Swedish Inditex competitor H&M is investing heavily in refurbishing its flagship stores. For a long time, it was Zara stores that claimed innovation leadership regarding digital design concepts. Now, H&M is following suit – with cool designs and more digital storytelling. Some current highlights.
What Marineda City in La Coruna is for Zara, Drottninggatan in Stockholm is for H&M: the perfect place for concept stores in the immediate vicinity of the company headquarters. n its flagship store in Stockholm, H&M showcased its first sustainability concepts, presented in a lavish and market-leading manner using digital signage displays.
Smart screens and plenty more digital signage
Now, H&M is back in the legendary shopping street in the heart of Stockholm and has reopened its doors for an upscaled shopping experience. The newly renovated store with LED in the shop window shows H&M’s investment in integrating digital in-store solutions in the brick-and-mortar shopping experience full of fashion, inspiration, and personal interaction.
The store at Drottninggatan 56 offers H&M Pre-loved – a curated selection of second-hand pieces. As part of this concept – and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of collaborations with guest designers – a selection of used designer items from previous designer collaborations is offered today.
The shopping experience is enhanced with the help of innovative technical solutions. After New York and Seoul, this is the third H&M store worldwide where fitting rooms are equipped with smart screens that identify customers’ selected items, including size and color via RFID and provide personalized product or styling recommendations. The digital signage screens also allow customers to request items that an H&M employee can bring to the fitting room, or they can choose to purchase on hm.com with just one click.
Physical retail remains indispensable
“We envision the physical store as a social meeting place for fashion and inspiration”, says Camilla Henriksson, Global Head of Brand Experience at H&M. “The physical store continues to play an important role in providing both inspiration and personal service – something that cannot be replaced digitally. The renovated store on Drottninggatan reflects this vision with innovative technical solutions and a strong focus on personal service.”
The expanded beauty area is also relatively new for H&M. In addition to beauty products, customers have the opportunity to enjoy nail treatments in the H&M Nail Lab under the direction of nail icon Frida Selkirk, as well as eyebrow and eyelash treatments at Rapid.
