The Australian retailer’s new AR mirrors allow consumers to try costumes on virtually in-store.
The Party People’s new mirrors are the world’s first to feature check-out functionality, allowing consumers to try costumes on and buy them in a new retail experience, while avoiding queues and changing rooms. The new pilot is fun for the whole family, who can try on their favourite superhero character, or something more scary.
Uber and Lendlease are sponsoring the project, along with tech providers Shopify, StockInStore, Starshipit and Shopexp. The pilot activation will run from 9 October to 31 October for Halloween, and features over 100 of Party People’s best selling costumes including Disney and Marvel characters.
If the pilot is successful The Party People plans to roll out a set of mirrors in every shopping mall in Australia next year and then look to scale it around the world, with the potential to bring online only retailers like The Iconic or Showpo into shopping malls.
With a variety of uses, the mirror can be featured as its own pop up store; In dead space like a wall; In shop windows after closing, enabling customers to actually window shop; On a store under construction hoarding, so people can interact and shop with the brand before its opened; In a changing room to help people with sizing and minimise time spent going in and out.
The Party People hopes the new installation will revitalise shopping for costumes and remove the problems of trying on clothes being tedious, uncomfortable, time consuming and a lot of effort.
Meanwhile, the retailer says it also eliminates retail’s three biggest costs being staff, stock and rent. Staff can be supported with a virtual assistant (Interactive video avatar on the screen) to talk people through any help they need. The mirror utilises ecommerce fulfilment, so its no stock requirement, but with larger sales would require incremental centralised stock to support sales. The mirror can be put in unused spaces or at worst take up a very small footprint, reducing shop rental costs.
Chief party dude, Dean Salakas, said: “I don’t know how many costumes this might sell but that’s what the trial is for. To learn how customer use it and how they purchase. I have learned in my experience with innovation, that customers are going to do things with this that I haven’t thought of yet, so I am excited to see what we learn from the trial.”
