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Veronica Simpson reports on the flood of technology that is now in, or on its way, into our stores

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Words by Veronica Simpson

The digital retail revolution is truly under way. Though high-street stores may look much the same, there's a seismic shift in the way retailers talk to and motivate their customers rumbling under the surface that will drive even greater differentiation and fragmentation in the physical retail market.

The speed of consumers' switch from physical to virtual retail has recently surpassed industry expectations: estimates now put online retail at 21 per cent of the total retail market - and that's just in the UK. This pattern is being replicated all over Europe and magnified in the USA and parts of affluent South East Asia.

The massive uptake of smartphones is also driving this trend: at the start of 2014, retail consultancy IMRG Capgemini declared 2013 the 'year of the mobile', with the UK's online sales through mobile devices (including tablets) up 138 per cent year on year.

The increasing importance of social media has also had a dramatic impact on retailers and their below -the-line marketing. For example, Sainsbury's has ditched celebrity chefs and is using food bloggers to push its promotional message, including 'blogger on a budget', Jack Monroe. Heston Blumenthal is spearheading Waitrose's online presence, hosting live TV events streamed to Waitrose website users via YouTube. As a result of its canny social media marketing, Waitrose-owner John Lewis estimates that 30 per cent of its sales are now online; it even has a new in-house 'retail lab' of tech-savvy marketers pushing the retail connectivity envelope. As a result, over the Christmas 2013 period it introduced Google Streetview into its Oxford Street store (the first department store in the world to be fully mapped in this way), with more than 500 panoramas allowing customers to navigate the store; and it trialled transactional 'tablets' that provided sales staff with additional product information and reviews, and enabled customers to bypass the tills and make their purchases directly with the attending staff member, Apple-store style.

Customer connectivity in high-street retail is about to take a quantum leap, says Chris Sanderson, a founder and director of The Future Laboratory, a trend-forecasting agency working with some of the biggest names in retail. He says: 'I think we are about to see the foot being put on the accelerator. We are beginning to see the technology that has been developed in the past 10 years coming into its own.' In the future, we can look forward to 'the retailer knowing who the consumer is as soon as they walk in the door' and directing them to special offers and areas of known interest. The future, says Sanderson, is about retailers 'using choice architecture to push [consumers] towards what we want them to buy.'

The interior of the Ted Baker store in Glasgow follows the theme of 'great Scots'

With his immaculate on-trend beard and head-to-toe black garb Sanderson suits the role of high priest of digital connectivity. But he would be the first to agree there's been something of a hiatus in the move towards digitally enhanced physical retail. He points out that as far back as 2001, Prada hit the headlines with its New York store, designed by Rem Koolhaas and his Rotterdam-based practice OMA. It was intended as a store unlike any other, with plasma screens hung between clothes rails, steps to be used for displaying shoes or as seating for film screenings, while interactive monitors in changing rooms allowed customers to video and review themselves from every angle before purchasing.

Nothing like it appeared until 2012 when both Alexander McQueen (with McQ) and Burberry launched new London flagship stores with interactive mirrors in the changing rooms that allowed customers to view themselves from several angles and also send images to their friends online for instant feedback. Burberry also introduced RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology in the price tags that interact with the 'magic mirrors' to show films of how items were made, along with relevant catwalk footage, while McQ featured an interactive table where you could search, watch and share past McQ shows and control the video wall in the store's entrance.

The difference that decade makes is, it turns out, all about pixels and long-distance connections. The old technology just wasn't high-definition or reliable enough to be widely appealing, according to Kevin Palmer at KIN design - one of the leading UK interactive design practices. He says: 'A lot of retailers have been wary of this field, because of the day-today reliability and management of it. Just like in museums, there's nothing more frustrating than when the interactive experiences don't work.

But it's even more of a negative reflection on retail brands [than it is on museums]. Everyone is accustomed to iPhones and iPads now. They work so well. People naturally come up to a big touch screen and expect it to be able to pinch and zoom and multi-gesture. And if it doesn't, as far as they're concerned, it's broken.'

The Adidas Home Court Arena, in Beijing, where the customer can activate a program giving details of the construction and materials of the brand's products

Customer behaviour has been as much of an issue as the technology's reliability, says Palmer, who worked on interactive design at Fitch and Imagination before setting up Kin. He says: 'I remember in the very early days it was almost impossible to get people to touch a large screen. They were fine with an ATM-size screen (14in or 17in), but getting people to touch a large screen wasn't on. They're not going to make a fool of themselves in the middle of a busy room with everyone watching.' The big challenge for interaction designers has been to provide 'a level of play and excitement - and privacy - so that people don't feel inhibited but like it's just fun.'

The most popular solution to this dilemma is currently the interactive table, like McQ's, though Kin went one better when it designed one for Selfridges' Denim Studio, working with HMKM. It's like a large iPad, which allows users to interact, browse various denim-related content, select, swipe and flick images on to a large screen that sits adjacent to it.

Says Palmer: 'A screen on a flat plane with a large screen nearby feels like it's something to be shared. What's great is that when a screen is on a horizontal plane, it gives you that level of privacy because nobody from a distance can see what you're doing.' This gives customers time to experiment and decide what they might like to share, before they do so on the big screen.

Remote monitoring of the technology facilitates faster and more accurate support - something Kin offers for Selfridges as well as client Ted Baker in Glasgow and New York. Says Palmer: 'From my laptop and phone I can look at those machines and see what's happening. If needs be I can fix them remotely. I've had people on the support line from New York at 3am and we can deal with that.'

Consequently, the Denim Studio table has 'restored Selfridges' faith in digital', says Palmer, both in terms of its robustness but also as a sales tool. He says: 'It works on two levels - it's there as a piece of "wow" eye candy. On that level, it's just another form of brand communication. On the more serious side it's actually a great selling tool. Staff are using it a lot: for example, with the denim finder you can scroll through all 350 types of jeans [on sale in the store], drag and drop for the customer and create a wish list of the jeans they like. Coupled with their personal knowledge the staff can look at the customer and say, for example, you'd look great in boot cut or high waist. Then they can suggest: "Have a coconut water, sit at the bar, I'll go and get you those jeans." Then they also have that information saved to the customer profile for later. It's that personal touch that Selfridges do so well, being enhanced or augmented by the technology.' It also opens the pathways for bespoke communication between retailer and customer beyond the confines of the store.

That idea of customers having a relationship with online and retail outlets - on a kind of multi-platform continuum, rather than as a choice between one or another - is gaining traction and in turn driving innovative new models. Sanderson cites one of his favourite technology-driven stores: Sneaker Boy, with outlets in Melbourne and Sydney. 'Sales are online only. The retail store is just a showroom.' But what a showroom.

'You've got a collection of the world's most amazing sneakers all in the same room,' says Sanderson. 'The owner has looked at the whole retail model and realised he doesn't need any stock. All stock is centralised and delivered within 48 hours. More and more of us are prepared to wait because we are used to waiting at least 48 hours for stuff.'

But not every retailer will want to engage in the same way with the technological possibilities on offer, according to Christian Papa, director at HMKM - creator of flagship interiors for Nike as well as designer of choice for many of the world's leading department stores, including Selfridges. He says: 'I think technology is a great enabler for giving the customer in-depth product information and additional services. Some customers would prefer to get this information from a sales assistant and others will be very happy to immerse themselves in the available technology, so ultimately it's about giving that customer the choice to engage.'

Does he see technological gadgetry ever wiping out good old-fashioned, personal customer-service? 'No, there will be both. Depending on the brand, some will greatly amplify the technological aspect within their physical environments with others continuing with the interesting lo-fi approach. Success will depend on the technology's relevance to that particular brand rather than brands trying to be something they are not - the customer will see straight through this.'

Case Study

Ted Baker
Glasgow

The Ted Baker brand was launched in Glasgow by Ray Kelvin, who opened a shirt store there in 1988. The brand now has 316 global outlets (180 in the UK), so it's no surprise that Kelvin has a soft spot for the Scots: hence the choice of Glasgow as the home to his most digitally innovative flagship in Princes Street. The store's theme is about paying homage to 'Great Scots and their world firsts', and interiors in this listed building are inspired by the shapes, colours and patterns used by Glasgow's architectural pioneers. The ceiling features cut-outs filled with elements of the city's coat of arms.

An 'electronic museum' on the walls references Scottish inventors. Fitting rooms, adorned with monochrome images of Scottish architecture, have mirrors on either side of the doors, which are meant to work like a kaleidoscope (referencing Scot kaleidoscope inventor Sir David Brewster). But customers who have helped build this brand get a look-in too - with their own interactive 'great Scot' portraits on the shop's exterior.

The interior of the Ted Baker store in Glasgow follows the theme of 'great Scots'

Kevin Palmer, director of Kin Design who created the interactives, says: 'Before launch, the shop window was covered in promotional vinyl stickers to block out what was happening inside. We had an aperture cut in the vinyl and put three screens behind it. One was interactive and linked to a live camera pointing out to the street so people could see themselves walking past the shop window. It was a great icebreaker.'

The middle screen showed the gallery page of animations as they were created while the other screen showed TB promotional footage.

The interior of the Ted Baker store in Glasgow follows the theme of 'great Scots'.

The interactives were a huge hit, says Palmer. 'It's all about bringing the customer on board.' After the store opened, the interactive screen was moved to by the fitting rooms so that customers can record animations of themselves in head-to-toe Ted Baker and send them out to their pals on their social networks.

Client Ted Baker
Interactive design Kin Designs
Interior design Ted Baker's in-house Design team
Area 248 sq m
Opened March 2014

 

Case Study

Adidas Home Court Arena
Beijing

Start JG (and its former incarnation retail designer Judge Gill) has been working with Adidas for several years, developing interactive technology to enhance the Adidas shopper's experience. The latest invention, Home Court Arena, is the central concept within its new retail design scheme, placing the focus firmly on footwear. A pilot scheme in Beijing opened in January 2014, with three interactive tables placed horizontally into a curving, wood-laminate customer interaction bar at the heart of the Beijing store. The Home Court Arena programme allows customers to interrogate their decisions, to help them find the perfect shoe or simply explore the options, via filters not based just on preferred sport but also their goals and motivations.

Creative director (user experience design) Joey Scully talks of a 'cascade' of choices that the user is able to make, which result in a far more bespoke selection process as well as providing far greater in-depth detail about shoe technology. Says Scully: 'It's about helping them to articulate their need states.' The technology also allows users to create shortlists of desired products that can then be stored for future reference - or sent directly to the consumer, via approved social media.

The Adidas Home Court Arena, in Beijing, where the customer can activate a program giving details of the construction and materials of the brand's products

There is also an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) facility which, when a chosen shoe is placed against the screen, activates a menu of technical information about the shoe, its materials and construction. But interaction is not just aimed at the customer's knowledge enrichment. There are three tiers to the Home Court digital experience - one is geared towards the consumer, the second is for staff training, and the third is for staff control of the display media in the store,' says Scully. LED screens along the front of the cash desk and interaction desk can be programed from the Home Court Arena pads to shift in mood and content as the customer demographics evolve through the day.

Beijing's pilot was followed by Harrods and Bluewater with others going out around the world.

Client Adidas
Retail and interaction design StartJG
Opened January 2014

 

Case Study

Selfridges Fragrance lab
London

For six weeks last summer, curious fragrance-fans could enter the Alice in Wonderland experience of the Fragrance Lab in Selfridges, be propelled via headphone concierge up metal stairs into darkened rooms, sniff strange (and even downright repulsive) scents in mysterious wooden cabinets, lie prostrate in front of a low white table while the scent of the sea was wafted to your nostrils from a fan, and then be informed by a lab-coated assistant that the fragrance they were about to give you had been specially formulated to provide 'the essence of you'.

The Fragrance Lab was commissioned by Selfridges and created in partnership with The Future Laboratory and retail designer Campaign - which previously collaborated on the bespoke Sweet Shoppe experience for the London Design Festival in 2011. This one is a more elaborate presentation, apparently three years in the making: the consumer's interaction with the space apparently indicates personal preferences and informs the selection of the final product - one of 'dozens' of possible scents, created by Paris fragrance house Givaudan - though a five-minute verbal and visual questionnaire completed by the participant at the start of the experience undoubtedly plays a key part in the selection.

The elaborate Fragrance Lab, in Selfridges

New methods of choice architecture and customer segmentation (the actual science behind which remains confidential) have informed this immersive experience. Each of the room sets represents a mindset, interspersed with small white lobbies where the customer is instructed to clear their heads and palates, breathing in the scent of fresh coffee beans arranged along the wall in a row of Bunsen-burner- style tubes.

As a temporary installation, no physical changes have been wrought on the Selfridges spaces, so the key shifts in mood in each of the slightly surreal spaces are achieved with lighting, materials and - unsurprisingly - scent. At £65, it's clearly not aimed at the impulse shopper.

But The Future Laboratory and Campaign hope the technology and concept might form a basis for future iterations around other product categories.

I'd suggest they tweak their model to ensure that the product resulting from all this technological interaction is actually one the customer wants - the 'essence of me' as delivered in my own personal bottle of scent smelled like a mixture of skunk spray and room freshener.

Client Selfridges and Givaudan
Concept and interior design The Future Laboratory working with Campaign

 

Case Study

New generation Apple Store
Palo alto, California

A light-filled glass pavilion is the latest incarnation of Apple's retail persona in Palo Alto's Stanford Shopping Centre. Enclosed on three sides by a sheer glass wall, this single-storey shop appears to spill into the adjacent piazza, creating long vistas on to the maple tables strewn with Apple's latest must-haves. With 55 linear metres of storefront and three entrances, the store shines out like a giant, highly accessible beacon.

Apple is already the most successful retail store in the USA (making an estimated $4,542 per square foot) so architecture practice Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has not messed with the formula too much.

But there is a clear delineation between the sales and service areas, with a stone wall sealing off the back training and service section. A long Genius Bar in the centre allows 360 degree access for customers and staff.

Accessory shelves line three walls, with tables and counters for training and product set-up, and there are two 'kids' tables. The idea is to create a place of 'gathering and learning', a celebration of Apple 'community' in this calm and toplit atmosphere.

The technology, of course, is all in the seamless way that sales staff order and complete product purchases from hand-held devices, as well as in an interactive wall of screens along the back of the sales area.

Client Apple
Architect Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Cost N/A
Opened September 2013