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Philips Retail Solutions says its lighting, sound and design solution has helped to lift footfall and sales at Schiphol Airport Retail’s Lounge 3 store |
NETHERLANDS. Philips Retail Solutions says that the implementation of a “˜multi-sensory shopping experience’ with Schiphol Airport Retail (SAR) has resulted in dramatic improvements in sales. Now Philips aims to roll out its solutions to other airport retailers.
The new shopping experience designed by Philips – which combines lighting, sound and design elements – resulted in a sustained +12% traffic increase into the SAR store at Amsterdam Schiphol Lounge 3, a +37% increase in dwell time at certain product categories and a +10% increase in overall sales earlier this year.
The enhanced shopper journey was enabled by what Philips Retail Solutions called “a first-in-its-kind fully integrated multi-sensorial experience technology platform,” which controls what the customer sees and hears while in the store.
Among the innovations was the creation of a Dutch-themed zone in the centre of the Lounge 3 store, with lighting, visuals, sounds and designs conveying the idea of a ship sailing, aimed at making an emotional connection with travellers.
In one of SAR’s cigar areas, Philips projected video onto a glass wall showing Cuban dancers, which, along with sound and lighting aimed to create the impression of a Cuban experience. The move lifted levels of conversion to spend dramatically in this store, claimed Philips Retail Solutions.
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“Creating a seamless, measurable experience for the shopper in the store can make a big difference to footfall and spend.“ |
Verda Sisman General Manager Philips Retail Solutions |
The platform can manage complete stores, but is also suitable for smaller brand areas. It can measure passengers’ reactions and multiple sites can be managed centrally from the retailers’ headquarters. Philips Retail Solutions provided SAR with a service from experience design, technology integration and installation to weekly KPI reporting and renewable campaign management.
With the launch of the new See Buy Fly shop at Lounge 3 in 2011, SAR wanted to underline Schiphol’s position as a leading European airport and to create an interactive podium for brands and campaigns to surprise customers. All lighting, screens, speakers and intelligence in the store are orchestrated by Philips’ Experience Player that controls them according to a predefined script. This can be themed and adapted to special brand campaigns or seasons such as Christmas.
Philips Retail Solutions noted: “It is possible see the impact of different experience scripts on key performance indicators such as footfall, dwell time and conversion. This gives more insight into the way shoppers behave in different product categories and makes investment in new campaigns measurable and accountable.”
Schiphol Airport Retail Director Peter-Jan Rozenberg said: “We are always looking for ways to surprise and seduce our customers. Retail is all about the way to attract, engage and realise conversion to drive sales. With Philips Retail Solutions we created an innovative multi sensorial platform to do so. Besides we gained more store and consumer insights by the extensive analytics provided by Philips.”
Verda Sisman, General Manager at Philips Retail Solutions, added: “The example of Schiphol Airport Retail clearly shows that investment in multi-sensory shopper experiences by airport retailers can have a strong effect on the behaviour of shoppers and ultimately sales for the retailer. Interactive multi-sensorial tools can be very powerful instruments in the hands of the retailer, if applied well.”
Sisman noted that within travel retail today, technology is mostly applied at the back of the store for automating supply, delivery and payment from customers and to suppliers. At the front of the store, the use of technology is often limited.
She told The Moodie Report: “A lot of technology does not work or capture consumers, and often the traveller receives mixed messages. Creating a seamless, measurable experience for the shopper in the store can make a big difference to footfall and spend.
“Our solutions can be adapted to particular passenger needs or types, for example to attract Chinese passengers with certain messages. It can react to consumer needs.”
On the airport retail business Sisman said: “Airports are a strategic segment and an innovative retail environment. The passenger expects more from retail at airports then they often do downtown. The visibility of the stores and the brands is high and they are high-traffic zones.
“Schiphol was the beginning for us, but we are aiming for new airport locations. There is an investment from the retailer of course but we stress that this investment can be paid back within a year. Every retailer’s needs are different. We assess what each one wants and create a solution for them.
“The solutions can apply also to food & beverage and the whole airport environment. They can be applied in-store of course but also on the concourse or store fronts to draw people in.
“Some potential clients have fears about the technology as it seems complex and difficult to understand. But we provide 24-hour back-up, we test heavily in-house and ensure that we, rather than the staff, are responsible for activating and maintaining it.”
Visman concluded: “There is so much more that can be done and we are keen to spread the word about the possibilities seamless technology can bring to the shopper journey at the airport. Supported by robust integrated technology platforms these solutions can be managed simply and cost-effectively.”
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