Japan's Exclusive Innovations: Prepare to Be Amazed

6. Fitting rooms with intelligence

What it is: A changing area that functions as a retail employee Created in 2018 Average Cost: N/A Japanese retailer Mitsukoshi, Inc. has been in business since the sixteenth century. The company's longevity can probably be attributed to its ongoing innovation and change. Another part of that is the way Mitsukoshi approached changing rooms; it created the first "intelligent fitting room."

Smart Fitting Rooms at YouTube.com/CHARLES & HUDSON The store observed that employees were causing commotion and decreasing production by rushing back and forth to assist customers in the changing rooms. Thus, the retailer—whose popularity is comparable to Target's—invented a changing room so that patrons could independently check out clothing and sizes without bothering the employees.