Online shopping site Zalora has finally (officially) launched her new pop-up store in Singapore. Located at ION Orchard, the pop-up store was opened this past 16th of October. Vulcan Post was invited to check out the store – all 4000 sq.ft of it – and boy, were we in for a pleasant experience. True to its promise, Zalora has gone past the whole pop-up fad, where online shopping sites are translated into brick and mortar: they’ve gone for a more click and mortar approach.
We’d already noticed the store in the works previously, and got a chance to see it for ourselves. On level B2 of ION Orchard (next to Zara, how coincidental!) sits Southeast Asia’s first digital interactive pop-up store. Intent on taking the online and moving it offline, Zalora provides a fresh new platform for consumers with a digital in-store experience.
At its core, Zalora @ ION works the way you would expect any retail fashion store to work: go in, try on clothes, like them, buy them. But this is Zalora. Come on. Instead of any old clothes hanging on racks, Zalora gives consumers row after row of specially curated products to try on in-store. Personally, I was glad to see lots of pieces by UK-based line River Island since I heard the label was fast disappearing in Singapore.
To boost customer experience, the store is equipped with Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha 4G+ and Galaxy Tab 10.5″, handily available next to clothing racks so that customers can browse lookbooks, view products worn by Zalora models, and make use of the Zalora mobile app. No longer will you have to wonder how to mix and match pieces without looking like a hot mess.
Once customers find an item they fancy, they will not be leaving Zalora @ ION with any cumbersome bags of merchandise, no siree Bob. Instead, just bring your clothes over to one of the self-checkout counters, scan the item, and make payment. The item will then be delivered to your doorstep. What.
Gone are the days of only being able to shop till you were literally weighed down with huge bags of merchandise. No longer will boyfriends and husbands be saddled with the burden of uncountable numbers of shopping bags. What a time to be alive! Zalora brings the click and mortar concept to a whole new level. Not only can you try your items before you buy them (no more buying too-large and wasting $40 on something you can’t wear!), you can also have them delivered. Like a celebrity.
The 4,000-sq.ft retail space is home to four main themes – Summer, Work, Party, and Street. There is also a dedicated Men’s section, albeit one with an oddly large number of winter-esque clothing for Singapore.
Expect top-notch exclusive collections every week, and exciting fringe activities every fortnight. With Christmas on the way, who’s to say Zalora won’t be spreading some of that jolly Christmas magic around? Do hop along and check out the Zalora @ ION store while it’s still there!
The ZALORA Shop @ ION Orchard is located at #B2-04/05 and operates from 10 am to 10 pm daily till the end of January 2015. All images courtesy of Zalora Singapore.
