There have been times when we’ve all thought twice about buying something we liked while out 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’t buy something she wanted as she was on a way to a meeting and didn’t have any way of getting her bags back to her hotel.
Currently available in London’s West End with plans to expand, Dropit users can leave bags at partner retailers – even if they didn’t purchase the items there – 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’re onto something.
“Online shopping has given retailers additional channels for selling but that’s meant they need additional shops too,” said Cabili.
“This 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.
“The problem is people aren’t 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.
“With Dropit we’re optimising and connecting without stepping on anyone’s toes.”
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.
“In 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,” said Cabili.
“People like the experience of one website and multiple brands. We translate the same experience for consumers in a shopping centre.
“That experience is scalable because tech allows retailers to serve plenty of customers.
“If shops had a magic way of keeping shoppers on their website for another minute they’d probably pay a lot of money for that. The direct effect is people spend more money onsite.
“We’ve asked how can we optimise the time of the consumer and bring that to them?”
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.
“They’re using the Las Vegas and Disney models with things like VR and celebrity signings to create a community,” she said.
“But when customers are using the experiences they don’t want to carry their shopping. There are solutions like lockers but they can be up to £20.”
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 £150 to £600.
“The regular shoppers spend much more in store,” said Cabili.
“It 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.
“If you go into Lululemon holding four bags and a store assistant wants to approach you in a nice way they can say ‘hey let me take your bag so you can browse the store easily’.
“We’ve also had feedback from tourists who come to London on average for three and a half days.
“When they go shopping they don’t want to go back to their hotel and drop their bags. It’s not only money but time wasted.”
This dedication to customer care and creating an experience is evident in the company’s pricing structure.
“We offer same or next day delivery for the same price,” said Cabili.
“With a day pass you get unlimited bags from unlimited stores for £10 no matter where you are in the UK. We don’t sell delivery, we sell a shopping experience. It’s all about making happy shoppers.”