Nordstrom Rolls Out Shop by Text Program

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Nordstrom is going all-in on texting as a mode of shopper engagement. The company established texting with personal shoppers last year, rolled out curbside pickup via text earlier this month, and now Nordstrom customers can shop and make purchases on their phone simply by texting "buy" to the company's salespeople.

The initiative, called TextStyle, relies on Next, a secure, private program that the Nordstrom personal shoppers use to communicate with their clients, so customers who want to opt in on TextStyle have to sign up for a Next texting account. Once that's out of the way, Nordstrom salespeople and customers can text images of products back and forth. If customers see something they like, they can text "buy" (along with a unique code) to the salesperson and the transaction will be handled with the information in the customer's Nordstrom.com account.

"TextStyle is an important step forward in our continued efforts to develop ways to serve customers on their terms," Jamie Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom stores, said in a statement. "For customers who prefer text messaging, TextStyle is a way for our salespeople to provide a personalized styling experience and for customers to view and buy seamlessly with the convenience and simplicity of a text message, wherever and whenever they like."