Can Macy's Make Dressing Rooms Fun?

As any experienced shopper can attest, test-driving items in a dimly lit dressing room with a warped mirror is decidedly not entertaining — and retailer Macy's new dressing room concept seeks to change the experience entirely. According to Business of Fashion, Macy's has renovated a sample dressing room in its Manhattan Beach, California store in order to attract customers who might otherwise opt for e-commerce. If the brand can create a truly enjoyable dressing room experience, the consequences could change the face of retail... forever. Imagine a world in which trying on clothing in a dressing room is actually pleasurable. Life-changing, right?

Macys' dressing room experimentation pivots around the notion that shoppers don't wish to pop in and out of the room multiple times, nor do they wish to constantly flag their store sales representative. To that end, Macy's implemented a system in which tablets and clothing chutes negate a shopper's need to exit the dressing room or hail their salesperson. A few swipes on a handheld device allow consumers to solicit different sizes of their selected wares or simply choose a different style. When the time comes for each item to be delivered to the dressing room, the products arrive by way of a discrete chute that pipes into the room.

Macy's attempt to rethink dressing rooms is hardly the first step the retailer has taken to compete with successful e-tailers. Macy's recently introduced a same-day delivery option, similar to Amazon's service, an endeavor which thus far appears promising. Whether or not Macy's radical new dressing room plan will extend beyond Manhattan Beach remains to be seen. However, if the company can manage to make the arduous process of swimsuit or denim shopping an amusing experience, ultimate industry domination may be in the brand's future.

Image: Macys/Instagram