Earlier this month, we were thrilled to play a big part in what will surely be the next stop on the train of progressive retail innovation.
Future Shop’s newest incarnation in Burnaby, BC, is smaller than its more conventionally sized predecessors. This 5,000-square-foot marvel (compared to an average big-box size of 27,000 square feet) is special for lots of reasons, not the least of which is its distinction as the first Futureshop.ca-branded store. In its midst, customers can not only make purchases in the traditional manner, but have the option to buy products on line from a number of in-house web-connected kiosks.
In this way, Future Shop acknowledges the evolution of consumers’ shopping habits, and their decided preference for acquiring stuff online. More than that, the novel in-store opportunities for buying products electronically and then having them delivered (either to the store or your home) rescues Future Shop’s own retail landscape from becoming little more than a showroom for Amazon’s wares. Too often, tire kickers venture into the store only to try products out, and then retreat to their home computer — empty handed — to seal the deal with someone else.
With this new model, 10,000 new products find a home in the Future Shop ordering system, with 10,000 more coming on board monthly starting in the new year. The swell of choices also extends to new product lines, with the retailer adding tools, toys, camping gear, luggage, baby goods and even ice-fishing huts to its oeuvre. Fantastic stuff. The sky’s the limit now for a place that used to just speak electronics.
With this, Future Shop joins a powerful movement that’s seeing retailers adopting smaller-store formats in which warehouse space is increased, showroom space is decreased and technology is integrated throughout. We developed this one with Future Shop (with a second poised to open in Brockville and three more on the books after that) and are working on another with Lowes.
All good, this change.
Bring it on.
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