Use of the Smart Store for Persuasive Marketing and Immersive Customer Experiences: A Case Study of Korean Apparel Enterprise

Abstract

Information technology's introduction of online retail has deeply influenced methods of doing business. However, offline retail has not changed as radically in comparison to online retailing. Recently, studies in computer science have suggested new technology that can support offline retailers, including sensors, indoor positioning, augmented reality, vision, and interactive systems. Retailers have recently shown interest in these technologies and rapidly adopted them in order to improve operational efficiency and customer experience in their retail shops. Marketing studies also address immersive marketing that employs these technologies in order to change ways of doing offline retail business. Even though there is much discussion concerning new trends, technologies, and marketing concepts, there is, as of yet, no investigation that comprehensively explains how they can be combined together seamlessly in the real world retail environment. This paper employs the term "smart store" to indicate retail stores equipped with these new technologies and modern marketing concepts. This paper aims to summarize discussions related to smart stores and their possible applications in a real business environment. Furthermore, we present a case study of a business that applies the smart store concept to its fashion retail shops in Korea.