Virtual style appointments were a feature Indochino has had on its to-do list. But when the coronavirus swept across the U.S., the custom men’s suit retailer had to close all 52 of its showrooms—which is where Indochino typically measures shoppers—and virtual style appointments catapulted to the top of its list, says Indochino CEO Drew Green.

Drew Green, CEO Indochino

Drew Green, CEO Indochino

“It’s gone into hyperdrive the last 8-10 weeks,” says Green about launching the feature. Virtual style appointments launched at the end of April. And on the first day the feature went live, more than 50 consumers signed up for an appointment, exceeding the retailer’s expectations, he says.

“When you launch something you think one or two people might sign up, or maybe 10 or 15. But it was 50—it was more than 50—and it’s only grown since then,” says Green without revealing more.

For a virtual style appointment, a consumer visits Indochino.com and clicks “virtual appointments” to schedule a free, one-on-one video chat with one of the retailer’s style consultants. A shopper answers questions before his appointment, such as if he is looking for a suit for a specific occasion, so the stylist can prepare a personalized appointment. Within the 30-minute window, the employee will guide the shopper on how to measure himself and answer questions as if they were in the showroom, such as popular color combinations and trending fabrics.

About 55-60% of the appointments are from its existing consumers and the remaining ones are from new shoppers. Notably, 100% of consumers who make a virtual style appointment have made a purchase. By comparison, roughly 80% of consumers who book an appointment at one of its in-person showrooms go on to make a purchase. However, the scale is much larger at the store, with all stores conducting in total thousands of appointments each week, he says.

Virtual Style appointments on Indochino.com

Indochino.com promotes its virtual style appointments on its website.

The technology lift was fairly significant for its roughly 20 employee in-house technology team to launch the appointments feature in just a few weeks, Green says. The retailer tested the service first with its own employees and made tweaks before going live with the feature.

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