Dive Brief:

• Nordstrom has expanded its reserve online, try in store service to 43 stores nationwide, including 14 in California, two in Colorado, one in Atlanta, four in Illinois, two in Maryland, three in New Jersey, two in New York, one in Portland, OR, six in Texas, two in Virginia and six in home state Washington, according to a press release.

• Shoppers use the Nordstrom mobile app and select "Reserve Online & Try In Store" from the product detail page items they'd like to try on. Once their items have been located at the nearest store, they receive a text notification, then another when they arrive in-store, which lets them know where they can find the dedicated dressing room with their name and selected items.

• A pilot of the service launched last fall. 

Dive Insight:

Nordstrom’s "Reserve Online & Try In Store" capability is a way to virtually extend its famous customer service and adds a layer to the growing click-and-collect trend to ensure customers are satisfied with the fit of their products before purchase.

"We're thrilled to expand our Reserve Online & Try In Store service to provide a better experience for customers shopping with Nordstrom – whether that's online, in-store or a combination of both," Shea Jensen, senior vice president of customer experience at Nordstrom, said in a statement. "Many of our customers like to feel and try on clothes and shoes before they purchase them and we're excited to offer them a more convenient way to do so."

During the pilot in Washington, 80% of shoppers who tried Reserve Online & Try In Store went on to use it multiple times, the retailer said. Nordstrom plans to continue expanding the service to stores over the next year.

The retailer also offers buy online, pickup in store, along with curbside pickup and scan and shop on the Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack mobile apps. Nordstrom also recently launched "Style Boards," a mobile tool that allows salespeople to create digital boards filled with personalized style recommendations that customers can view on their phone and purchase from Nordstrom.com.

Nordstrom is proving to be one of the strongest department stores standing, which are increasingly feeling pressure from specialty stores and online apparel sales. Earlier this month the department store reported that second quarter total net sales rose 3.5% to $3.7 billion from $3.6 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales rose 1.7% as the company held its maintained discipline in inventory and expenses. 

The company's highly anticipated anniversary sale performed better this year than in recent years, according to Nordstrom Co-President Blake Nordstrom, who also told analysts that its 9.4 million active loyalty rewards customers represent an increase in the program of 50% from the 6.2 million a year ago and delivered 56% of the company’s Q2 sales, up from 48% a year ago, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. 

The results were a "ray of sunshine" at a time of disappointing department store sales, according to GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders, who said that the company is showing "that even in a challenging market, getting the strategy right can, and does, make all the difference."