Luxottica brought its digital revolution to MIDO 2019
Luxottica Group presented a series of digital innovations at the global eyewear and eyecare show MIDO. Over the past four years, thr group has invested heavily in its own digital transformation and has evolved the way it operates in the market, developing digital platforms that connect the company’s operations to its customers and consumers. It has also acquired the digital talent and skills internally that are unique in the eyewear industry. Today, this radical technological change inside Luxottica allows the Group to propose digital opportunities and services for the benefit of the entire optical sector, paving the way for a process of innovation that will benefit all industry stakeholders.At MIDO 2019, Luxottica will previewed an innovative concept that allows eyewear consumers to interact digitally with Luxottica’s entire catalogue of products inside the practice of any optometrist or optician.At the heart of this new in-store experience is a smart shopper where users can explore, with the help of the associate, Luxottica’s collections and brands in an intuitive way, through easily navigable categories. The virtual interface, fully integrated with Luxottica's digital infrastructure, is tailor-made for each customer as it can be personalized in terms of graphics and logo and linked "intelligently" to the collections in-store.Moreover, consumers can virtually wear any model appearing in the catalogue in every variant of colour, even if not available in the store, thanks to augmented reality and advanced proprietary virtual mirroring technologies.For the first time in an optical store context, consumers will be able to customize their Ray-Ban and Oakley models through an interactive screen, choosing colour, frames, lenses, temples, tips and cases or requesting engravings and decorations to make the eyewear selection a very personal experience.The new virtual store can be adapted to the specific needs of each customer, available in a Ray- Ban, Oakley or multi-branded build-out, and will be proposed to Luxottica’s best customers.The new digital assortment completes the process of digitizing the in-store communication which was launched by the Group in recent years. In 2018, digitalization enhancements were extended to the company’s customers.Luxottica was the first company to implement large-scale digital window technology to the eyewear industry, making the consumer experience engaging and rich in content. In a short time, the Group has become one of the largest private digital broadcasters globally, with about twenty thousand digital windows installed in its own stores and in customers’ optical practices all over the world. The management of real-time visual communication is centralized in the internal digital factory in Milan in order to guarantee flexibility and speed of execution, distribution of contents by location, country and timing and proximity to the needs of customers and consumers.Digital showroom and samplesFollowing the introduction of the MyLuxottica portal which gave customers a seamless, direct and 24/7 digital connection to the company’s supply chain, the Group is now innovating the way new collections are presented to customers in its showrooms around the world and in stores, combining traditional physical samples with a larger and endless digital collection.In 2018, the company introduced "digital sample bags", adapting the Group's entire product catalogue onto tablet devices, making the sales representative less dependent on the bulky suitcases typically used for presenting new collections. The new samples also allow sales representatives to connect more seamlessly with their client, using technical features and multimedia content that stirs emotions and brings out each brand’s unique storytelling, helping customers choose the right product for their own stores.At MIDO, Luxottica also introduced the new "digital showroom" concept. Recently launched in Luxottica’s new Fifth Avenue headquarters in New York, and soon to be available in the avant- garde exhibition space in via Tortona in Milan, the digital showroom model presents an interactive and immersive experience for discovering Luxottica products through high-definition screens, multimedia content inspired by brand campaigns and storytelling, and virtual simulations of the spaces in store. The collections are organized into "digital couvettes" to facilitate the interaction with every single model and finalize the purchasing processes. Each frame appears on screen as if it were real thanks to the use of high-definition real-time rendering and navigable 360-degree technology that can be enlarged to magnify every detail.