Ann Summers launch first interactive lingerie app where customers can …

By
Tamara Hardingham-gill

PUBLISHED:

10:51 EST, 6 September 2012

|

UPDATED:

10:53 EST, 6 September 2012

Ann Summers has launched the world’s first interactive lingerie app which allows customers to virtually try on items from the underwear retailer’s latest collection.

The BlippTease app, which has been created in partnership with image recognition platform Blippar, works by layering the user’s chosen product over the camera on their smartphone.

Customers can then take a picture of themselves ‘wearing’ the underwear and have the option to share the picture with friends via social media networks.

Virtual changing room: A model poses at the launch of Ann Summers’ interactive lingerie app

How do I look? Users have the option to share the picture with friends via social media networks

The item can then be purchased online via the app, which is currently being promoted in all Ann Summers stores as well as its catalogues.

‘Our BlippTease campaign gives the customer so much more when choosing the perfect underwear – it also helps male shoppers find the perfect solution for that special present or spontaneous treat,’ says Ann Summers brand director Fiona Davis.

‘This is the way forward and we hope it can evolve into bigger and better things for the consumer.’

Picture perfect: The new app is being promoted in all Ann Summers stores as well as its catalogues

The way forward: The retailer says it hopes the app will evolve into bigger and better things for the consumer

Ann Summers’ sales have increased dramatically in in recent months due to the popularity of its ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ inspired range.

Meanwhile sales of its lingerie and toys have increased by 28% in the past year while online sales have risen by 71 per cent.

Ann Summers have been trading for 30 years but has faced competition in recent years from online sex retailers like Lovehoney.co.uk as the British sex industry experiences a boom in sales.

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Scituate lingerie boutique to expand to Derby Street Shoppes

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Two years after lingerie boutique Lulabelle opened in Scituate, the local brand will make its way with a store at the Derby Street Shoppes.

The expansion has been 18 months coming, said Donna Morton, the store owner and founder, and with a lot of elbow grease and a little bit of luck, she hopes the second store will open sometime this month.

“I knew about six months into the start of the first concept that the concept was sound and it worked. Once I knew that, I wanted to be in a place with the right demographic market,” Morton said in a phone interview.

The store sells high-end lingerie, sleepwear, loungewear, and swimwear, and specializes in custom bra fittings.

From the get-go, the California-inspired boutique, characterized by clean design and open, airy spaces, has been popular, Morton said.

“The thing about the South Shore is it’s very…word of mouth, and very loyal. We have to drive really far for everything that we want, so when we find something we like we tell everybody just to save time and save search,” Morton said. “The first week was insane and it was really nice. Having been a Scituate resident, we were looking for new places and new boutiques, and everyone was happy to have somewhere else to go to for that.”

A reason for the store’s popularity is the one-on-one customer service, because as fun as lingerie shopping can be, it can also be stressful, Morton said.

“Everybody who goes behind the fitting room curtain has something they are worried about… [I try to] put everybody at ease. I make a joke — I’ve seen half the town naked, and we’re more similar than we’re different. It lets people breathe and relax. It’s a huge part of it,” Morton said. “It’s the merchandise I sell, but I really love what I do. If I didn’t this would never work. But there is a lot of integrity about this. I love making these gals feel pretty.”

But as much as both she and customers love the picturesque boutique nestled off 3A in North Scituate, the new store will provide an even better shopping experience, Morton said.

Designed by Cambridge design firm Mandarina Studios, the new space will have double the fitting room space, and allow more brands to be featured.

The hope is to open for at least a sneak preview on Sept. 13, which would coincide with Derby Street Shoppe’s Moms’ Escape event.

Yet to make that happen, “a thousand moving pieces have to come together – externally, internally, marketing wise,” Morton said.

The growing pains are all a part of the transition from a more village setting to that of a mall, but everything will come together in due time, Morton said.

“The good news is it’s really beautiful. When I walked in, each new thing that gets put up I say it’s going to work, it’s going to be beautiful,” she said.

To see the renovation in progress or for more information on the store, visit the boutique’s website.

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