Virtual proms and online graduations were just the start. Shopping at malls with friends is the latest teenage rite of passage that is getting a digital makeover in the wake of the pandemic.
Denim giant Levi’s is revamping its back-to-school strategy by partnering with Squad, a screen sharing app that allows friends to group video chat and easily share their screen to look at the same content together. The app, Levi’s noted, is especially popular with teenage girls.
Leveraging this platform, Levi’s will host virtual styling and shopping events in September with groups of friends and a Levi’s stylist. The stylist will guide groups through back-to-school fashion trends, give tips on how to style specific garments and walk through recommended products based on the groups’ interests, the company stated.
During the events, friends can weigh in on what they like and help put together outfits just as if they were together in stores.
With more consumers shopping online, Levi’s is also diversifying how they present garments in a digital format. The company is tapping into technology developed by Zeekit to show three additional sizes on virtually rendered, inclusive models.
By showing consumers how clothing appears on various shapes and sizes, they will be able to get a better sense of the appropriate size to order. “The overall goal is to have more diverse models, increase purchases and reduce returns,” Levi’s stated in a release.
The digital models will roll out on Amazon in the coming weeks.
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Levi’s is carrying this virtual vision through to its ongoing partnership with Kohl’s this fall, too, by tapping into the growing popularity of Snapchat. On the video-sharing app, the two companies have created a “unique virtual closet experience” that enables consumers to view and create various looks using augmented reality and portal technology.
There, consumers can browse an edited assortment of Levi’s women’s products in a closet, virtually mix and match options and purchase items on Kohls.com via the “shop now” button.
The trio of online-centric tools fall in line with Levi’s omnichannel mission. During the company’s Q2 earnings call in July, Levi Strauss & Co. CEO and president Chip Bergh shared how the company’s pandemic recovery will continue to rely heavily on a hybrid of digital and physical retail.
This year Levi’s introduced a virtual concierge during the quarter, offering shoppers the chance to have one-one-one interactions with store employees from the comfort of home, as well as curbside pick-up for online orders and same-day deliveries in select stores.