United Colors of Benetton, the world-renowned Italian clothing retailer, is evolving their traditional retail strategy by embracing the benefits of in-store technology. In partnership with Mercaux, Benetton opened their first digital showroom, designed to unify the off and online customer shopping journey, offering a true omnichannel experience.

The showroom brings together the benefits of digital and physical retail. Various devices provide customers with an endless aisle of products, allowing them to browse the full product catalogue, including items not in-store. Customers are able to browse and try on the items they like, place an order and then have them conveniently delivered directly to their home or office - freeing them from having to carry the bags.

Benetton Digital Showroom

For those customers who prefer to shop on their own, the showroom offers a special area featuring a large self-service screen. Equipped with Mercaux software, it enables customers to check stock availability (in-store, other stores and online), see the latest arrivals, discover special offers, explore styling suggestions and engage with trending digital content. Moreover, the self-service station allows customers to complete a transaction and have items delivered to their door without having to interact with a sales person.

The sales people walking the showroom floor have iPads featuring Mercaux's Sales Assist App, an empowering sales tool stocked with product knowledge and information so that they can quickly answer any questions that a customer may have. If a customer requests a product that is out of stock, sales people are able to order the product from Benetton’s other stores or website.

The digital showroom is the first in what Benetton sees as a series of developing the store of the future. The vision is to link the online and offline worlds and create a seamless merger of a fantastic physical experience with powerful, yet subtle technology.