Apple Watch helps retailers give customers the Cheers treatment

Employees of True Religion will be kitted out with Apple Watches, which alerts them whenever a loyalty member customer walks in.

In the immortal words of the Cheers theme song, sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. Now, clothing retailer True Religion is using the Apple Watch and iBeacon to give VIP treatment to all of its loyal customers at stores in LA and New York.

The customer engagement initiative will see employees of approximately 30 True Religion stores kitted out with Apple Watches, which will use iBeacons to alert them whenever a loyalty member customer walks in. The staff member will initially be notified by their watch’s haptic response. Then, they will be provided with the shopper’s name and information about their previous purchases or items of interest via an app, so that they can greet them with a personal touch and give truly helpful assistance. The system was created in partnership with Aptos and Formula 3 Group and only works if customers opt in.

Is this the future of customer service in retail?