Samsung aims to help retailers deliver a connected experience to customers, even in temporary ‘pop-up’ stores.
Pop-up stores enable retailers to test out new markets and take advantage of short-term availability of retail space, often in the run-up to busy periods or as a way to maximize exposure around a new product launch.
But what remains, once the pop-up store has been packed up and put away? For smart retailers, the answer is data – and electronics giant Samsung is aiming to help them collect as much of it as possible with its Connected Spaces solution.
Launched National Retail Federation’s BIG Show 2018, taking place this week in New York, Samsung Connected Spaces focuses on kitting out pop-up stores with connected technologies and providing bricks-and-mortar retailers with data collection and analysis capabilities. In this way, according to Samsung executives, retailers can deliver “an enhanced, more intelligent customer experience.”
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What makes a pop-up ‘connected’?
Samsung Connected Spaces should help retailers better understand the customer journey in a pop-up, from the time a customer enters to the purchases that they make before leaving. This comes from collecting data on customer traffic, dwell times and demographics (such as age and gender).
By analysing this for specific times of day or for specific areas in a store, says Samsung, retailers could gain valuable insights that help inform store layouts, product placement, staff scheduling and inventory management.
The company cited research from analyst company Forrester Research that shows that in 2017, almost half (47 percent) of retail decision-makers invested in in-store analytics.
The solution uses Samsung Nexshop software – the company’s cloud-based digital store platform with real-time behavioural sensing – along with IP (Internet Protocol) cameras and Samsung mobile devices. In addition to analysis capabilities, the solution allows shop assistants to interact with shoppers using organized cloud-based content via Samsung tablets or interactive displays.
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Shedding light on darkness
According to Ian Son, senior vice president of the Mobile B2B division oat Samsung Electronics America, it’s about getting “real-time insight” into shoppers’ needs. “Bringing digital best practices to in-store environments enables retailers to shed light on data darkness and create a model for smarter business decisions,” he claimed.
Samsung Connected Spaces is available in collaboration with shopper conversion specialist Barrows, and includes pop-up elements such as ideation, location scouting, logistics and fulfilment.
A ‘retail-as-a-service” approach is said to allow rentals of the technology for set timeframes, organised into small, medium or large configurations, depending on the size of the pop-up space.
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