Check it Out: Sears and Skype Team Up 
in the Dressing Room

The time has come: my college roommate is getting married. I’m extremely excited and happy for her and I have the honor of being a bridesmaid. The problem is I live in Philadelphia and she lives in Syracuse, N.Y. — a little over 250 miles away. That doesn't exactly lend itself to jumping in the car on a Saturday for a quick dress fitting. If only her selected bridesmaid dress was from Sears and we both lived in Canada ...

Why? Because Sears Canada has introduced Skype technology into 10 of its stores directly outside the fitting rooms. The initiative is aimed at better serving a younger consumer demographic, similar to retailer Tobi's platform on Facebook.

There teens share snapshots of themselves in a Tobi outfit via the social media site, then get feedback from their friends. This Sears/Skype partnership promises to deliver quicker and, most likely, more efficient results.

Take my example from above. All I'd have to do is let my former roommate know I was headed to Sears, at which point she could log onto Skype. I could try on the fabulous bridesmaid dress she picked out for me, then we could discuss the dress, shoes and accessories via Skype directly from the store — on top of gossiping and telling jokes in the meantime. I wouldn't have to buy the dress, take it home, bring out my laptop and log onto Skype to show her how the dress looks and fits. I wouldn't have to fuss with taking pictures of myself in the dress and emailing them to her. And if the dress didn't fit, or if my roommate didn't like one detail, I wouldn't have to haul it back to the store and repeat the process all over again.

Former Sears Canada President and CEO Dene Rogers worked hard to bring the company into the future. Its latest Skype initiative — which has proven to be quite successful — is proof of that.

And I can see why. For me this solution makes more sense than "virtual fitting rooms," where you superimpose yourself on an outfit, post it to Facebook (or tweet it or text it or email it … whatever the platform may be) and wait for feedback from friends. Skype technology being available in-store would save me time, aggravation and, most importantly, I could have my old roommate right there with me — just like the good old days.

There are a couple of problems I can foresee with this technology, however. Imagine you're shopping on a busy Saturday and every consumer coming out of the dressing room wants to use Skype. Would there be lines to access the devices? Also, would other shoppers be listening in on my conversation? And if the cameras are outside the dressing room, would anyone else really want to stare at my college roommate on the screen? I can just imagine her making faces at passersby. That all said, these are all minor details that I'm sure Sears will be able to work out.

People like me would greatly benefit from a service like this. Most of my friends are all over the country, and Skype helps us keep in touch in ways that other social media outlets can't. Hopefully mass adoption of this technology comes soon. That way I can shop with my friends hundreds of miles away and make decisions about dresses for the next wedding on the horizon … Liz/Nikki, I'm looking at you.