After disrupting the retail industry with online commerce, the digital world is now attending to the more analog side of retail: brick and mortar stores. Retailers are rushing to bring real-world versions of online features into their physical retail spaces. With this scenario in mind, we launched an internal study bringing together guerrilla ethnography and the latest technology to improve the in-store customer experience. 

 

In order to have a complete understanding of how customers value the retail experience we went out in the field and talked directly to them. For the purpose of the study we focused our attention on cultural product / media stores, libraries and coffee shops. We observed and talked to people about their consumption of cultural / media products, and learned about their problems and aspirations. We asked them to describe their decision making process and how recommendations and social media can influence those processes. Thanks to this field immersion we were able to challenge our assumptions and together brainstorm on key insights to lead the creative process.

We have built two prototypes to enhance the shopping experience and better leverage recommendations based on user preferences and shopping history. The first is a mobile application that uses information beacons to identify and locate specific items that are recommended for the customer in the store. The second is a kiosk that can be used by shoppers to browse the product catalogue, including ratings and reviews from product owners, related products and special offers. In addition, members of the store’s loyalty program can access personal recommendations by scanning their membership card.