WildeRooms to make online clothes shopping easier, exciting

UK-based start-up concept WildeRooms is all set to make online shopping even more exciting through its ‘try-before-you-buy’ service for those shopping for clothes online. Customers will be able to order from multiple retailers and try items on in a customer lounge, while also sharing their product selection on social media.

WildeRooms, set for a September launch, will pay for the goods chosen by customers and have them delivered to select dressing rooms, likely to be located in leading shopping centres, where shoppers can try on clothes before making a purchase decision. “Our aim is to increase online conversion rates and reduce returns, thereby tackling some major challenges faced by e-commerce retailers,” observes Kevin Dhami, WildeRooms chief executive.

Supported by property firm Cushman & Wakefield’s investment arm Pi Labs, WildeRooms is in talks with major shopping centre owners including Westfield and British Land about the venture. WildeRooms will be a proper destination featuring a lounge area with a café and sofas, in addition to a range of dressing rooms from standard to luxury. “When you visit us, we’ll know your name, size, favourite drink, making shopping a comfortable experience,” shares Dhami.

WildeRooms aims to digitalise a traditional retail space by infusing the best of both online and offline. Shoppers will be able to not only touch and feel but also try without having to go shop hopping. It currently has 129 partners including TopShop, Reiss, House of Fraser and Karen Millen from who it will take a commission on sales made. “We’re looking to shake up retail by attracting the discerning consumer, time-poor and cash rich,” Dhami avers.

WildeRooms customers can add items across any retailer’s website to a WildeRooms basket using a browser app. Once they have shopped they can visit the WildeRooms website to arrange a date and time to try on the items. Thereafter WildeRooms will source the items and have them delivered to its dressing room lounge. Shoppers will have to pay a fee for the service, designed to cover the cost if they don’t show up, and then pay for what they want to keep with WildeRooms handling any returns back to the retailers.

“With the advance of omnichannel retailing, shopping behaviours are changing, requiring retailers and retail property landlords to evolve with these trends,” explains Faisal Butt, Pi Labs chief executive. “We believe WildeRooms is well positioned to help landlords make better use of their space, while also facilitating retailers increase conversion rates from online shopping – all the while offering a seamless and enjoyable service to consumers. We rarely come across businesses that address pain points for all the stakeholders involved, and WildeRooms seems to have hit the spot in three different ways by creating an interface between delivery logistics, e-tailing and retailing.”