Shopping is an art and an experience that I enjoy and engage in often however I repeatedly visit the the same stores because they display their merchandise in an aesthetically pleasing and organized environment. I dislike sifting through racks of disorganized apparel and counters of mixed up jewelry that is common in most physical stores, so I turned to online shopping. The ability to quickly navigate and filter through various categories to find the products I want, has kept me going back to online boutiques like Piperlime.
This article talks about how Piperlime , Gap Inc.’s online fashion boutique is replicating its website in the real world with its first physical store this week in an attempt to spur it's growth. With more than 800 pieces of items (clothing, jewelry, shoes) to organize, Piperlime plans to introduce the same simplicity and uniquely named online store categories to it’s brick – and mortar store. By retaining the same organization model as their online store, Piperlime is not alienating it's online customers but instead enhancing their shopping experience by providing an environment where they can gather more information, for example "touch and feel" the quality of the material before they decide to buy.
Piperlime is organizing the store into sections with more granular levels. The shoe section consists of sub-sections like heels, flats, and boots. The designer wear section is further divided into trends like “Color crashing” and “Wear Pants” which contain coveted iconic brands such as Frye, Kate Spade alongside lesser known labels such as Ash and Maison scotch. This level of granularity enables customers to easily find brands they love, trends they would like to try and also discover new labels in a boutique like environment as they would on the web.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-31/gap-s-piperlime-whips-web-into-reality-with-soho-store.html
