NEWS
Rakuten Receives Special Prize for Technology Utilization at the 36th Information Technology Award
At the award ceremony held February 6th, Rakuten, University of Tsukuba, and Zootie were jointly awarded the Special Prize for Technology Utilization at the 36th Information Technology Award. The award ceremony was held in conjunction with the Japan Institute of Information Technology annual IT Strategy General Meeting at the Tokyo Conference Center Shinagawa.
The Special Prize for Technology Utilization is awarded for efforts that have achieved outstanding results in the information technology field by utilizing innovative and pioneering technologies not found in other companies. This time, it was awarded for the Remote Styling Support System.
The development of the system was launched as a collaboration between Rakuten Institute of Technology and University of Tsukuba, creating the Future Merchant Design Lab, and it enables users in a fitting room to connect to and interact with fashion advisers remotely via the internet. In cooperation with Zootie, operator of the E-zakkamania stores which also has a large presence on the Rakuten Marketplace in Japan, the three worked together to digitize fashion items so that they can be presented to customers and overlaid using digital signage to see how it looks on them.
Through this effort, we aim to solve the three problems of regional constraints, physical constraints, and psychological constraints, in offline shopping experiences. The evaluation of this next-generation shopping experience and the attempt to present a new way of fashion led to the award.
On the day, Yasufumi Hirai, Executive Vice President and Executive Officer of Rakuten, received the award and trophy representing the company, and on the next day, Soh Masuko, Senior Manager of Rakuten Institute of Technology’s Future Merchant Design Lab made a presentation to commemorate the award.
Please look forward to the new shopping experiences that we will create together with merchants in the future.
For more information on the award, the Future Merchant Design Lab, and the Remote Styling Support System, see the links below.
Event: FUDGE Holiday Circus with Shinagawa Open Theater
