Visual Vanguards, Part III

FIRST PLACE
In-Store Home Goods Presentation
“Love Where You Live”
VIVID Homes by B&Q, Shanghai
Submitted by: Fitch, Singapore

In China, “hands-on culture is viewed as low-status and is actively avoided,” according to Executive Creative Director APAC Darren Watson, of design firm Fitch’s Singapore branch.

And with the country’s current DIY sector struggling, B&Q decided to transition from DIY retail into the renovation market, and adopted a “Do-it-With-Me” approach that appealed more to local culture.

Through a mix of tech and human interaction, shoppers are guided through a series of zones: In the “Collect” zone, they pick out designs and save them to an online mood board. In the “See” zone, shoppers view their ideas on a 3-D screen with cost estimates. In the “Play and Plan” area, consumers design their home “layer by layer” and customize choices. “Try it On For Size” allows them to discuss decisions with a Vivid “Coach.” In “Premiere Your Home,” shoppers experience a 4-D simulation of the space they’ve created. Finally, in the “Make it Happen” zone, the project is budgeted and scheduled. Home goods, finishes and decor are merchandised categorically throughout the zones.

“You can go back [and forth] and see options,” said Brent Hodge, merchandising and retail experience director, Bromwell’s (Cincinnati), a competition judge. “It feels very intuitive.”

Read more about the 21st annual Visual Competition winners featured in VMSD's July 2015 issue by clicking here, and be sure to check vmsd.com throughout the month of July for parts IV-VII of this Visual Competition coverage.

Click here to read about the Best in Show winner.