Touching the future
Monday, 9th April, 2012Interactive retail displays - Bang & Olufsen shopping the way ahead?
We already have B&O Play, Bang & Olufsen’s online shopping site for a few portable audio and video purchases, and after Bang & Olufsen America, Inc. launches its new showroom location in Palm Desert, California, the new El Paseo showroom will be significant in that it will be one of the first Bang & Olufsen showrooms to debut a new, interactive retail display which will highlight the company’s capabilities in home automation and audio/video integration with easy-to-use interactive system capabilities.
President of Bang & Olufsen America, Inc. Zean Nielsen stated: “Synonymous with Bang & Olufsen’s philosophy of providing the ultimate end user experience, we always aim to provide state-of-the-art retail experiences which mirror certain B&O brand values such as impeccable craftsmanship, award-winning design and memorable user interactions. Therefore, we are happy to update the Palm Desert showroom with a new retail store concept that features all the latest B&O product offerings - ranging from our entry level earphones all the way to complete audio and video home integration solutions.”
So what exactly is a interactive retail display and how is it hoped that it will change our shopping habits in the future?
Recent consumer research studies have shown that the power of touch often influences buyers’ purchasing decisions. The Harvard Business Review, Journal of Consumer Research and PSFK Media’s Future of Retail Report all highlighted studies that show customers are more willing to buy products if they have touched and tried them in-store.
“Research into consumer buying patterns shows 67% of consumers are ready to buy after touching and sampling products physically before purchase. Our Perch retail display units open the door to a new era in customer engagement that brings digital media and physical retail space together in the one personal experience” Potion co-founder and product inventor, Jared Schiffman, has stated.
Perch is a compact wall-mounted projection unit which illuminatess a table-top display surface. The innovative technology unit monitors the product display area for hand movements so that as customers pick up or touch product samples, additional digital media content is revealed providing product details, multimedia and enhanced graphics. In addition to product information, every interaction creates a visual cascade which spreads out across the whole table display. This visual display creates a playful, engaging spectacle which encourages other shoppers to pick up and discover the effect that each product creates. It’s an experience shoppers can record, share and recreate with others. Content is customised by each individual retail business and makes use of software templates included in the system. Potion provides detailed content development support for all retail businesses leasing the units. Source
And companies such as Macy’s, HSN, Kraft, Coca-Cola and Adidas are already constructing large, TV-like interactive screens to give consumers experiences such as these in ever-increasing efforts to bring the convenience of online shopping to the offline world. Large in-store touch-screens showcase digital representations of products, including marketing content such as the inspiration behind the design of say, a shoe, size availability and price. It can also link to Twitter feeds related to products being sold to demonstrate just what customers are currently saying.
So, while customers still want to walk in to a store to finalise purchases, new technologies such as interactive screens allow them to have a greater and fuller buying experience whilst seeking out requirements which are more likely to fulfil their purchasing demands.
