Thyme Maternity has a new arrival: a concept store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
The Reitmans-owned retailer has outfitted the store with digital technology to better resonate with today’s tech-savvy moms-to-be.
“We are repositioning the brand to be more up-to-date with the new millennial customer,” said Roxane Liboiron, VP of marketing and visual presentation. “The average age of our customer is 28-29 years old… That age group is expecting something different, something new.”
The concept store is outfitted with in-wall iPads preloaded with animated videos that explain different products. For example, there’s info on the advantages of buying a nursing bra and the different styles available at Thyme Maternity. And in the denim section, the various belly fits are explained.
In the fitting rooms, there’s a 360-degree interactive mirror with a touchscreen and camera that can be set to a 10-second delay. The customer can do their own “catwalk” and watch a video of themselves in the mirror afterwards, allowing them to get a full view of how the garment looks.
Using the touch screen, customers can email themselves the video and pictures or share them on social media. “It’s a really fun and engaging tool,” said Liboiron. “People love playing with it and seeing themselves in all different angles.”
In the centre of the store, the cash area was revamped as the “Bump Bar,” which features a checkout desk made to look like a kitchen island. There are stools and iPads so customers can sit down and browse the website or chat with staff. The iPads are also preloaded with links for dads and games for kids.
“About 50% of our customers shop with someone else,” said Liboiron. “The customer is important, but we also wanted to make it comfortable for the person shopping with them.”
Thyme Maternity is planning to roll out two more revamped stores this year, including one in Ottawa’s Bayshore Shopping Centre and a power centre location just outside Montreal.
Thyme Maternity has also released a new app for moms-to-be, based on results from a customer survey. The app, called “Bumpfie,” gives users weekly updates on their baby’s growth and turns their maternity photos into a time-lapse video.
“[In the survey], the number one thing she was looking for was baby’s development week-by-week,” said Liboiron. “We also asked if there are social media channels they use more than others and our customer base wasn’t very [big] on Twitter. So we won’t necessarily add Twitter to the app in terms of how they can share the pictures they’re going to take with the Bumpfie app.”
