Destination dressing room

E-commerce may be the major commercial driver for many brands today, but bricks-and-mortar retail is far from disappearing in the digital age. Although online retail is efficient at shifting units, nothing can replace physical stores for brand-building and the consumer experience. It is against this backdrop that brands such as Farfetch have invested in luxury retailer Browns, and Rent The Runway recently opened its first stand-alone store.

This is the same logic behind X+Living's latest retail concept in Hangzhou, China. Featuring the top 100 brands from e-commerce site Tmall.com, the store is described as a ‘dressing room’, reflecting the fact that all brands can be experienced online first. Shoppers can browse the website on interactive digital screens at the entrance, or browse a selection of top brands through four themed zones in-store. Each zone also has a rest area, a make-up area and a selfie area, closing the loop between phsyical and digital retail.