Dawsons invests in virtual in-store browser

Dawsons Music has teamed up with technology provider GoInStore, to provide a new smart glasses virtual browsing service to online shoppers. 

Consumers using the online service will see a first-person view of products through smart glasses worn by in-store employees. The firm hopes it will improve its online conversion rate and counter the effect of shoppers coming in to stores to browse and then buying elsewhere online.

Customers hitting ‘Chat’ on Dawsons’ online shop are not directed to a text-based support person but are instead hooked up with an in-store specialist, who wears a pair of smart glasses, acting as their remote eyes and ears.

Shoppers can guide staff around by speaking directly to them through a two-way audio stream, and ask for recommendations as the tour goes on. The service is powered by GoInStore’s Assignation Engine, an artificial intelligence package that analyses online data to pair shoppers with staff members based on the type of products they want to explore.

Dawsons managing director Mark Taylor, believes it affords the retailer a “much greater synergy between the web and stores”

He said: “Our staff are musicians first and foremost, which means the expertise you receive by visiting one of our stores is second to none. GoInStore allows our most valuable sales asset – our staff – to engage with customers far beyond the typical catchment areas of our stores and has unleashed their potential across the web.

“Although this is cutting-edge technology, it’s facilitating a human-to-human connection in a comfortable and familiar way for staff and customers alike”.

Based in Warrington, Cheshire, Dawsons currently has 11 stores in the UK.