SAP took another step into the world of consumer apps Monday when it released a commercial for My Runway, a free social shopping tool that helps fashion enthusiasts follow their favorite brands. Users can get personalized updates on what’s new, trendy and even on sale.
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| It’s a jungle out there, but SAP’s My Runway app can help fashion enthusiasts, designers and retailers track every trend. |
“Hey, I know which designers I like and which labels are the hit,” the young spokeswoman says as she explores a virtual jungle of designer clothes. “But who can tell me when the next collections are coming out or where I can find a smashing deal?
“Now there’s an app for that,” she says. But SAP’s foray into B2C does more than let users collect fashion items on a wish list, share product details with friends or find the nearest store.
True to SAP’s backend roots, My Runway also helps the people running the store by analyzing retail performance. Brand executives and store managers can view and share the numbers associated with various styles, shops and regions via mobile dashboards.
“I can come in as an analyst and take a look at how my particular products or brands are performing, and ask questions of the data,” nic.smith of SAP’s mobile BI team said in a video review of My Runway. “This is some of the new visualization capabilities with SAP Lumira running on the SAP HANA Cloud -- all from a mobile device.”
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| My Runway can help analysts, executives and managers track how products, brands and stores are performing via mobile dashboards. |
This type of technology has already made a big splash in fashion. Last year My Runway gave the fashion industry a much better understanding of Chinese consumer preferences.
“With the help of a few tools and software systems -- especially real-time data analytics -- clothing retailers can understand what people want to wear before they even see it,” alizah.farooqi wrote in SAP Business Trends. “[This] creates an extremely efficient retail experience for both the designer and the company.”
My Runway also benefits consumers and retailers because more than 80 percent of shopping happens at local stores, judith.magyar noted in SAP Business Trends. Liking fashion on the app drives traffic into those stores.
In short, My Runway is all about making life easier.
“My Runway is this wonderful app -- you can follow trends, you can create your own fashion identity -- your own runway,” Yolanda Wright, editor at 4fashionadvice, said in a video. “You can still be a busy mom or a fulltime student, and still be a fashionista.”
My Runway is a free app on iTunes.
Follow Derek on Twitter: @DKlobucher
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