Name: ____________________________________________Date: ______________

MAR 4354 Marketing Yourself

Interview Question Assignment Worksheet

Assignment Instructions:

Download this worksheet to your desktop, and use the space that you need for each answer. Choose any 14 of the following questions PLUS question #19 for a total of 15 questions. All students MUST answer question #19. Leave the questions that you did not choose blank. Do not delete any of the questions. Write your answers as if you were preparing for a job interview.

https://risnews.com/first-look-technology-behind-neiman-marcuss-new-retail-experience-new-yorks-hudson-yards

Part 1

1) Complete a demographic and psychographic profile for the consumer that your technology is designed to target. Be specific! What is the lifestyle, mindset, income level, and product needs of this customer? Remember that the customer should be part of the Macy target market.

2) Why does this consumer need/demand this technology in fashion? How will this technology provide enough value to this consumer to convert to a purchase?

The technology that we chose for Macy’s to utilize is a virtual experience in their fitting rooms. This technology is modeled after the new additions that Neiman Marcus has made to their new NYC location in Hudson Yards (Grill-Goodman, 2019). Each fitting room will be equipped with the ability for customers to connect with sales associates even while they are privately in the fitting room, to get a different size, color, or style of the clothing they are trying on. It will be touch screen application, where customers will be able to browse all inventory with in that department to try on. The consumer needs this technology because it will upgrade the fitting room experience. For some customers, trying on clothes can be a hassle or an inconvenience that they would like to avoid. This technology can help make the fittings room less of a chore, and more of a fun shopping experience for customers. This technology will help make purchases for Macy’s because instead of a customer being unsatisfied with the garments they brought into the room themselves and leaving, they can use the technology to have a new garment brought to them, and there for increasing the chances of a customer finding something they like and making a purchase.

3) How will the benefits offered by this technology be communicated to the customers?

Over the past few years, retailers have come to discover that integrating technology in the retail world creates the overall best online shopping experience for their customers. With this in mind, retailers are struggling to increase foot traffic in their stores and have turned to technology to create these more personalized shopping experiences for their customers when in stores. Customers prefer to shop online because there is technologies that make it a personalized experience for them, like customer profiles or recommendations based on their past orders. Another reason people prefer to shop online is for the convenience of picking out products. When customers are using fitting rooms, it can be complicated to be able to exchange for different colors or styles, find other pieces, or be able to track down the sales associate that is assisting the customer in the fitting room. By having this touch screen technology in the fitting rooms, it will be able to resolve any issues that could arise while in the fitting room. The technology will be very easy to access for the customer, and sales associates can also guide the customers with any questions they have about it. When the technology is introduced in stores, the advertising for this technology will provide this brief description of creating the personal in-store experience for the customer. The advertising will demonstrate the benefits that come along with the technology in the fitting room and will convey the convenience that the technology has brought to the fitting rooms. The benefits of this technology will show after customers undergo a less complex in-store experience.

4) How can your selected technology reinforce all shopping channels for Macy’s including brick and mortar, e-commerce, and mobile?

Part 2

1) Complete two comprehensive SWOT analyses - one on Macy’s and the other on the technology that you have selected. You should do these in a chart format and include both charts in the appendix of your paper.

2) Which categories of product offered by the retailer would benefit most by implementation of the technology? In other words, you can select one category (for example, cosmetics) that would benefit from the technology’s application.

I think that the answer to this question is pretty self explanatory. People only go into the fitting rooms for to try on clothes, not cook wear or cosmetics, so this technology would only apply to the apparel category. Let’s focus in on women’s casual wear. This is a category that people usually come in to casually shop for, and often with nothing specifically in mind. This consumer mindset can often lead to no purchases being made at all. The use of this fitting room technology will be able to help make more purchases in women’s casual wear. When a customer tries on a shirt she does not like, instead of putting the shirt back and leaving she can choose for a new shirt to be brought to her by a floor associate. Additionally, the technology will be able to suggest other garment pieces to go with the ones she has picked out. For example, if the customer has chosen a fitted black sweater, the technology can suggest to her a few bottoms to go with the sweater, maybe a skirt, dress pants, and a pair of jeans. Hopefully, this new technology can help reduce the number of returns made.

3) Identify potential implementation challenges for the retailer.

There a multiple challenges that I can foresee for Macy’s to overcome. First and foremost, there will need to be extensive research done to understand how this technology will be able to interpret what the customer is looking for, as well as having a large database of knowing what garments to peace with other garments. This could entail the help of market analysts, trend analysts, or stylists. Additionally, Macy’s will have to work harder to get customers into the fittings rooms in the first place. For those customers who do not like trying on clothes in the store, Macy’s will have to market this new technology strongly to peak the interest of these customers. Lastly, I think something that has not yet been accounted for by many is that eventually this technology will be old news for a lot of consumers and eventually the excitement of this new technology will have worn off. Especially for customers who did not find this technology helpful the first time they used it.

4) Develop specific criteria the retailer can use to measure the effectiveness of the roll-out (how will they determine if it is successful)

5) Provide a detailed explanation as to how the technology will be introduced to the customer.

Before the customer is brought to their fitting room, the sales associate that is assisting the customer will briefly explain the new touch screen technology that they will see in the fitting room. When the customer is brought to their fitting room, the sales associate will demonstrate the touch screen technology to customers that have not used it before. The associate will show them all of different amenities that are offered on the touch screen and how to use them. This includes requesting a different size or color, a different garment, or for the associate to come to the fitting room. The customer is offered the chance to run a trial on the touch screen just to make sure they fully understand how to use it. The reasoning for utilizing the technology is to make the in-store shopping experience nearly perfect for the customer, so it is important to make sure that they know how to use properly in the case that they need it.

6) How will it be marketed? What benefit(s) will it provide the consumer? How does it offer a unique platform to Macy’s?

7) Develop an expansion strategy for your chosen technology, demonstrating how the retailer will integrate it into their operations. Explain how the retailer should determine the stores in which to test the technology and implement a full roll-out if successful