Objective: O2 challenged us by asking ‘with the rise of e-commerce, why would anyone visit a mobile phone store any more?’
Solution: We had to reimagine the entire customer experience. We looked at the brand positioning, customer journey and service design from every angle. We retrained the formerly pushy sales staff and took the cold corporate look out. We now wanted this to be a place for customers to have a great and relaxed experience, no longer a cold and intimidating store with complicated contracts and pressure to buy. We replaced the stark and empty windows with engaging, interactive displays that would showcase strategic brand partnerships relevant to their target demographic (Star Wars and Fitbit among them) These partnerships were supported inside by flexible and dynamic ‘inspire’ zones that would completely change to reflect the monthly campaign. Illustrated city skylines ran the length of the stores, containing animated, projection mapped characters that promoted offers, brand benefits and O2 social media feeds. Small scale projections displayed onto large central wooden tables, encouraged users to sit, play and discover. Past the inspire zones were Interactive areas, where customers accessed deeper insights into the monthly campaigns (e.g. talks with ex-olympians in association with Fitbit or life sized Star Wars packaging for customers to climb inside) generating high social media engagement and completely shifting the brand perception. https://www.o2.co.uk/shop
Results: These stores had a 96% approval rating on exit polls, which is a first for the O2 brand and the highest number of positive social media impressions they have ever received. This store format is now being rolled out for all flagship locations.
