Sales Strategy
Nordstrom Jumps On Resale; Uses AI To Build Add-On Sales Online January 05, 2022 (0 comments)
Seattle, WA—If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Legendary specialty retailer Nordstrom is about to dip a toe into the red-hot luxury resale market. According to a blurb in NRF Smartbrief, the retailer is set to open an in-store shop called "See You Tomorrow" at its New York City flagship at the end of January. The resale experiment is slated to last six months and will feature contemporary and designer apparel brands sourced solely from the retailer's returns.
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Separately, Nordstrom—already an innovative leader in online selling—is tapping into the power of artificial intelligence to do something most retailers haven’t yet figured out how to do well: make an add-on sale online.
Forbes reports the retailer’s program isn’t a typical “people-who-bought-that-also-bought-this” suggestion, but rather specifics geared to go with the product bought. For example, says the article, an if you’re buying a special-occasion dress, it matches accessories like jewelry or shoes that would look good with it. The retailer has a variety of ways to help customers shopping online, from the obvious (one-on-one virtual consultations) to its Trunk Club subscription box program to its AI program called The Outfitter, which learns items in the retailer’s catalog and can auto-style a complete outfit based around a single item.
Brian Burns, manager of data science and analytics for Nordstrom, said The Outfitter debuted during the 2021 edition of Nordstrom’s famed Anniversary Sale—when new fall fashion goes on sale for two weeks—and produced higher engagement and add-to-bag rates than its existing processes did over the same period.
The Outfitter helps put together looks, driving higher add-on sales online. Image, Nordstrom.