Dive Brief:
- Nordstrom is offering a service, TextStyle, that allows users to shop via text message over the company’s one-to-one NEXT texting service.
- Using TextStyle, a customer or salesperson can send a message with a suggested item’s description or photo; customers can opt to purchase items by replying “buy” and including a one-time code.
- The curated personal shopping system is available to customers at all of Nordstrom’s 116 U.S. stores.
Dive Insight:
Nordstrom’s latest omnichannel offering is unique in the retail world: shopping via text message. Using the department sort chain’s secure, proprietary NEXT texting service, Nordstrom customers and associates can communicate product information before the shopper decides to press “buy” and completes the sale using a one-time code.
The system then taps Nordstrom.com account information to complete the sale, and the purchase ships free of charge. The shop-by-text system offers a seamless, secure way for associates to curate purchases on shoppers’ behalf and communicate them to customers, the company says.