Aldo Connected Store Set To Unveil At Westfield World Trade Center

Aldo prepares to deliver state-of-the-art omnichannel retail experience at highly anticipated New York City retail center

NEW YORK, NY, Aug.16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - In today's evolving retail landscape, creating an exceptional and digitally connected journey for consumers is integral. As a leader in footwear and accessories, Aldo is thrilled to announce the opening of its digitally savvy Connected Store at Westfield World Trade Center on August 16^th. Marking not only a landmark location but a new age of doing business across channels, the store provides the consumer with a fluid and exciting experience. The store environment will leverage Aldo's innovative mobile app to unlock the overall shopping experience and allow customers to connect easily with the brand either in the physical location or online.

Planting roots in lower Manhattan's most innovative new shopping destination, Aldo carefully observed its customers' shopping patterns to deliver a fully reimagined in-store experience to best serve their needs. The store's 1,211 sq. ft. layout is artfully merchandised to tell a story, with the integration of digital technology that invites the customer to explore and engage with the brand and the collection.

As Aldo's most advanced retail location to date, the store offers a seamless path to purchase with the fusion of brick and mortar retail and e-commerce, as well as mobile capabilities through the brand's mobile app. Customers are afforded the benefit of seeing and feeling the product, with self-serve tablets and a virtual "Endless Shelf" on hand to complement the relationship between the customer and the Aldo associate.

The Connected Store further realizes Aldo's mission to offer their customer a complete omnichannel experience. Erwin Hinteregger, Chief Marketing Officer for Aldo Group, shares "Our aim is to speak to the Aldo customer in a way that is personal and relevant to them. This starts by being able to connect wherever they are, on whichever device they may be using. Being truly omnichannel opens new avenues of growth for the brand and it has proven to drive higher customer engagement and conversion. This is the beginning of a new personalized experience, one where we continually delight, inspire and even surprise our customer on their shopping journey."

About the Digital Experience
When entering Westfield World Trade Center, shoppers will be met with a push notification to enable the Aldo app, which can be accessed on customers' iPhones or via iPads stationed throughout the store. The mobile app instantly links customers to the Connected Store and grants access to high resolution product imagery, descriptions, and social media sharing features. The app also allows customers to check Connected Store inventory, utilize a try-on request feature, and scan product for information. A "wish list" feature enables customers to easily locate their selected styles and be directed to similar options available in the store.

The Aldo app provides the customer with unparalleled autonomy within the retail space and ultimately leads to a more meaningful interaction between the customer and sales associate. Grégoire Baret, Senior Director of Omnichannel Experience states, "Driving customers from clicks to bricks and vice versa has become the new normal for us. The in-store digital experience has been conceived as a complementary tool to facilitate product discovery and contextualize full fashion looks, ultimately offering a more meaningful service. Technology should never compete or replace the human aspect, we in turn let it empower our sales associates and help them strengthen their relationships with the customer – it has to become part of their sales ritual to be successful."  

In tandem with the Aldo app, the Connected Store features an "Endless Shelf"—a beautifully curated digital portal where customers can browse and access the entire collection by size, color, or key silhouettes, along with user-friendly self-service tools which allow for try-on requests. The virtual shelf also features lifestyle content with fully styled imagery to inspire the customer and help them visualize ways to style the collection into their own wardrobe.

With the implementation of this innovative in-store technology, Aldo is poised to be a leader in the modern retail landscape, offering customers a level of connectivity to store inventory that is unsurpassed in the market.

About The Aldo Group Inc.
Founded in 1972, the Aldo Group is a leading international retailer for fashion footwear and accessories with over 2,100 stores in 95 countries. Aldo, the group's flagship brand, delivers fashion to a diverse customer base at prices that make keeping up with seasonal styles a luxury within reach.

For more information, visit www.aldogroup.com.

About Westfield World Trade

The new port of entry to Lower Manhattan, Westfield World Trade Center is located at the site where 60,000 neighborhood residents, 300,000 daily commuters, 13 subway / PATH trains, multiple ferry lines, and an additional 15 million annual global travelers converge within one landmark setting.  This new New York City experience brings together commerce, community and culture in a destination integrating the Santiago Calatrava designed Oculus, street-level space in WTC Towers 3 and 4, and throughout the galleries running underground across the entire World Trade Center campus all the way to 1 WTC, now the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Encompassing more than 100 fashion, lifestyle and technology brands across 365,000 square feet of space, Westfield World Trade Center is home to the most diverse retail collection in New York City, alongside world-class restaurants and the unique Eataly marketplace— plus art, culture, events and entertainment, as well as showrooms and media activations for premier global brands like Ford, Pepsi and Chase. 

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SOURCE ALDO Group