Tag: brick and mortar

Amazon Plans More Brick-And-Mortar Stores To Sell Electronics And Furniture

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
As reported by the New York Times, Amazon is “exploring” the possibility of opening more tech-powered brick-and-mortar stores to sell furniture, home appliances, and consumer electronics. Augmented reality-powered tools will be installed in the furniture store for a virtual preview, whereas the planned electronics store that would be similar to the concept of Apple Store, but with a “heavy emphasis” on hardware and services like Echo speakers and Prime Video.

Amazon has already opened five physical bookstores across the country, with more planned to open later this year, including one in Manhattan. In addition, the ecommerce giant is also nearing the opening of its cashier-less grocery store concept of Amazon Go.

What Brands Need To Do
Make no mistake, Amazon is determined to make major inroads into the brick-and-mortar retail market after dominating the ecommerce market for years, and it has all the customer data and retail technologies to back it up. This imminent grand entry should sound the alarm for all retailers and CPG brands who rely on traditional retail distributions, who should have started preparing to compete with Amazon in the offline world yesterday. Walmart, for example, announced the launch of a tech incubator focused on virtual reality and artificial intelligence to boost its retail smarts. More retailers need to start equipping themselves with new technologies in order to deliver a digitally enhanced retail experience and fight off Amazon’s advances.

Source: New York Times

JCPenney & Nordstrom Embrace In-store Pop-ups

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
In what is shaping up to be a hot trend in physical retail, pop-up store-within-a-store is gaining traction among some big-name retailers. Earlier this week, JCPenney announced its plan to let Nike set up shops in over 600 stores locations across the country. The in-store Nike shops will be prominently placed within the stores’ men’s department and feature an extensive assortment of apparel and accessories. This is the second national retail partnership JCPenney has arranged, following its decision to add cosmetics retailer Sephora to more than 500 locations in 2015.

Similarly, fashion retailer Nordstrom is embracing the “pop-in” concept with a three-part collaboration series with South Korean fashion and beauty brands. The series, titled KPOP-In@Nordstrom, kicked off in January with a partnership with Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster, which has set up a makeup station area in select Nordstrom locations.  Previously, Nordstrom has partnered with fashion brands such as Topshop, Madewell, New Classics, Warby Parker, and Bow & Drape for similar pop-up initiatives.

What Retailers Need To Do
One obvious reason why such partnerships are gaining momentum is that, challenged by the fierce competition of the fast-growing online retailers, big-box retailers are starting to reconsider their retail strategy and becoming more open to invite outsider brands to deliver an in-store customer experience that hopefully will drive foot traffic.

Besides, brick-and-mortar retailers are also retooling their stores to become more experience-focused, and bringing in new brands to set up temporary shops is a cost-efficient way to refresh the in-store experience and keep shoppers interested. For example, the new Nike flagship store in downtown Manhattan is designed to let customers try on different products in common workout scenarios such as playing basketball or jogging. For retailers, these examples of experiential retail should serve as inspirations to figure out how to craft an engaging in-store experience that attracts shoppers.

How We Can Help
To that point, brick-and-mortar retailers can also benefit greatly by leveraging the digital technologies available to deliver a unique in-store experience. The Lab has extensive experience working with retail, beauty, and CPG clients to create and implement digitally-enhanced experiences for their stores. The recently-opened NYX Cosmetics store at Union Square is a proud showcase of our team’s work in crafting a digitally enhanced, innovative retail experience.

If you’d like to learn more about how your brand can develop an updated retail strategy and implement digital-driven retail solutions to transform your in-store experience, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Glossy & Total Retail

 

Birchbox To Open A Physical Store In Paris

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Online beauty retailer Birchbox is set to open its second brick-and-mortar store in Paris, following its first physical store that opened in NYC in 2014. The company plans to deliver a store experience that emulates the “beauty products in a box” subscription service it offers online, allowing customers to personalize their own box of sample-sized products from the store’s shelves or buy full-sized products. Birchbox, founded in 2010, now claims claims one million subscribers across the U.S. and a few European markets.

What Brands Need To Do
This is the latest addition to the ongoing trend where online retailers are branching out into the brick-and-mortar world. A most prominent example in this regard, of course, is Amazon, which has opened several physical bookstores with plans to open more, including one in Manhattan. Besides bookstores, Amazon is also piloting an innovative grocery store concept called Amazon Go that is register-free. After all, physical retail still accounts for nearly 90 percent of all retail transactions. Therefore, it makes sense for an e-retailer like Birchbox to try to recreate their online customer experience in the real world to attract new customers. As shopper behaviors continue to evolve, retailers need to better utilize customer data to connect with shoppers across all sales channels by taking a more personalized approach.

The Lab has extensive experience working with retail and CPG clients to create and implement digitally-enhanced experiences for their stores. Our recent work with NYX Cosmetics incorporated the brand’s social assets into its retail experience and offered an innovative take on in-store sampling with a digital beauty bar powered by tablet apps. If you’d like to learn more about how to modernize your in-store experiences, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: VentureBeat

Amazon Trials Checkout-Free Physical Retail Experience

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon has started testing an innovative take on brick-and-mortar retail with a grocery store dubbed Amazon Go in Seattle that has no cashier or checkout line. Instead, the 1,800-square-foot store is blanketed with motion-capturing cameras and sensors, which allows it to leverage a powerful combination of computer vision and deep machine learning to keep track of the goods on and off the shelves, recognize each visitor, and create a virtual shopping cart on their phone. Once they are done shopping, they can just walk out of the store, confirm their purchases on their phones via automated receipts, and pay with their Amazon accounts. The store is only open to Amazon employees at the moment, but the company says it will be open to the public in early 2017.

What Retailers Should Do
This launch marks a crucial step in Amazon’s ambitious expansion into physical retail after the ecommerce giant tested the water with a few branded bookstores in select cities. More importantly, it unveils Amazon’s inspired vision for the future of retail as it proposes a frictionless, mobile powered shopping experience that eliminates one of the worst parts of grocery shopping – waiting in line for checkout.

While Amazon’s approach may seem a bit radical to some, there is no denying that smartphones are bringing a myriad of new possibilities into creating better in-store experiences. Walgreens, for example, has launched two initiatives aimed at delivering a more personalized shopping experience via its branded mobile app. Other retailers may not have the resources to attempt what Amazon is testing, but they need to take a cue and start leveraging mobile technologies to modernize their retail experiences.

For more information on how retailers can effectively reach connected consumers by taking a mobile-powered, omnichannel approach, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: VentureBeat

Lead image is a screen capture from Amazon’s YouTube Video

Blippar Transforms London’s Covent Garden Into An AR-Enhanced Shopping Destination

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
London-based augmented reality startup Blippar has transformed the city’s popular shopping destination Covent Garden into the site for an AR-enhanced physical retail experience. Partnered with over 140 stores and restaurants in Covent Garden, Blippar created an interactive map of Covent Garden that shoppers can use to navigate the shopping district to unlock various discounts and rewards from retailers, see the tags on select items in-store, and receive contextual fashion and beauty tips from Hearst Magazine’s fashion editors.

In addition to an interactive shopping experience, Blippar will be also hosting AR-powered special holiday events to draw in shoppers. Planned events include a digital hunt to find eight hidden reindeer for a daily prize, an AR Christmas tree and Santa experience that unlocks exclusive rewards, and Blippable stickers on restaurant and shop windows that reveal special offers.

What Brands Should Do
This initiative is a great showcase of the immense potential that AR technologies can transform brick-and-mortar retail. In a similar manner, French department store chain Galeries Lafayette is using mobile-powered AR to create a unique in-store narrative to lure in holiday shoppers. With more and more consumers now shopping with their smartphones, brick-and-mortar retailers need to start exploring ways to use augmented reality to create a next-level shopping experience. Beyond retail, AR can be a great way for customers to envision your products in their lives and to launch interactive digital experiences from signage or product packaging.

The Lab has extensive experience working with retail, beauty, and CPG clients to create and implement digitally-enhanced experiences for their stores. Our recent work with NYX Cosmetics incorporated the brand’s social assets into its in-store experience and offered an innovative take on sampling with a digital beauty bar. Please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) if you’d like to learn more about how to develop a mobile-driven retail strategy that bridges the gap between physical and digital shopping experience.

 

Source: PSFK

Lead image courtesy of promotional images from Blippar

Why Walmart Is Investing $50 Million In A Chinese Grocery Delivery Startup

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Walmart announced on Friday that it is investing $50 million in Chinese online grocery and delivery startup New Dada, a joint venture part-owned by JD.com, Walmart’s strategic ecommerce partner in China. The investment in New Dada, which operates in over 300 Chinese cities and serves 25 million customers, will help Wal-Mart target Chinese shoppers with faster delivery in a highly competitive online grocery market.

What Brands Should Do
Walmart has been leveraging digital tools to modernize its retail experience in order to better compete with its ecommerce rivals. The retail giant rolled out a mobile payment app in the U.S. this summer and partnered with Uber and Lyft for testing on-demand grocery service in Denver and Phoenix. This investment marks a significant step in Walmart’s ecommerce expansion in China so as to better compete with local competitors. Retailers should take a cue from the retail giant and start testing similar on-demand programs to meet the increasing consumer demand for convenience.

To learn more on what retailers can do to reach today’s connected shoppers across sales channels, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Reuters

Retailers At Westfield’s WTC Mall Opt For Mobile-Driven In-Store Experience

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Westfield reopened its mall at the World Trade Center this week, and many participating retailers are embracing mobile-driven strategies to enrich their in-store experience. Some highlights include:

• Cole Haan will equip its sales staff with mobile checkout devices to speed up the process. A courier service will also be available for customers who’d prefer to have their purchases sent straight home or to their hotels.

• Footwear retailer Aldo is prompting shoppers to download the Aldo app, where they can check inventory, request sizes, and read reviews. The app also features “virtual aisles” that display online-only items that may help inform their decisions.

• Under Armour is integrating its Connected Fitness app into its store for the first time, displaying stories collected from app users in-store to entertain and inspire shoppers.

Why Retailers Need To Do
Even though brick-and-mortar retail still commands roughly 90% of consumer purchases, there’s no denying that U.S. shopping malls are in decline, evidenced by a steep drop in foot traffic and Macy’s closing 100 underperforming stores across the country. It’s no secret that physical retailers need to shape up and embrace digital technologies to appeal to today’s customers. With nearly 90% of retail shoppers already using their smartphones in stores, mobile offers a great tool for retailers to engage with customers and improve their in-store experience.

The Lab has extensive experience working with retail, beauty, and CPG clients to create and implement digitally-enhanced experiences for their stores. Our recent work with NYX Cosmetics incorporated the brand’s social assets into its in-store experience and offered an innovative take on sampling with a digital beauty bar. Please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) if you’d like to learn more about how to develop a mobile-driven retail strategy that bridges the gap between physical and digital shopping experience.

 

Source: Glossy

How Brands Like Bandier Are Modernizing The Brick-And-Mortar Retail Experience

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
With physical retail struggling to keep up with the growth of ecommerce, a number of brands have been experimenting with new ways to draw customers to their stores. In New York City, for example, retailers such as Molasses Books and menswear store Community 54 enhanced their in-store experiences with beers and video games, respectively, to engage customers with some added fun and diversify their revenue streams.

Now, Bandier, an upscale activewear boutique, is also taking an experience-based approach for its new flagship store on Fifth Avenue. Besides the regular sales floor, the store also features a lounge space for customers to hang out or attend events the brand occasionally hosts there, as well as a fitness studio upstairs where customers can take yoga, barre, and dance classes for a fee.

What Retailers Need To Do
For all the advantages ecommerce has over brick-and-mortar retailers, physical stores can still provide customers with unique experiences that are irreplicable online. By adding the lounge area and the fitness studio to its retail space, Bandier is effectively turning its store into a destination for like-minded fitness lovers, which is exactly the target audience that the activewear brand is going after. For other retailers, these examples of experiential retail should serve as inspiration to figure out how to craft an engaging in-store experience that attracts shoppers.

The Lab has extensive experience working with retail and CPG clients to create and implement digitally-enhanced experiences for their stores. Our recent work with NYX Cosmetics incorporated the brand’s social assets into its in-store experience and offered an innovative take on in-store sampling with a digital beauty bar powered by tablet apps. If you’d like to learn more about how to modernize your in-store experiences, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Fast Company

Real-Life Pinterest Pins Pop Up In A Brazilian Furniture Store

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Pinterest’s red “Pin It” button enables users to quickly save images or product pages from third-party sites to their collections. Now Tok&Stok, the biggest designer furniture store in Brazil, is bringing a physical version of those iconic pins into its store to add an interactive layer to its in-store experience. Working with a local agency named DM9DDB, Tok&Stok placed a number of Bluetooth-enabled Pins around its store, and when shoppers who install their “PinList” app see something they like, they can simply push the physical Pin to add the corresponding item to their digital collection. You can see how the Pins work in this demo video.

What Retailers Need To Do
This innovative retail installation offers an interesting case of reverse engineering as a brick-and-mortar retailer modeled the physical Pins based on how their digital counterpart works. It points to the new retail reality that most people shop with their phones, which retailers should take advantage of to devise new in-store experience, incorporating digital elements into their physical space to intrigue and engage with customers.

To learn more about what retailers can do to reach today’s connected shoppers with an integrated, omnichannel approach, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdWeek

 

Amazon Plans To Open More Physical Stores

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Three months after Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in Seattle, the ecommerce giant is said to be planning as many as 400 bookstores across the nation, according to Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of mall operator General Growth Properties Inc. Amazon uses the data it acquires from its online properties to stock its Seattle store, and we anticipate a similar approach will be applied to its other stores as the company pushes deeper into physical retail.

What Brands Need To Do
As more and more online retailers venture into physical retail, they gain retail presence and leverage what they have learned about their customers online to enhance their in-store experiences and at the same time develop more personal relationships with their customers which can inform the online experience. Amazon is tapping the location and purchase data it has to bridge the gap between online and offline retail, and all brands with an owned retail presence need to start doing the same in order to develop a holistic CRM system that covers the entire purchase cycle.

For more details on how retailers can utilize all customer touchpoints to improve shopping experiences both online and offline, click here to read the Boundless Retail section in our new Outlook 2016.

Editor’s note: A new report from Re/code now indicates that while Amazon does have plans for more physical stores, including retail stores that aren’t bookstores, it has no immediate plans for opening 300-400 stores.

 

Source: Wall Street Journal
Header image courtesy of Amazon