AMAZON EXPERIENCE STORE
Visual Merchandising
Design Proposal for Amazon Experience Store
CONCEPT & IDEATION
A 1,60,000 sq.ft. store spread over 2 floors.
The main objective behind launching the Amazon Experience store is to sustain and maintain the existing target audience; increase customer loyalty and also to enter into new markets that have not yet been touched via the online platform. Online shopping is the “it-thing” of this era, trending among the age group from 17 to 35-40 on an average, who are categorized as technophiles. The age group beyond late-thirties has not yet developed a comfort level with e-retail for two reasons mainly -
1. Intangibility of products.
2. Not being tech-savvy.
The main objective behind launching the Amazon Experience store is to sustain and maintain the existing target audience; increase customer loyalty and also to enter into new markets that have not yet been touched via the online platform. Online shopping is the “it-thing” of this era, trending among the age group from 17 to 35-40 on an average, who are categorized as technophiles. The age group beyond late-thirties has not yet developed a comfort level with e-retail for two reasons mainly -
1. Intangibility of products.
2. Not being tech-savvy.
There is therefore, a need to have a physical Brick-and-Mortar store which will enable consumers/potential consumers to actually see, touch, feel and most of all, experience the wide array of products and services that are being provided to them on the online portal. Having a physical store can assure and reassure your customer about your quality and good service and also it has high recall value.
The key concept that revolves around the Amazon Experience store is that it is not like just another traditional retail store, where customers walk in, browse through the merchandise and make the purchase decision. An Experience store is a space, that not only lets you touch and feel the merchandise, but also enables you to get the overall experience of the products you wish to purchase or aspire to. This helps drive shopper engagement and battles the impersonal environment that is created via e-commerce. This gives a platform for the scenario to be intricate, yet simple. The consumer experience is built around something bigger than the product. The store has several experience activities, rather than serving as a regular large format retail store.
Based on online statistics, the product categories to be included have been prioritized. There are not many racks and shelves, no cash registers, no dangling price tags. There will be small spaces inside the store that would display the merchandise in their real-life setting. Cross-merchandising strategy will be put to good use, where complementary products would be placed alongside each other. This would enable the audience to reap maximum benefit of their visit to the Amazon Experience store.
Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence have been put to good use, to ease the consumer’s flow throughout the store and also get guidance in navigation. The customer would also be given the option of being directly navigated to the section they are looking for on the map on their phones, instead of loitering through the store to find what they’re looking for. The whole store is driven by Alexa technology and LED screens are also installed throughout the store, which would offer a more extensive catalogue to the customers.
Small homey spaces, dedicated to different categories (including categories that complement each other) — a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, playing area etc. will be created with the most popular and highly rated products available in the online Amazon store and also showcase their working.
For instance, a space, on the same grounds of a living/drawing room of a home is created in-store . With this one setting, we have managed to include a wide array of categories - Electronics (LCD/LED, Home theater, Alexa, Amazon Fire TV stick, Kindle, Projectors), Home appliances (heating & cooling appliances according to the weather, air purifiers etc.), Furniture (sofas, recliners, TV units, side tables, nesting tables, wall shelves etc.), Home decor and Lighting. Customers can kick back on a couch, watch TV and listen to music. With this setting, one could also gain insight into the booming Amazon Prime subscription and how it can be configured to your television. If the customer wishes to view merchandise other than what is displayed, they can browse through the catalogue of the desired category on LED touch screens that have been installed in-store. There will also be a mention of the ratings and facebook likes a particular product has - this in turn helps push sales.
Similarly, a section is given to the Sports and Fitness category where people can actually get their hands on the equipment and perform the sport on the simulated area.
In addition to this, for the Fashion (clothing, accessories, footwear) section, there are smart mirrors installed in the trial rooms which lets you browse through the vast product catalogue, for if the customer wants to virtually try on a product that is not available in the store, but is online.
With the help of AI and VR, there is a feature of a virtual stylist that scans any merchandise that you are wearing, asks you to select the occassion and then suggests accessories, footwear and make up that would complement it, clubbing the Clothing, Acessories and Beauty categories together. The Beauty section would also have a selfie capture halo camera that takes selfies under “vanity lighting”, and later lets the customer save and share the image.
Our main objective is for the real world and the online to converge to create a modern shopping experience. Facebook likes / user ratings are displayed on small screens embedded in articles’ hangers, as approval from the online community encourages and fastens one’s buying decision.
Similarly, various other categories complementing each other can be clubbed together to form small spaces in the store to give our customers a one of a kind experience.
If and when a customer likes a product, he/she can scan the QR code of the product and choose whether to add it to their wishlist or into their virtual carts. In case a user has any technical difficulties, they can be assisted by the customer executives present at the store, who can guide them step by step on how to purchase things online on their fingertips. Hands-on demonstration is key for an experience store.
In order to cater to all age groups and also to ease the flow through the large store, we have installed walkalators and escalators. Customer service and after sales services are also available on the first floor.
There is typography on the walls with quotes, mission statement and narratives describing Amazon’s journey from when it started. This helps give the customers a breather from browsing through the diverse range of products and also helps build a connection between the brand and the customer, creating immersive shopping experiences.
