Etam has long stood out as an industry pioneer embracing digital transformation. This adoption was underpinned in 2007 with Etam’s ‘Undiz’ spin off aimed at ‘Generation Z’. With some 1,200 new lines every season the brand used RFID to move fast, with a specific “Order Management System” providing a global vision of stock, whatever the location. The brand now enables consumers to order an item available from anywhere, not just the store they happen to be standing in.
Providing a best-in-class retail and omnichannel experience in the lingerie segment is at the heart of Etam’s business. In order to achieve this, the brand is exclusively deploying digital ID technology from Avery Dennison Smartrac. This includes RFID and QR coded hangtags to digitise the whole value chain and processes, along with vendor shipments, store inventory accuracy, self check-outs, returns or reverse logistics, e-commerce, and the retailer’s Try@home initiative.
Knowing how crucial touch, feel and fit is in the lingerie sector, Try@home gives consumers the convenient option to try up to five items in the comfort of their own home. After twelve days, the articles are either returned to the store, or their price is debited from the customer’s account.
Inventory accuracy in-store is crucial and vital to consumer satisfaction. Typically, Etam customers combine several products in their basket, such as one bra and two pairs of knickers. Given the huge number of SKUs covering a wide variation in sizes and cup depth, Etam needs to guarantee the availability of at least three styles to respond to customer purchasing habits. RFID plays a critical role in achieving this required stock accuracy, making sure inventory is precisely tracked, taking account of the constant flow of purchases and returns.
According to Benjamin Durand-Servoingt, COO at Etam Group, “The functionality offered by Avery Dennison Smartrac’s products is critical to our drive to remain the lingerie market leader in terms of consumer experience and our omnichannel strategy. Happy consumers are repeat customers, so our goal was to make the buying process as smooth as possible, by ensuring that the right products are available in-store, and that the consumer can engage with us throughout the purchase process. Rather than a transaction, we create a relationship tailored to our consumers’ buying preferences and behaviour. That relationship has become even more important in the still-uncertain times of COVID-19.”
Transparency from source to store
RFID and other digital identity technologies can also enable sustainability efforts. Following high profile movements like #PayUp, consumers expect and demand transparency. Now more than ever they want to know the impact that their garments have. They want to know how they’re made, who made them, where they’ve come from, what is in them, and ultimately what they should do with them once they’ve reached the end of their useful life. Digital identity technologies can help to bridge that divide between brands and consumers, reinventing the rules of engagement.
The deployment of digital IDs is critical to Etam’s transparency project. Customers can scan the product label by means of a QR code with their smartphone to get instant access to short videos that provide insights into the actual factory where the item was produced. This further supports Etam’s sustainability efforts, but also broadens the consumer experience.
By the end of 2021, Etam plans to extend its transparency programme to every item sold, which is truly a pioneering breakthrough within the textile industry.
What’s next for intimates?
Intimates have fallen behind other fashion categories in addressing sustainability, but we’re starting to see the necessary shift and some great innovation in the sector. For example, direct-to-consumer brands are also reconsidering how delivery and returns can incorporate ethical practices. Lingerie brand, Harper Wilde, uses the returns process as a channel to allow its customers to send old or unwanted bras back to the company to recycle or repurpose, regardless of which brand they are.
Digital technologies are essential for a circular business model as brands need to be able to identify the materials of a product to give it a second life. This becomes even more complex with lingerie as you have a mixture of fibres in any single product and bras alone are typically made up of 25 to 40 components. Digital identity technologies can certify the origin of materials down to each fibre, making the future of what’s possible incredibly exciting for business, people and the planet.
Today, lingerie brands that can strengthen their omnichannel efforts, provide seamless experiences, enable end-to-end transparency and offer personalised and meaningful interactions will fortify their brand equity, reinforce their market positions, and ensure they are future-fit and resilient for our ever-changing world.
For more information on Avery Dennison and to access the latest trends and insights in omnichannel retail, download the Regenerative Retail Economy Report.
