You know ‘iPad’ is in the zeitgeist when it is being used to sell lipstick. The Canadian drug store/cosmetics giant Shoppers Drug Mart is engaging in a pilot project that will give cosmeticians iPads in ten stores across the country. The idea is to allow the roaming salespeople quicker access to customers’ buying habits by pulling up purchasing history from his or her Optimum Card.
“Think of the genius bar at an Apple store – that could give you a hint about what we’re talking about,” says CEO Domenic Pilla. The “clientelling” system has been used with great results in other parts of the world, allowing retailers to provide personalized recommendations and reminders to re-stock on specific items. The iPad is the most widely-used portable computer replacement on the market, and Shoppers says that customer recognition of the product is the key to its success.
Whether the addition of the iPad will lead to increased sales is not yet known, but customers like preferential treatment, and if that extends to a bit of retail therapy by way of a touchscreen, it certainly can’t hurt.
Source: The Globe & Mail
