Liberty officially launches virtual shopping experience with Hero

Iconic London department store Liberty has today officially launched its new virtual shopping service in partnership with leading virtual shopping platform Hero.

It follows a successful pilot trial created for AW20 which saw Liberty customers spending an average of 78% more when using virtual shopping.

Liberty's partnership with Hero follows the retailer's global rebrand which was revealed in June, 2020. Customers from anywhere can now connect with a Liberty store associate in-store when shopping online to receive product recommendations, photos, and video consultations. They can also ask detailed questions at the tap of a button.

Amid the latest UK lockdown, customers have initiated thousands of virtual shopping sessions on LibertyLondon.com, generating hundreds of thousands of pounds in sales.

The initial pilot, which launched in September, 2020, was for the fabrics and beauty departments to build best practices, collate customer feedback and understand how to best implement the new features from an operations perspective. After seeing high success, it then quickly expanded to womenswear and is now live across all departments, including menswear, accessories, jewellery and interiors.

Liberty e-commerce Director, Eric Fergusson, said: “Liberty prides itself on the experience of inspiration and discovery that comes from our store. We've taken several steps to permanently bring this feeling to life for our shoppers online, during the current lockdowns and long after. Hero has allowed us to make our store associates central to that experience.”

Liberty’s store associates also use Hero to follow what customers are shopping for in real-time, making it easy to share personalised product recommendations just like they would in-store. They are also able to stay in touch with customers and share product updates by text, recommend complementary items, or send notifications when a product is back in stock.

Hero founder, Adam Levene, commented: “Liberty has cultivated an iconic in-store shopping experience that people love. We're honoured to be partnering with them to bring that curation and personal touch to shopping online. The future of retail is one where the walls between stores and ecommerce don't exist, and Liberty’s customers can now experience that first-hand.”

Hero, which launched in 2015, also counts the likes of LVMH, Levi’s and Nike as its partners, seeing millions of shoppers interact with real experts at their favourite brands through video shopping messaging and real-time chat. According to the company, shoppers are 21 times more likely to make a purchase when using Hero.