
# Concession Retailer David Jones could be more

A quick story. Buying a suit. I’m a fancy man. But I’m a man, so the shopping experience is largely a balance between not looking stupid and trying to look acceptable wearing uncomfortable clothing. I'm a solid 5 out of 10 when it comes to fashion. I know what I like. I’m not ambivalent in what I wear, but I’m also not adventurous or overly knowledgeable on the finer points. Certainly, I could use a little help.

It’s Sunday. My wife and I drive in and park our car into David Jones. We take the elevator up to the men’s floor.  I head towards what looks like a safe area and get my bearings. I’m trying to avoid getting any sales persons eye because frankly I don’t want to go through a trial-and-error of them understanding my fashion wants. What they’d find out is that I’m up to wear generally anything as long as it’s: 

1. Comfortable  
2. Doesn’t make me look stupid. 
3. A distant third is looking good. At 37 years old, the ship has sailed on trying to look like James Bond. 

Also ego plays a role. I don’t want to look helpless.

I don’t know what my measurements. I don’t know the difference between a European fit and a Slim Regular fit.  If I’m going to start pulling random shit off the rack, I should know what’s going to fit. I don't want to be here all day. 

So, I ask the sales woman nearby to measure me. She is baffled by this request. “that’s not how it works” she says. The look on her face is mild annoyance. I’m entering ‘looking stupid’ territory. I look to my wife, she’s unsure of my request too. I explain I’m trying to remember my sizes and if she has a tape measure, could I get her to measure me up? She explains she only works for the one brand and they don’t require measurements. But bless her she puts a measuring tape limply around my neck. She’s confused. I’m confused. My wife is confused. “You’re a 40 neck but it doesn’t matter” the saleswoman says.  I’m drowning, and she’s shoving a hose in my mouth. 

I flee, and head to the an area adorned with tuxes and suits. This hasn’t been a good start. I head towards the suits and start lightly touching a few things. I think I know how a tuxedo works, the tails and such. I’ve seen James Bond. But I don’t know for sure and I’m rattled by the saleswoman. 

There’s a young guy dressed impeccably that appears and asks if he can help gesturing towards the tuxedo I’m molesting. 

I explain I have a wedding and it requires a tuxedo. There’s also a few events lately where I’ve needed to be more formal. “I’m a fancy man”, I explain. He nods. He pulls out a tape-measure to get my measurements. I orgasm immediately.

The sales guy name is Henry. Henry is all business. There’s no judgement, just cold efficiency. I’m the lost sheep, Henry is my shepard. 

## Some other moments

- Now knowing my measurements I head back to the area where the baffled lady was monitoring. I choose a shirt right under her nose. It’s petty of me. The scene from Pretty Woman plays in my head for some reason.
- In my hand is a shirt I’ve picked up for business shirt reasons. High-powered business situations, hanging out with world leaders, accepting awards etc.  Henry sees what’s in my hand,  and says ‘try this too’. Henry is right.  It’s a better fit. It’s more comfortable. Henry is *********crushing********* it.
- In retail-terms, I’m getting up-sold across the park. Pocket-squares get chucked into the mix. I'm loving it. 

At the counter, I’m asked if I have a membership card. I don’t.   I’m asked if I’d like my measurements stored and then emailed to me for future use and I readily agree. We leave and I'm pretty happy - unfortunately the email with my measurements never arrives. A shame. 

---


The above story - my luke-warm buying journey - is just a single data point. [But I’m not alone.](https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/not-what-youd-expect-epic-fail-in-david-jones-store/news-story/f62680afc98529b5f98acc368d3108ff) 


![img](/img/blog/retailer-map.png)

There’s a number of opportunities that have gone begging in-store -  but the big one happens after I leave the store - that is it to say - nothing happens. 

## Keeping me on the hook

Concession retailers face a golden opportunity: to bridge the gap between understanding who I am and discerning what products I desire. In essence, it's all about personalisation. Consider the potential of a mobile app, one that offers a curated and personalised experience, effortlessly guiding users towards recommendations and enhanced discovery pathways. Instead of merely suggesting, imagine if the app learns, evolving with every scroll, every click. With the right approach to using AI, this isn't just a tool; it becomes a branded companion that understands preferences and refines suggestions over time. Think of it as your personal David Jones-style assistant—always in your pocket, reliable, trusted, and ever-improving with use.

Ditch the clunky AR guessing games around weight or size. If I've been to a fitting room, the app should already know my measurements. And it shouldn't just be about general advice; it should be sharp, tailored guidance.  After all, the resources are there: rich content, immersive experiences, comprehensive data, and a robust ecosystem. All that's needed now is the vision to bring it to life and an interface that captivates the most important person - the customer. 


Concession Retailer David Jones could be more


If you've ever travelled internationally and used Uber, you probably didn't see much of a different experience. This is deliberate.  There's no ‘Uber: North America' or ‘Uber:China'. It's just the oen app, worldwide. 

You may also be mistaken in thinking Uber's app is only a handful of screens. However, according to someone from their engineering team, it's anything but - 

*
> I worked on payments, and this is what screens and components are in the Uber app:
> - Credit cards (yes, this is only a a few screens)
> - Apple Pay / Google Pay on respective platforms
> - PayPal (SDK)
> - Venmo (SDK)
> - PayTM (15+ screens)
> - Special screens for India credit cards and 2FA, EU credit cards and SCA, Brazil combo cards and custom logic
> - Cash (several touch points)
> - AMEX rewards and other credit card rewards (several screens)
> - Uber credits & top-ups (several screens)
> - UPI SDK (India)
> - We used to have Campus Cards (10 screens), Airtel Money (5), Alipay (a few more), Google Wallet (a few) and I other payment methods I forget about. All with native screens. Still with me? This was just payments. The part where most people assume “oh, it's just a credit card screen”. Or people in India assume “oh it's just UPI and PayTM”. Or people in Mexico “oh, it's just cash”. And so on. *


Despite having to overcome some very big engineering hurdles, Uber insists on using only the one app per platform (Android / iOS).
Considering the challenges that come with an application that has so many different rules, requirements, contextual differences, languages and so forth, you'd be right in thinking it'd be easier to instead have different versions of the app depending on its location. 


So why does Uber attempt to jam as much into one single app, when it could have multiple apps across different regions?

The answer: Customers only ever *need* one ride-sharing app - so why give your competitors an opportunity to be that one app? 

Consider this scenario: You've landed in a foreign country, you've grabbed your bags, you're tired, jetlagged, desperately need a shower and after a lengthy period in customs, you're ready to head to your hotel. But how to get there? 

You have a decision. You can either use the app that lives on your phone (Uber), - or you can sign up to a brand new, untested, service. All you'd have to do is find it, download it (via airport wi-fi), sign-up, submit your information, submit your payment info  (do they take Amex?), and then learn how to use the app. 

The choice to the user is mindlessly easy: use what you've already got. 

This is why Uber insists on using the one app.  They don't want competitors to get a foothold in. Remember - the competition might be cheaper, have better features, work faster, be more ethical etc. Uber most likely can't compete pound for pound against its rivals. They know that it's a race to what lives on the phone and there can be only one; the first ride-sharing app you install will be (most likely) the one you use forever. 

Uber doesn't want to open that the door for competing apps to be accessible. Once that happens, Uber is then in competition for every subsequent ride. 





Hatch Head

Product strategy

Concession Retailer David Jones could be more

Uber's single app strategy

Main Office