There have been times when we鈥檝e all thought twice about buying something we liked while out聽shopping because the bags were too heavy to carry around afterwards.
Karin Cabili started bag collection platform Dropit after a visit to New York. She couldn鈥檛 buy something she wanted as she was on a way to a meeting and didn鈥檛 have any way of getting her bags back to her hotel.
Currently available in London鈥檚 West End with plans to expand, Dropit users can leave bags at partner retailers 鈥� even if they didn鈥檛 purchase the items there 鈥� or at designated drop-off points.
A courier will deliver them to their home at a convenient time no matter where they are in the UK.
With the likes of Karen Millen, Molton Brown, Jimmy Choo and Adidas on the books it seems they鈥檙e onto something.
鈥淥nline shopping has given retailers additional channels for selling but that鈥檚 meant they need additional shops too,鈥� said Cabili.
鈥淭his is because they need to fulfil delivery everywhere in the world and also keep their physical stores fully stocked because no one wants to find them empty.
鈥淭he problem is people aren鈥檛 buying more we just have more places to get our t-shirts from, so there needs to be a way of optimising the way we run stock.
鈥淲ith Dropit we鈥檙e optimising and connecting without stepping on anyone鈥檚 toes.鈥�
Cabili says they are optimising three markets through their business: the very traditional logistics business, the courier industry and the fashion industry.
The service consolidates bags into one delivery and uses existing courier companies to deliver the bags, turning the experience into a one-stop-shop.
鈥淚n a shopping centre you have multiple brands on one site, just like websites like Net-a-Porter which also have multiple brands on one site,鈥� said Cabili.
鈥淧eople like the experience of one website and multiple brands. We translate the same experience for consumers in a shopping centre.
鈥淭hat experience is scalable because tech allows retailers to serve plenty of customers.
鈥淚f shops had a magic way of keeping shoppers on their website for another minute they鈥檇 probably pay a lot of money for that. The direct effect is people spend more money onsite.
鈥淲e鈥檝e asked how can we optimise the time of the consumer and bring that to them?鈥�
This all ties in with a recent trend of big shopping centres around the world turning into entertainment centres in order to get footfall says Cabili.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e using the Las Vegas and Disney models with things like VR and celebrity signings to create a community,鈥� she said.
鈥淏ut when customers are using the experiences they don鈥檛 want to carry their shopping. There are solutions like lockers but they can be up to 拢20.鈥�
Today partnered with over 100 brands and about to launch in shopping centres around the world, Dropit has been lauded with increasing the average transaction in stores like sports brand Lululemon from 拢150 to 拢600.
鈥淭he regular shoppers spend much more in store,鈥� said Cabili.
鈥淚t varies from retailer to retailer but the beautiful thing about Dropit is the store assistant has a way to give added benefit to the client.
鈥淚f you go into Lululemon holding four bags and a store assistant wants to approach you in a nice way they can say 鈥榟ey let me take your bag so you can browse the store easily鈥�.
鈥淲e鈥檝e also had feedback from tourists who come to London on average for three and a half days.
鈥淲hen they go shopping they don鈥檛 want to go back to their hotel and drop their bags. It鈥檚 not only money but time wasted.鈥�
This dedication to customer care and creating an experience is evident in the company鈥檚 pricing structure.
鈥淲e offer same or next day delivery for the same price,鈥� said Cabili.
鈥淲ith a day pass you get unlimited bags from unlimited stores for 拢10 no matter where you are in the UK. We don鈥檛 sell delivery, we sell a shopping experience. It鈥檚 all about making happy shoppers.鈥�