Retailers Innovate Digital In-Store Experience

Many retailers, including Nordstrom, Sephora, Sears and Home Depot, are developing the next wave of customer-centric retail design through the use of innovation labs.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, these labs allow digital teams, merchandisers, engineers and marketers to brainstorm and test new ideas and technologies that will make brick-and-mortar stores more digital, interactive, intuitive and personalized for customers.

For example, Walmart (Bentonville, Ark.) found that 65 percent of its customers have smartphones, and about half of those use their mobile devices while shopping in-store or prior preparation for a trip to the store.

In response to the data, the company used its WalmartLabs to develop a mobile app to facilitate those shopping visits. It also integrated geo-fencing into the app so that when customers open the app in-store, they can get coupons and product information as they shop.