From Wednesday’s job interview to Saturday’s beach wedding, guys are constantly faced with the challenge of finding the perfect outfit. In fact, 81% of men report having trouble getting dressed for an event or an occasion and are eager to get help – with nearly three-quarters (72%) of men wishing there was a way to make getting dressed every day or for a special occasion easier, according to a Perry Ellis survey on men’s dressing habits. The iconic menswear brand is on a mission to help solve this problem with the introduction of the “Ask Perry Ellis” Amazon Alexa skill, created for guys who need help figuring out what to wear for the many events on their calendar. The first-of-its-kind, voice-activated Skill supports the brand’s commitment to innovating through technology and generates a modern, frictionless shopping experience for every man by providing head-to-toe options that he can immediately shop.
Whether his calendar calls for a first date, sporting event, or holiday party, guys can now simply use their voice to get valuable fashion assistance and avoid making a fashion faux pas by saying “Alexa, Ask Perry Ellis what I should wear to …” any of the almost 150 programmed occasions. Alexa replies by offering an appropriate look, taking into account the venue, weather and dress code, and sends the selection to the user’s Alexa app and email where they can click through to PerryEllis.com to add items to their cart to purchase.
Virtual assistants are becoming more widely used by Americans than ever before, according to eMarketer’s first forecast on users of digital assistants which was released in May 2017. The study reports that 35.6 million Americans use a voice-activated assistant device at least once a month. That’s a jump of 128.9% over last year. Moreover, 70.6% of voice-activated assistant users own an Amazon Echo, and it’s predicted that Amazon will remain the dominant player in the category for the foreseeable future. That’s why Perry Ellis selected the platform to house the “Ask Perry Ellis” Skill, which is available on both the Alexa devices and through the Amazon app.
The launch of the skill should be music to any guy’s ear, as they report that the struggle to get dressed is real with nearly three-quarters (73%) of men admitting to having arrived at an event, occasion or location feeling inappropriately dressed. The Perry Ellis “Men’s Dressing Habits” survey also revealed:
Appropriateness matters: 84% of men care about being dressed appropriately for an occasion. They don’t want to stand out, and hate the feeling of being underdressed (the most common reason they feel they’re dressed inappropriately).
Dressing impacts their social life and psyche: One-third of men actually admit to having skipped an event because they didn’t have the right clothes to wear. But when dressed appropriately, 72% of men report feeling confident, 42% feel attractive, 39% feel respected and about one-quarter of men feel powerful.
No occasion is exempt from the struggle: Job interviews, weddings and dates are the occasions men struggle most to dress for, but guys are even boggled about what to wear to events like funerals (48%) and jury duty (38%).
It’s no surprise Perry Ellis would be first-to-market with a voice activated stylist. Perry Ellis was born from a man who was forward-thinking and fresh; not mired in tradition. These brand ethos have remained constant as the product offering and marketing tools have shifting to keep up with the demands of the consumer. Today, the brand is bridging the gap between fashion, function and versatility with product suited for any occasion. To continue speaking directly to the end consumer, Perry Ellis is evolving its marketing strategy with a big push on digital and the use of technology to drive deeper consumer engagement. Under a digitally centric and technology-driven focus, Perry Ellis is targeting new outlets including technology, lifestyle and news. Social media and voice-activated tools are also leveraged to place the brand and product directly in front of the consumer.
To access the personal stylist and find the perfect outfit for any occasion, enable the “Ask Perry Ellis” skill on Alexa.
