Introducing S.Fashion - An immersive journey in the future of retail

My journey to New York was certainly eventful this time. After unexpected knee surgery at the weekend, I prepared myself for the fact that I would be giving a keynote on crutches.

I was in New York for the official launch of the SAP Experience Center, S.Fashion. It’s the “Store of Tomorrow” that aligns to customer needs, reduces costs, fosters sustainability, and drives profit.

SAP Experience Centers highlight what I call the “consumerization of innovation”. Many years ago, consumers wanted to have a mobile phone. Back in the day, nobody thought that the mobile phone could be a business tool. Then came the iPhone. Consumers loved it. And then it became a business tool. This was the consumerization of IT. Today, it is hard to imagine business life without one. Just look at the innovation you hold in the palm of your hand now – you don’t need to go further than the camera function to see what I mean.

Today, customers expect this to be reflected in their buying experience. Point of sale is becoming point of experience. Although, we are talking about the future of fashion and the retail store of tomorrow, SAP has the technology power to make the future a reality here and now. SAP Experience Centers offer a visual and immersive experience that makes innovation tangible.

I can hear you asking, what does that mean, making innovation tangible? I’ll give you an example. My father was a maths teacher. So, numbers and algorithms have always been my lifeblood. The experience center is a great example of human algorithm design - searching for better solutions to the challenges people encounter every day. This is also incorporated into S.Fashion. Via the QR code, you can answer a lot of questions about yourself. At the end you get the code which is entered into the perfume algorithm machine and e voilà your personalized perfume is created. S.Fashion is equipped with the state-of-the-art technology, including augmented reality displays, virtual fitting rooms, AI-powered personal shopping assistants and robotics to enhance the customer experience. It’s both personal and fun.

Millennials and Gen Z make up the largest consumer segment in the US. Reports show that Millennials alone are responsible for an annual spending power of $600 billion annually. They expect omnichannel accessibility which translates into having an integrated experience that moves their consumer data from their smartphone to laptop to local store and back again. And this is what we bring to life in S.Fashion.

In addition, Gen Z is seen as “the most disruptive generation ever” when it comes to sustainability. And that’s VERY GOOD news for SAP. Because our customers account for nearly 90% of the world’s trade volume, which is why sustainability solutions from SAP reach a wide reach. Our solutions enable customers to gain insights that enable them to not only control and optimize sales and operating results but also to make climate protection, diversity and inclusion, and ethical responsibility measurable and transparent. SAP offers products that make businesses more sustainable, but it also does a lot. Is this a must these days also for preserving the brand? Sustainability has become a business imperative.

In the United Nations Global Compact – Accenture CEO Study, 98% of CEOs agreed that “it is the role of a CEO” to make their business more sustainable.” The future of industries will be shaped by CEOs’ abilities to transform their businesses and embrace sustainability. Fashion retailers like S.Fashion are now beginning to focus on a new green line in accounting that can only be achieved by embracing the concept of circularity – making sure resources and products stay in use for as long as possible before being regenerated into new products. With SAP Ariba, retailers can benefit from the power of the Ariba Business Network and the Ariba applications. Moreover, SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing is now supporting retail-specific processes like the sourcing of products and their variants.

We plan to open or redesign an existing experience center every quarter highlighting a different industry. Industry lines are blurring. What is good for one industry can also be good for another. In New York we feature S.Fashion. There will be things here that are interesting for other industries too. It’s all about the experience and being inspired. In the future industries like manufacturing or life sciences could be featured. We will be sure to let you know when this happens.

 I'll be posting more blogs on the launch over the next few days as I want to tell you more about our designers, our guest speaker Katrine Lee Larsen as well as more detail on what we highlight at S.Fashion.

1.  Step into our store and experience the future of fashion today.
2. SAP Experience Centers really do make innovation tangible
3.  With cutting edge technology and sustainable merchandise, we’ve created a shopping destination that will keep consumers coming back for more. 

Follow SAP Experience Centers for more details.