Predictive Marketing

Chapter 18The Future of Predictive Marketing

Upon entering a Rebecca Minkoff store in New York or San Francisco, the very first thing a customer encounters is a wall-length touch screen that offers free drinks. Guests have the opportunity to order a free water, tea, coffee, or espresso. They're asked for a phone number where they will receive a text as soon as their drink is ready.

That perk is not just out of the goodness of Minkoff's heart. That phone number serves as a digital signature, which tracks them throughout the store. That large touch screen also lets them browse the brand's catalog and put together outfits. While shoppers don't know it, the store's employees are plugged into mobile apps, which keep them apprised of who's in the store and what data is being input into that giant video wall. Then, when customers enter the dressing rooms, things get interesting.

All the clothing and accessories in Minkoff's new stores are outfitted with RFID tags—radio signal-emitting tags frequently used in theme park access wristbands and in credit cards. The dressing rooms at Rebecca Minkoff's new stores in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Tokyo are equipped with RFID shields that allow them to identify which clothing customers bring in to that specific dressing room.

The dressing rooms themselves have mirrors that double as large touch screens. A computer automatically builds an inventory, based on the RFID tags, of the clothing a customer brought in with them. The touch ...