Physical designs for Pomelo Fashion by Tina Rungsawang

WINTER 2017 - Fall 2018
project management // Architectural design // VISUAL DESIGN

POMELO: PHYSICAL

Role: Retail Design Project Manager

Pomelo is a fashion e-commerce company based in Bangkok, Thailand. Started in 2013, it is now a leading online fast fashion brand in Southeast Asia, growing 200%+ every year since its founding. It currently ships to 46 countries globally and is currently expanding to offline presence with its omni-channel experience strategy.

As the Retail Design Project Manager, I was overseeing the conceptualization, design, and construction of the first four omni-channel retail stores in Bangkok in 2018. I was responsible for coordinating between the brand, interior designers, and construction contractors from beginning to end. All design and construction decisions were under my approval. I also managed the retail visual design elements within the stores.

After five years of being solely online, Pomelo wanted to branch out into offline retail, but not in the traditional sense. The main design challenge is figuring out how to provide an experience that enables shoppers to explore and immerse in all the different channels Pomelo has to offer (web, app, social media, retail space) while keeping the Pomelo digital brand identity. We wanted the online and offline experiences to be seamlessly integrated. The solutions were features around the store that provided seamless gateways to different Pomelo channels.

www.pomelofashion.com

DESIGNING THE OMNI-CHANNEL EXPERIENCE

Prior to starting the designs of each store, the CEO and I sat down to discuss what omni-channel really means to Pomelo.

Then, we clarified some key goals:

Convert new customers
Increase loyalty of current customers (not only sales)
Emphasize on interesting technological features that would enable customers to shop through our online channels in order to minimize the number of items in the store

After a few brainstorming sessions, we came up with “In-Store Mode”. Customers who enter our stores would have to download the Pomelo app in order to unlock features within the store. Using the geolocation technology, we are able to notify customers who already have our app downloaded when they are close to a Pomelo store.

The features we decided integrate include Pomelo Pick Up, Fitting Room Booking, Personal Stylist, Digital Check Out, and Facebook Live studio.

Feature 1: Pomelo Pick Up
Pomelo Pick Up came up as a solution to the main pain point many of our Thai customers have talked about: they want to try the clothes on before making the online purchase. The team at Pomelo had spent years trying to come up with a good solution to this (365-day free returns were not convincing enough!). We tested Pomelo Pick Up at our first Pop Up store and it proved to be a success. Customers shop online as they would normally, and when they go check out, they pick their preferred Pomelo Store as a pick up location. This way, they are able to check out without paying anything. Within two days, they are able to go pick up their items to try on at the store, and pay for only what they want to keep there.

After about five months of testing, we found that 40% of our Thailand online orders were being picked up at the stores, which helps generate foot traffic - from online to offline.

Feature 2: Fitting Room Booking
We noticed another pain point at our pop up store: fitting room queues were so long that customers end up leaving the line without buying anything. At peak hours, the wait was up to 20 minutes! Why not use technology to solve the issue? Customers would be able to book a fitting room queue through the app and continue to walk around until they get notified.

To further innovate the fitting room experience, customers would also be able to ask for a different size by scanning the barcode on the item they want, pick a new size, and the store staff will be automatically notified without the customer ever leaving the fitting room.

Feature 3: Personal Stylist
A personal stylist at a store isn’t a new concept, but we wanted to integrate technology into the process. Customers would be able to book the stylist through their app from home, or do a walk-in. They would be asked to answer some question on our app in order for our algorithm to generate a personalized list of items. The stylist would then choose from this list and help customers mix and match their outfits.

Feature 4: Digital Check Out
This is also not an unfamiliar concept internationally, but has never been done before in Thailand. Customers would be able to pick out items they want, go to the nearest store staff, and pay through the app without ever having to wait in line or take out their wallets.

The challenge with this is: How do we keep this process from becoming chaotic? How do efficiently we scan multiple items and bag them nicely on floor?

Solution: We conceptualized a mobile bagging station that can be moved and placed throughout the store.

Feature 5: Facebook Live Studio
The Pomelo brand is where it is today thanks to our social media channels and influencer loyalty. In order to tie our retail stores back to the social platforms, we thought that having a social media studio would be fitting. Our stylists would be able to do weekly styling sessions on Facebook Live, we can air live campaign launch events, and do live interviews with influencers and celebrities in this studio. It would also act as a fun backdrop for customers to take photos for their own social media channels.

With these features as our key drivers, I had to come up with various ways to display necessary information throughout the store to educate customers about downloading the app and the different experiences we had to offer through visual signages. During my time as project manager, we were able to successfully launch Pomelo Pick Up and test out the Stylist Bar and Fitting Room Booking in beta in the current stores that are open. The other features are currently under development.

February 2018

SIAM CENTER POP UP STORE

Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Size: 200 sq. m.
Interior/Visual Designer & Design Project Manager: Tina Rungsawang
General Contractor: Extraordinaire Creative Brand Builder

June 2018

INTERCHANGE 21 SHOWROOM CONCEPT STORE

Unlike a standard store, the showroom concept allows customers to try on new arrivals (updated three times a week!) as well as pick up orders they’ve made online. Items in the store are for try on only. This reduces the space needed for inventory as well as allowed for us to pick a variety of locations that aren’t retail-focused, like office buildings.

Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Size: 31 sq. m.
Design Project Manager: Tina Rungsawang
Visual Designers: Tina Rungsawang, David Corti
Interior Designer: Whitespace
General Contractor: Deepo Co.

June 2018

ALL SEASONS PLACE SHOWROOM CONCEPT STORE

Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Size: 54 sq. m.
Design Project Manager: Tina Rungsawang
Visual Designers: Tina Rungsawang, David Corti
Interior Designer: Whitespace
General Contractor: Legend Construction

August 2018

CENTRALWORLD STANDARD STORE

Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Size: 150 sq. m.
Design Project Manager: Tina Rungsawang
Visual Designers: Tina Rungsawang, David Corti
Interior Designer: Whitespace
General Contractor: Maysa Design Co.