Last updated : February 27, 2025 3:32 pm
Alistair Mccrahan, Head - Design; and Hari Krishnan, GM-Head of Visual Merchandising; at AZORTE, took the audience through the pioneering digital journey of the fashion brand at its physical stores, during their presentation at DDX Asia Business Conference held in Mumbai recently.
Any discussion around dynamic in-store displays and experiential technologies would be incomplete without the mention of AZORTE from Reliance Retail, a brand that has emerged to be a forerunner when it comes to digital interfaces in the brick and mortar store space. Alistair Mccrahan, Head - Design; and Hari Krishnan, GM-Head of Visual Merchandising, at AZORTE; took the audience through the fashion brand’s digital journey during their insightful presentation at the DDX Asia Business Conference held in Mumbai recently.
Alistair and Hari presented on the theme ‘Charting a tech-led, business enabling store strategy - do's and don'ts', shedding light on all those critical aspects of executing a highly dynamic store environment.
Alistair began the presentation by taking the audience through AZORTE’s digital feast for the eyes across its stores, while summing up the brand’s mission behind the store experience it offers: “In a rapidly evolving digital world, we are reshaping the way consumers experience shopping by seamlessly integrating fashion with cutting-edge technology.
As Alistair shared, the brand has actively driven many smartly interactive elements in the store - from smart trial rooms and paperless/electronic check-outs to engaging digital signage and immersive 3D windows displays. “We are the first in India to implement these innovations at this scale - 30 + stores - across the country and many more in the pipeline. Our unique store design philosophy, coupled with immersive story-telling and dynamic touchpoints create an experience that’s not just about shopping, but about discovery,” said Alistair, aptly describing the retail brand’s focus on experiential technology at its stores.
He then mapped all the key areas and tech-led interactive elements across the brand’s store space- entrance, window displays, electronic shelf labels, etc., to highlight an important observation - the store displays drive 35% of ensemble sales by blending aesthetics with stoppable inspiration.
Hari took over from there to share the critical list of do’s and don’ts in this context, starting by emphasising on the need to integrate technology with a purpose. “Technology should enhance customer experience, not just be an attraction. Every digital touchpoint must serve a functional or emotional purpose.”
He then reiterated the importance of other factors - a strong content strategy, consistency across stores in terms of standardizing screen sizes, resolutions, and placements, leveraging data for personalization, sustainability as a core principle, and most importantly - scalability. As Hari pointed out, “Ensure your technology infrastructure is scalable. What works for 30 stores should seamlessly expand to 100+ without major reinvestments.”
Hari then went on to elaborate on the ‘don’ts’, highlighting the need for a clear roadmap for tech strategy, besides standardisation, simplicity, customised content, regular maintenance & software upgrades, and strategic placement.
Alistair and Hari left the audience with a very clear message at DDX Asia: Invest in purposeful front-end technology to make the store experience meaningful and efficient.