Retail technology was the biggest session theme at this year's SXstyle. Participants from a variety of sectors, including technology companies, fashion brands, department stores, magazine publishers, venture capitalists, and research firms, discussed how the power of mobile and digital technologies will transform the customer experience in brick-and-mortar stores. Smartphones not only serve as online customer touchpoints, but also as customer service tools linked to digital signage and beacons in brick-and-mortar stores, and even function as payment tools. As a result, a single customer's interests and purchasing information will be seamlessly integrated across e-commerce, the web, and the store. In this future, designing a media approach that spans three dimensions—store design, in-store digital tools, mobile apps and content, websites, and e-commerce sites—will become increasingly important. ■ Incubating Retail Technology

Simon Ventures Group is a venture capital firm specializing in investments in the retail technology field. Recent focus categories include parking technology, eco-energy, fashion tech, and retail tech. The goal is to create new value by incorporating technology into existing retail categories.

In addition, the aforementioned British department store John Lewis has significantly expanded its investment in its IT department in recent years. It has hired a CIO and externally hired digital professionals known as IT experts to strengthen multi-channel customer service. It has established an incubation division called "J-LAB" to invest in retail tech startups.

Increasingly, retailers are establishing digital marketing labs. One example is the "Innovation Lab (iLAB)" at US department store Neiman Marcus. iLAB conducts numerous retail tech trials, piloting each project in a limited number of stores for a limited period and then expanding the deployment to more stores if it proves effective. It conducts experiments with IT companies of all sizes. As part of a retail tech trial conducted by iLAB, a table equipped with a 32-inch 4K high-definition monitor called the "Interactive Touch Table" was installed in the women's shoe department. Using the touch panel, customers can simultaneously search inventory in-store and online, add their favorite items to their wish list, and send product links via email, reducing lost opportunities due to out-of-stock shoes. The Pros and Cons of Beacons: The Pros and Cons of Beacons One of the hottest topics in retail technology is the use of beacons. There are high expectations for beacons in the retail industry, and they may become a common sight in future commercial facilities. However, many companies are hesitant to install beacons throughout their stores due to the cost. Another major hurdle is the requirement that consumers download an app onto their smartphones in order to receive coupons and information transmitted by the beacons. Neiman Marcus' "Holiday Pass" coupon campaign last Christmas was an outstanding example. It linked the Passbook app pre-installed on iPhones with iBeacons, allowing them to deliver special coupons to customers in-store. By utilizing Passbook, retailers can deliver coupons to customers even if they haven't downloaded their app. There are also examples of promotions that utilize the in-store environment without using beacons. Mood Media, a UK-based company that creates in-store signage and audio systems, has collaborated with music search app Shazam to release a service called "Shazam in Store." When customers use Shazam in-store, the service synchronizes with the in-store audio system to deliver special messages and coupons to their Shazam app. Because the same marketing effect as beacon marketing can be achieved using the Shazam app that customers already own, retailers don't need to develop new apps or require customers to download a dedicated app. It attracted attention as a smart example of combining the Shazam service already used by customers with the store environment.

Digital is about to bring about major changes in a world where the in-store shopping experience has remained largely unchanged for over a hundred years.

The creation of new fashion products like smart fabrics can all be seen as an extension of the evolution that began with the Industrial Revolution. For fashion to move into the future while staying in tune with people's ever-changing lifestyles alongside digital technology, collaboration between people from a variety of fields, including design, technology, and marketing, is necessary.