Learning from Prada

The splashy technology and expensive architecture at the Prada store have, at least in the media, overshadowed some creative retailing concepts. The store is about the customer experience. That's a cliché these days, but what Prada is trying to do is provide -- in part through the use of technology -- a level of service that has never been possible before.

Every item is tagged

Let's say you shop at Prada regularly. The store presents you with a convenience card (Prada calls it a customer card). You can shop anonymously, or you can present your card to a sales associate, who scans the RFID chip in it. You are identified, and your preferences are immediately called up. If you have a favorite sales associate, he or she can be alerted that you have arrived. If not, any sales associate in the store can quickly review your personal preferences. If you have purchased several pairs of dress shoes recently, the associate might ask if you would like to see a few new designs that have just come in.

The idea is to give a level of service that is superior to anything except the by-appointment-service of upscale boutiques. (Prada offers that, too, of course. If you're Cher or Bono you can make an appointment, go in a separate back entrance and have clothes brought to you in a comfortable lounge.)

So let's say you have a favorite salesperson named George. You tell him you are looking for a new suit for a dinner party tonight. He shows you one in navy that you like. You try it on in the dressing room, but when you dim the lights in the room, you feel it's a tad too dark. George can show you different shades of the same suit on the screen in the dressing room. If you are on back on the floor, George can use his handheld reader to scan the RFID tag on the suit, call it up on a video screen hanging on the rack or embedded in a table, and show you three other shades.

Every item that enters the store is tagged (later the tags may be put on at the source). The sales tools are tied to a real-time inventory system on the back end, so George shows you only colors and sizes that are in stock. In the future, George will also be able to tell you what's available in other New York stores, the local warehouse, even what you can see if you drop in to the Prada store in Paris next week.

Prada considered extending the current real-time inventory capabilities of the handheld wireless device by linking the sales floor with the storeroom. The company never implemented it, but the idea is a good one. Here's how it could have worked: You want to see that suit in a summery beige. Once George has confirmed that the suit is in stock using his handheld computer, he could then signal Rita in the backroom to place it in the dressing room. George never has to leave your side. The handheld readers could also be linked wirelessly to the point of sale terminal, so when you want to pay, the transaction can be completed on the floor.

"There's a lot of technology in the store, but we didn't want it to be obtrusive," says Icon's Eckfeldt. "It's about facilitating the customer's relationship with the salesperson. That's the primary tenet of the store."

Given the prices Prada charges, it can afford to provide this level of service. But the concepts here can apply to all retailers. Companies like the Gap have run RFID tests and learned that they can increase sales simply by having sales staff on the floor spending more time with the customer and less time with the stock. Even a discount shoe store could set up a kiosk where customers get information about pricing and available colors and sizes and push a button and request an item be brought out from the back room.