3 September 2020
Experience over buying
The consumers have no doubt. They no longer just want to visit a shop but are attracted by the very special shopping experience which creates extra value and Insta moments. It is therefore an advantage for today's retailers to rethink the physical shop and make it an experience destination which the customers simply have to visit!
Create a destination with an online touch
At the world’s largest retail conference ‘NRF Retail’s BIG Show’ in New York, one of the hottest trends was 'Experimental commerce’ which comprises the fact that consumers today want experiences, selfie moments and extra value when they shop and not just a transaction of a product taken to the cash register. In short, for the consumers it is very much a question of ‘experience over buying’. This makes new demands on today’s retailers who will benefit from transforming their physical shops from a traditional exhibition room with lots of products to a ‘playground’ with selected products which are part of the experience and staged so they are easy for the customers to interact with. The customers want to try the products and 'play' and for the right experience they are willing to spend several hours with their friends. With extra focus on the unique experience, the role of the shop staff changes into a function as the good host or hostess who makes sure that everybody is having a good time and they will only assist if the need arises.
For you e-commerce companies with physical shops, it provides a unique opportunity to be able to offer the customers something special and different in the shop and this helps drawing them even closer to your brand. And by giving the experience the pride of place and having a limited number of physical products in the shop, the webshop via mobile POS in the shop will come naturally into play allowing the shop and the webshop to supplement each other even more.
Try and try some more
’Try and try some more’ is one of the five ‘house rules’ in Chanel’s The Atelier Beauté Chanel in New York which has certainly created a unique shopping experience for its customers. The Atelier is a true beauty wonderland for people who take an interest in makeup and via the different beauty stations ‘Cleanse’, ‘Care’ and ‘Enhance’, it is possible for the customers to try out and test all of their high-end makeup products.
The Atelier is elegantly designed with the many product testers temptingly arranged and easy to try out for the customers who are also invited to have a good time and stay as long as they like. Chanel’s makeup artists stay in the background but are of course ready to help or answer questions from the customers.
At the back of the Atelier is The Parfum Atelier, a small and exclusive perfume lab where the customers can learn more about their own scent and find the fragrance which is a perfect match for them. The Parfum Lab requires a time reservation, however, it is possible to book a 'happy hour' with the girlfriends and share a very special experience.
Visitors in The Atelier can benefit from using the mobile since Chanel’s app provides the customers with all the product information they need and it also allows them to store products and add to the shopping cart so the favourite products can easily find their way home to the makeup shelf. Obviously, Chanel also makes it possible for the customers to buy the products right away. This only requires a few crosses on an order form and the products will be wrapped elegantly and delivered by Chanel’s makeup artists.
Chanel's house rules
Do it yourself – We´re here if you need us, but you should navigate the Atelier on your own.
Keep it clean – We take hygiene seriously. Don´t forget to clean up as you go.
Try and try some more – beauty is a journey of trial and triumph. Feel safe to make a mistake or two.
Take only your phone – our digital tool will give you all the info you need.
Enjoy your time here – stay as long as you like and come back as often as you wish.
Camp, The Family Experience Store
With its flagship store in the centre of New York, the toy store Camp goes all in on merchandise, magic and play – all wrapped in an impressive experience destination where the concept from the American summer camps is the main theme. At first sight, the Camp looks like a traditional toy store with products and a small coffee shop but behind one of the shelves, which is actually a secret door, children and parents leave New York for a while and enter the magical Camp world. Here a true fairyland unfolds with camp huts in various themes, a visit to the Camp Lake where the children can step on the bathing jetty to the imaginary lake and make music when they step on the boards of the jetty and the Camp Theatre where the children can participate in all kinds of activities. In other words, the Camp creates a unique place for children and not least their parents who only have to discover their inner child and sign the children up for some of the many activities such as play with modelling wax and pearls during the day.
The magical Camp universe even changes 3-4 times a year making the children even more tempted to announce “I want to go back to camp!” to have yet another unique experience. Obviously, the Camp has made sure that all the merchandise, which the individual activities and areas are built around, are available to buy.
We take the work out of dressing for work
For many of New York’s business women, the designer label M.M. LaFleur’s exclusive showroom is one of their favourite go-to shopping destinations. M.M. LaFleur knows that today’s business women have better things to spend their time on than to frequent several clothing stores in the hunt for the perfect wardrobe so its mission is ’to take the work out of dressing for work’. And this is exactly what they do in the show room where a few products on display show the women how to combine their clothes and how to wear it in different business scenarios.
In M.M. LaFleur it is also possible to book a 1:1 session with a stylist who based on the customer’s requests and previous orders and styling history can combine outfits which match perfectly to the customer’s needs. It all takes place in elegant surroundings and the first outfits are already hanging in the fitting room, the champagne is chilled and the stylist is ready with personal tips. The wanted outfits are bought online in the store and are sent carriage free to the customer's office or private address.
”Never cry over spilled coffee, we got you”
M.M. LaFleur also accommodates the business women’s more urgent needs with its pop-up concept store M.M. TO GO which is located centrally in Manhattan’s financial district. Here you can pop in and be styled if you need to have your outfit smartened for a sudden business meeting or if you get caught in an unexpected heavy shower on your way to work or you cannot get home before cocktails with the girlfriends and you need a dress. The pop-up store offers M.M. LaFleur’s most popular products which can be bought directly from the shop and thereby solve suddenly occurred clothing needs – large as well as small.
Are you interested in hearing more about how you can create a very unique experience destination which your customers simply have to visit?
Please call our Business Development Manager, Ditte Tvede Arentoft, at
+45 20 47 24 44 or write to diar@hesehus.dk
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