Commercial Integrator March 2023 - 58

MARKETS: RETAIL
Turning Retail Stores into Experience Centers
Integrators are helping bring tech and personalization to the forefront of the shopping experience.
By Alyssa Borelli
WITH SHOPPING SHIFTING more
online during the pandemic, retailers with
physical storefronts are now confronting a
difficult challenge - namely, how to stay
in front of customers and attract them into
physical stores once again. Integrators can
help by bringing technology and personalization
to the forefront of the in-person
shopping experience. As a result, companies
no longer see technology as a " nice to
have " or as a simple differentiator; instead,
retailers see technology a way to compete
for and win customer loyalty.
The savviest retailers are acutely aware
of the fact that, these days, shoppers must
have a reason to leave their homes and go
to a physical store. This has changed the
face of retail, with businesses now looking
to deliver value-added experiences - even
entertainment. The added value could be
getting a product immediately, getting
help understanding a product or receiving
assistance to find a product to meet the
buyer's needs. The cherry on top, according
to Scott Schoeneberger, managing
partner at Wixom, Mich.-based integration
firm Bluewater, is when the retailer adds in
an entertainment factor. That, he says, will
get people out and about again.
Indeed, retail stores are now becoming
entertainment spaces, offering a combination
of sensorial storytelling experiences.
Immersive lighting, audio systems and
video technologies, such as projection
mapping, come together to tell a story.
On the topic of lighting, retail spaces
have historically been notorious for using
fluorescent lighting that added little to
the shopping experience. Now, however,
retailers are shifting more toward ambient
mood lighting or colors, opening up the
opportunity to change from all white to different
colors. Static prints that once hung
on the wall have been replaced with large
canvases for projected images.
" [Projection mapping] is a novel way to
58
Retail stores are now becoming
entertainment spaces, offering a
combination of value-added and
sensorial storytelling experiences.
draw people's attention, " Schoeneberger
declares, calling it out of the ordinary for
day-to-day shoppers. " It will cause most
people to stop, look and go, 'Oh my god!
What is that? That's amazing!' "
Is Content Still King?
Digital signage is a fantastic tool for retail
environments, Schoeneberger says. However,
he laments, it's rare to see what he
considers a good non-experiential digital
signage deployment in those spaces.
Sometimes, the content is not compelling
enough for people to stop and take notice,
he mentions. Playlists can be too long or
too short. It invites the question of whether
content is still king when it comes to signage
applications.
Daniel Black, CEO and founder of
Dallas-based visual-storytelling specialist
Glass-Media, rejects that notion. " I think it's
more of a holistic picture, " he says, citing
as an example the ability to project onto a
mannequin. " I can change the color of a
mannequin's clothes between red, white,
yellow and blue, " he explains. " And almost
100% of people walking by the window
Commercial Integrator MARCH 2023
would be looking at that mannequin. The
playlist, or the content, is just switching the
colors. It's nothing special. " At GlassMedia,
Black and his team are specifically
focused on blending content with physical
products to tell a compelling story.
Digital Storefronts
If integrators want to leverage the power of
the retail category, they must be able to tell
a unique and compelling brand story right
at the storefront, Black opines. Projection
screens or digital displays in the storefront
window can even be used to bridge the
gap between online and physical commerce.
One example might be a brick-andmortar
DSW location whose storefront has
digital displays promoting a Black Friday
sale across platforms. " Being able to leverage
that omni-channel approach and connect
the storefront to the website or mobile
is really important, " Black says, adding that
it makes the experience more relevant.
Speaking of storefronts, vinyl window
graphics are certainly going out of style,
with many retailers prioritizing sustainable,
easy-to-update signage. Plus, as Black
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