You have just joined a technology native company like ace turtle as Creative Director. How do you feel about your role, coming as you do from a design/VM background? And what kind of opportunities are you looking to tap into?

I am very excited and happy to have joined ace turtle. It is an amazing team with great leadership as well. At ace turtle, we are leading the retail industry’s next phase of evolution with our unique Retail Nxt philosophy. We look at using technology not only as a support function but also as a means to enhance customer experiences - improve how we communicate and cater to the whole customer journey. We have an amazing team and leadership and we are right now very busy growing and getting new brands in. So it’s a very exciting time to be in. 

I have spent the last ten years in visual merchandising, with luxury brands in particular, and I can tell you that background really helps. Luxury retailing is not just about selling amazing products, it is also about creating amazing communication and experiences, and that is where I feel I can add a lot of value to what we do at ace turtle.

What are your observations on the Indian retail market in terms of using technology? How do you see the adoption of tech interfaces by end users?

I’ve been in India for almost 5 years now and I must say that the speed of innovation, technology and new retail ideas is happening at the speed of light here, which makes it extremely interesting to work in India and be part of a company like ace turtle. 

India is maturing because consumers are maturing and they are becoming very tech-savvy. This puts healthy pressure on retailers. But the right approach is to not throw technology in the customers’ face but to use it as a means to simplify internal processes within the omnichannel value chain, and thus connect better with our customers. 

You know, omnichannel as a term is very commonly used today and many brands call themselves omnichannel. But are these offerings omnichannel in the true sense of the term? 

Everyone is talking about omnichannel, but very few are actually doing it, and even fewer are doing it well. The fact is that we shouldn’t do omnichannel just because we can, we should do it because we need to from a business point of view - to have higher conversions. For higher conversions, it is important that we interact with customers on multiple platforms and touch points. That is where the magic happens. Today consumers have many choices and they also want everything presented to them in a flawless, easy manner. If something doesn’t work, they quickly move out. So everything has to be done with the customer right at the centre of it and that is what omnichannel is about. 

Can you share some of your truly omnichannel examples? 

Ace turtle’s flagship Lee store on Brigade Road, Bangalore, is a good example. We had integrated QR codes in the store’s sale windows and it was a simplified way of integrating technology. There are also LED screens, smart fitting rooms with a smart mirror and other elements in the store. So it is an example of offline experience enhancing the customer experience through a digital interface and it also helps us understand the customer journey - what and how they actually buy. And that’s what omnichannel is. 

Even if you look at other global markets like Europe today, there is a skew towards analogue. So while the shopping happens online, the real engagement happens inside the offline stores. The use of technology in a brick-and-mortar store in fact helps enhance the brand experience for the customer. This is omnichannel. 

Any tips you’d like to share for the benefit of retail brands looking at integrating technology and creating a seamless omnichannel interface? 

It depends on the brand, the store location and the TG. But overall, a brand has to be mindful about not overdoing the technology bit. The use of technology has to balance well with the human interface and enable the tactile experience that a consumer seeks inside the store. End of the day we are all humans, not robots. So the store experience has to connect at that level and strike a balance between the human touch and technology.

Imgaes Courtesy: ace turtle