Korean fashion retailers are quickly turning high-tech as they struggle to bring customers who prefer to shop online or directly from overseas to their shops.

Lotte Outlet’s TBJ shop run by local fashion brand Hansae MK in Icheon, Gyeonggi installed a fitting room equipped with a tablet PC screen to show clothes that can go well with one chosen by a customer. This shop also uses a real-time location tracking system to automatically accumulate data on clothes purchased, tried on and touched by customers.

All data are used to improve inventory management and understand consumers’ buying pattern that can be reflected in future goods production, said Park Hyun-shik, director at Mojix APAC, an RFID solutions provider, who is behind the solution.

Makers Lab located on the first floor of Lotte Hi-Mart Megastore in Jamsil, Seoul, uses a thermal camera mounted on the ceiling to identify customers` gender and age range. Data from this are used to figure out the products that are of interest to a certain age group.

Eland Spao’s Time Square shop in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul relies on advanced RFID technology. The product information from customers’ purchasing is transmitted to store employees’ RFID terminal. As soon as specific items are sold, the store staff is advised to fill up to prevent the items from being sold out. RFID is also used to minimize the fill-up time. Spao gives an address to the location of goods inside the store and their warehouse location. Using the address on the RFID terminal, employees know where the goods are located and where they should be filled up. Lee Hyeon-chul, head of Eland’s SCM, said the key to logistics is to achieve the highest efficiency at the lowest cost.

Satisfaction in offline shopping experiences also aids strong online sales. CJ Olive Young, a leading health and beauty store operator, saw daily orders through its quick same-day delivery service jump by 10 fold just one year after the service was introduced in December 2018. The service aims to deliver goods purchased online within three hours, and the company is further reducing the delivery time to 30 minutes. This service is due to be expanded from Seoul to other major cities nationwide in March, according to the company.

By Lee Yoon-jae, Kang In-sun and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]