While sales at department store stores have fallen sharply due to the impact of the new coronavirus, department stores in Tokyo and Shinjuku have decided to start a full-scale service that allows customers to experience shopping at stores that reproduce VR = virtual reality.
The aim is to convey the appeal of stores and products to younger generations and local consumers, which will lead to the acquisition of new customers.
This initiative will be carried out by Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, a major department store, at the Isetan Shinjuku main store.
When the smartphone app is launched, the inside of the store is reproduced using virtual reality technology, and users can walk around the virtual store.
A CG salesperson will also appear on the screen, and you can talk with the salesperson in Shinjuku through chat, and you can purchase 400 items such as cosmetics.
The app also reproduces the surrounding streets of Shinjuku, and plans to incorporate entertainment facilities such as movie theaters in the future. The company aims to convey the appeal of department stores to younger generations and local consumers, leading to the acquisition of new customers. there is.
Mr. Asahiko Nakata, who is in charge, says, "I want to create new points of contact with customers by realizing the added value of experiencing the process of purchasing a product, which is not possible with conventional online shopping."
In the department store industry, there is an active movement to utilize digital technology, such as Daimaru Matsuzakaya embarking on relay sales via the Internet called live commerce.
Application of digital technology spreading to department stores
The movement to utilize digital technology is spreading to other department stores.
This month, the Daimaru Tokyo store held the first "live commerce" to sell products while introducing them live on the Internet.
We sold meat and fish from Fukushima prefecture, and employees promoted the appeal of the product, and most of the 200 sets we prepared were sold, so we will live at a product exhibition that will open at another store next month. I plan to do commerce.
In addition, Sogo & Seibu mainly targets the wealthy and uses the online conferencing system to serve customers.
Background of strengthening customer attraction "Growth cannot be expected as before"
Behind the fact that department stores are strengthening the use of digital technology to attract customers, there is a sense of crisis that sales at stores will drop sharply due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and growth cannot be expected in the same business as before.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings' sales in domestic stores for the 11 months to last month decreased by 27.5% compared to the same period of the previous year.
For this reason, the sales floor of the Isetan Shinjuku main store, which has the highest sales in the group, is reproduced in virtual reality, and the stores and products are also available to younger generations who are unfamiliar with department stores and local consumers who have difficulty visiting Shinjuku. By having them experience the charm, we aim to improve sales.
In the virtual space, we not only faithfully reproduce the inside of the store, but also remove the pillars and walls to create a passage that looks like a ribbon.
In addition, a life-sized 3D scanning device is used to create a character that looks exactly like an actual salesperson and appears in a virtual space.
In the future, the company plans to establish a system that enables seasonal events such as Valentine's Day to be held in virtual space at almost the same timing as the storefront, and through these efforts, sales in the digital field will be increased from the current 30 billion yen to 1000 yen. I want to raise it to the scale of 100 million yen.