Burberry Partners With Apple to Develop Retail Chat Tool

Burberry is testing a new retail chat tool it created in partnership with Apple so Burberry store associates will be able to text the retailer’s important customers directly.

The tool is called “R Message” and connects Burberry’s proprietary R World app for store associates to its customer-facing app, Vogue Business reports. Customers with the app can make in-store appointments, receive personalized item recommendations and buy products, all through texting, while associates can drive sales using an integrated back-end inventory system. R Message is invite-only for now and is being piloted at Burberry’s Manchester, England, flagship before it will be rolled out to all Burberry locations and associates.

“You’ve got highly skilled associates who know how to serve in a luxury way, but even for a great associate, there might be 10 percent extra that you can give them by giving them the right information at the right time,” Burberry’s vice president of digital commerce Mark Morris told  Vogue Business. “[Customers] now know much more about what they want… and to be at that service level where you can give credible advice, you need the basics.”

The tool will provide sales associates the ability to check stock, a Newsfeed-style feature with company updates, advertising campaign images, and press mentions.