Following a successful pilot at six stores in Washington state, Nordstrom said it was expanding its reserve online, try on in store program to 43 stores across the country as it continues its omnichannel push.
Shoppers can access the service from Nordstrom’s mobile app on the product detail page of the item by selecting the desired item from the product detail page. They then receive a text message when it’s available at the nearest store. Another notification is sent when they arrive at the store, letting them know where they can find a dedicated dressing room with their name and the selected items.
Reserve online, try on in store is being offered at 14 Nordstrom stores in California, six each in Texas and Washington, four in Illinois, three in New Jersey, two each in New York, Colorado and Virginia and one each in Georgia and Oregon.
“We’re thrilled to expand our Reserve Online, Try In Store service to provide a better experience for customers shopping with Nordstrom – whether that’s online, in-store or a combination of both,” said Shea Jensen, senior vice president of customer experience at Nordstrom in a release. “Many of our customers like to feel and try on clothes and shoes before they purchase them and we’re excited to offer them a more convenient way to do so.”
Nordstrom first launched the program in the six Washington stores in the fall of 2016. According to the company, 80% of shoppers who tried it used the service multiple times. Nordstrom plans to continue to expand the program to more stores over the next year.
In addition to reserve online, try on in store, Nordstrom’s other omnichannel capabilities include buy online, pickup in store, curbside pickup and “scan and shop” on the Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack mobile apps. The company also recently launched Style Boards, a mobile tool that lets associates create digital boards filled with personalized style recommendations which customers can view on their phone and purchase online.
For its second quarter reported earlier this month, Nordstrom’s same-store sales increased 1.7%, a rarity these days in traditional retail, while online sales were up 20% at Nordstrom.com and up 27% at discount sites Nordstromrack.com and HauteLook. Sales at Nordstrom’s full-line stores were down 4.4%, which was better than the previous year, when they dipped 6.5%.