MILAN, ITALY — Luxottica Group S.p.A. unveiled its “digital vision” for optical practices and retail stores, presenting a series of digital innovations at the global eyewear and eyecare show MIDO in Milan.
Over the past four years, Luxottica has invested heavily in its own digital transformation, developing platforms that connect its operations to its customers and consumers, according to a press release.
“Today, this radical technological change inside Luxottica allows the Group to propose digital opportunities and services for the benefit of the entire optical sector, paving the way for a process of innovation that will benefit all industry stakeholders,” the release explains.
“Digital is the future for Luxottica and for the entire industry,” said Leonardo Del Vecchio, executive chairman of Luxottica. “Today, we must face new challenges to keep up with the times and satisfy the changing behaviours of consumers who are influenced by new technologies. In this transformation, we want to be even closer to our optical clients and continue to invest to bring them all the benefits that only digital innovation can guarantee. The watchword is ‘customization’ of products and services, and today we are showcasing the tools to make this a reality.”
At MIDO 2019, which ran Feb. 23-25, Luxottica previewed “an innovative concept that allows eyewear consumers to interact digitally with Luxottica’s entire catalogue of products inside the practice of any optometrist or optician,” according to the release.
The company continues:
“At the heart of the new in-store experience is a smart shopper where users can explore, with the help of the associate, Luxottica’s collections and brands in an intuitive way, through easily navigable categories.
“The virtual interface, fully integrated with Luxottica’s digital infrastructure, is tailor-made for each customer as it can be personalized in terms of graphics and logo and linked ‘intelligently’ to the collections in-store.
“Moreover, consumers can virtually wear any model appearing in the catalogue in every variant of colour, even if not available in the store, thanks to augmented reality and advanced proprietary virtual mirroring technologies.
“For the first time in an optical store context, consumers will be able to customize their Ray-Ban and Oakley models through an interactive screen, choosing colour, frames, lenses, temples, tips and cases or requesting engravings and decorations to make the eyewear selection a very personal experience.”