Retail Experience Archetypes & Ideation
Designing spatial user experiences in retail that are intuitive and engaging involves leveraging various types of sensing and acting technologies. By categorizing these experiences according to the simplified senses —sight, sound, touch, spatial, and sixth sense—we can brainstorm targeted experiences that appeal to human needs and perceptions, and identify strategies for interaction and service touchpoints.
Below, are examples of how spatial computing could be applied to enhance various themed retail experiences, based on six “Retail Archetypes” by Frog Design. In each of these examples, spatial computing technologies enrich the retail experience by adding layers of interaction, personalization, and engagement. These immersive, innovative services not only enhance customer satisfaction but also drive loyalty and brand differentiation in a competitive retail landscape.
The Showroom: Give customers access to experts by putting “show and tell” front and center.
The Playground: Provide a space for imagination and exploration to take over.
The Clubhouse: Drive loyalty by reimagining the store as a hub for like-minded customers to connect.
The Oasis: Create a refuge from traditional shopping and daily stressors.
The Studio: Unlock the ability of customers to co-create, experiment and customize.
The Garden: Get (and give) stores new life as places to repair, restore and recycle goods in line with brand and customer values.
Future of Retail Experience Principles
The Showroom: Access to Experts through AR Show and Tell
Use augmented reality (AR) to overlay expert videos, detailed product specifications, and interactive 3D models on physical products in the showroom. Customers can scan items with their smartphones or AR glasses to see this content, effectively bringing a virtual expert into the showroom to guide their experience.
Sensing: High-resolution cameras and image recognition technology to detect customer interest in specific products or areas.
Acting: Dynamic, high-definition displays that immediately showcase detailed product information, user reviews, and interactive 3D models as customers approach or interact with products.
Employee Experience: Train staff to facilitate these AR interactions, ensuring they can assist customers in navigating the digital content and answer any further questions. Additionally, offer scheduled live AR sessions where experts remotely interact with customers in real-time, enhancing the depth of information and personal connection.
Training in Product Knowledge and Presentation Skills: Employees should receive in-depth training about the products and how to present them effectively using AR/VR tools. This includes storytelling techniques that highlight product features and benefits.
Expertise Building: Encourage continuous learning and certification in areas related to the products, allowing employees to position themselves as experts.
Technology Familiarity: Ensure employees are comfortable using spatial computing technologies to enhance the “show and tell” experience, including troubleshooting common issues.
Service Design: Use speech recognition to guide customers to products of interest or activate product demonstrations. Sound level sensors adjust ambient sound based on crowd density to maintain an engaging atmosphere.
Content Strategy: Create immersive product stories and narratives delivered through spatial audio, enhancing the sense of discovery and connection with the products.
Ideation
Sound
Voice-Activated Displays: Implement speech recognition to allow customers to request information about products or see demonstrations simply by speaking. Interactive screens or projectors can respond with detailed visuals and audio descriptions.
Acoustic Guide: Use acoustic sensors to detect the presence of customers and activate speakers that guide them through the showroom, highlighting key products and offers in a storytelling format.
Sight
Virtual Try-Ons and Interactive Displays: Use cameras and AR displays to allow customers to see how products look on them or in their homes without physical interaction. Service design should include user-friendly interfaces and personalized recommendations based on customer interactions.
Dynamic Lighting: Integrate light sensors and programmable lights to automatically adjust the showroom's ambiance based on natural light levels or to highlight specific products, creating an inviting and product-focused environment.
Touch
Interactive Product Displays: Use tactile sensors and buttons on product displays to provide customers with detailed information or comparisons when touched. Heating or cooling actuators could simulate the product's feel in use, like warming up a seat cover.
Haptic Feedback Systems: Integrate vibration units in handles or surfaces to give feedback when customers interact with products or displays, enhancing the tactile experience.
Spatial
Geofenced Offers: Trigger personalized promotions or product information on customers' mobile devices as they enter specific zones within the showroom using geofencing.
Virtual Assistance: Implement IP tracking and occupancy sensors to deploy virtual assistants (via mobile apps or in-store screens) offering detailed product knowledge and help when customers linger in an area, indicating interest.
Sixth
Personalized Product Displays: Use facial and mood tracking to adjust digital displays, showcasing products that match the customer's current mood or interests.
Enhanced Customer Service: Implement body and skeletal tracking to identify when a customer appears confused or needs assistance, prompting staff or virtual assistants to offer help
The Playground: Imagination and Exploration through VR Experiences
Create virtual reality (VR) zones where customers can wear VR headsets to immerse themselves in interactive, imaginative worlds related to the store's products. For example, a travel gear store might offer VR experiences of destinations that customers can explore using the store's products.
Sensing: Pressure-sensitive floors and motion sensors to track where and how customers interact within the space.
Acting: Interactive walls and floors that respond to touch and movement with visual effects, games, or educational content related to the products. Augmented reality (AR) experiences that bring products to life, encouraging play and exploration.
Employee Experience: Designate areas within the store for these immersive experiences, ensuring comfort and safety. Staff should guide customers through the VR setup and provide recommendations based on their interests. Post-experience, offer personalized product suggestions that complement the customer's virtual adventure.
Creativity and Innovation Workshops: Offer workshops that encourage employees to think creatively and explore the full potential of spatial computing in creating immersive experiences.
Empathy and Customer Interaction Training: Equip employees with the skills to guide and engage customers of all ages in exploratory and imaginative experiences.
Feedback Channels: Implement systems for employees to share insights and ideas from customer interactions, fostering continuous improvement of the playground experience.
Service Design: Install interactive sound stations where kids and adults can engage with educational content or games through voice commands or by triggering acoustic sensors.
Content Strategy: Develop a library of playful and educational audio content that encourages exploration and learning, including sound effects that mimic nature or urban environments, enhancing the thematic zones within the playground.
Ideation
Sound
Sound-Based Interactive Games: Install floor pads or wall panels that emit sounds or music when touched, encouraging exploration. Games can teach product facts or brand history in an entertaining way.
Augmented Reality Audio: Through AR headphones or the customer's smartphone, overlay the physical playground with a soundscape that changes based on location, encouraging discovery and interaction with products.
Sight
Interactive Floors and Walls: Employ motion sensors and projectors to create interactive surfaces that respond to customer movement with games or educational content related to the products. This encourages exploration and learning in a fun way.
Augmented Reality Games: Use AR displays to overlay digital experiences on the physical space, turning the playground into an immersive game zone that educates and entertains.
Touch
Tactile Exploration Zones: Design areas with different textures, temperatures, and movements, using materials activated by touch sensors and linear actuators. This could include walls that change texture or floors that gently vibrate to guide movement.
Interactive Installations: Employ buttons and levers to control interactive art or play installations, where actions have direct physical feedback, like triggering water misters or fans, enhancing the exploratory experience.
Spatial
Interactive Product Journeys: Use RFID tags and GPS to create an interactive journey through the store, where customers can learn about products through games or scavenger hunts, enhancing the playful experience.
Motion-based Interactive Displays: Accelerometers and gyroscopes in mobile devices or store-provided tablets can control interactive displays, changing content as customers move and interact with products.
Sixth
Interactive Learning Experiences: Leverage gesture and object recognition for interactive displays where customers can learn about products through fun, hands-on activities.
Gamified Engagement: Use marker and image tracking for augmented reality (AR) games that encourage exploration of the store, with rewards that can be used towards purchases.
The Clubhouse: Connecting Like-Minded Customers via Mixed Reality
Utilize mixed reality (MR) to create interactive events and workshops where customers can learn and share experiences. MR can facilitate virtual meetups, workshops, and product demonstrations, allowing customers to feel connected even if they're physically distant.
Sensing: Ambient sound sensors to gauge the overall mood of the space and identify when and where gatherings are occurring.
Acting: Directional audio systems to create intimate, social environments where customers can share experiences. Environmental controls adjust lighting and temperature based on time of day or weather conditions, enhancing the comfort and exclusivity of the clubhouse atmosphere.
Employee Experience: Develop a calendar of MR events focused on various interests, ensuring there's something for every segment of the store's community. Implement a membership system that rewards participation with exclusive benefits, strengthening loyalty and encouraging ongoing engagement.
Community Building Skills: Train employees in community management and engagement strategies, emphasizing the importance of creating a welcoming environment for like-minded individuals.
Event Management: Provide training on organizing and running events that cater to the community, including using spatial computing tools to enhance these events.
Loyalty and CRM Training: Educate employees on managing customer relationships and loyalty programs, ensuring they can personalize interactions and strengthen customer connections.
Community Involvement: Engage the community in the selection of art, music, and podcast topics to ensure the content resonates with their interests and fosters a sense of ownership and belonging.
Accessibility and Inclusivity: Ensure that all experiences are accessible to members with disabilities, offering alternative interaction methods and ensuring that the space is navigable and enjoyable for everyone.
Content Refreshment: Regularly update the digital and interactive content to keep the clubhouse experience fresh and engaging, encouraging members to return and stay connected with the community.
Feedback Mechanisms: Implement easy-to-use feedback channels for members to share their experiences, suggestions, and preferences, using this input to continuously improve the clubhouse environment and offerings.
Ideation
Sound:
Spatial Audio Installations: Create an immersive sound environment using directional speakers that play ambient sounds, music, or narratives generated by the community, enhancing the sense of immersion without overwhelming the space.
Community Podcast Booth: Set up a sound-proof booth where members can record podcasts, interviews, or stories related to the community's focus, which can be shared within the clubhouse or online as a form of engagement and content creation.
Sight:
Curated Art Exhibitions: Use dynamic digital displays to showcase art, photography, or videos that resonate with the community's interests, changing exhibits periodically to keep the space fresh and engaging.
Augmented Reality (AR) Storytelling: Implement AR experiences that visitors can access through their smartphones or provided devices, overlaying the physical space with digital content that tells the story of the community, its values, or the products featured in the clubhouse.
Touch
Interactive Product Displays: Design displays where products can be touched, felt, and interacted with, using haptic feedback to enhance the experience. For example, wearables that vibrate to indicate features or smart fabrics that change texture.
Tactile Navigation Paths: Incorporate textured flooring that guides visitors through the space using subtle changes in materials, aiding navigation and discovery without the need for visual cues.
Spatial
Proximity-Based Content Delivery: Use geofencing or Bluetooth beacons to send personalized messages or content to members' smartphones as they move through different areas of the clubhouse, providing information, stories, or promotions relevant to their location.
Motion-Activated Experiences: Install motion sensors to trigger interactive experiences or ambient changes in the environment as people move through the space, such as lighting that follows movement or exhibits that activate upon approach.
Sixth
Adaptive Environmental Controls: Integrate environmental sensors to adjust the interior climate based on external weather conditions, ensuring the space remains comfortable and inviting regardless of the outside climate.
Time-Based Ambient Changes: Use the clubhouse's lighting and sound systems to reflect the time of day or season, creating a cozy atmosphere in the evening with warm lights and soft music, or a vibrant, energetic environment during the day with brighter lighting and upbeat tunes.
The Oasis: A Refuge with Ambient Intelligence
Implement ambient intelligence systems that adjust the environment based on customer presence and behavior, creating a personalized oasis. For instance, spatial audio and intelligent lighting can adapt to create a calming atmosphere, while scent diffusers and temperature control enhance comfort.
Sensing: Environmental sensors that monitor noise levels, air quality, and lighting to maintain a serene atmosphere.
Acting: Actuators adjust lighting, soundscapes, and even release calming scents to transform the space into a refuge from the outside world, offering a tranquil shopping experience.
Employee Experience: Offer private relaxation pods or areas where customers can enjoy these personalized environmental adjustments. Incorporate subtle, interactive elements like gentle, immersive visuals or soothing soundscapes that customers can control, ensuring a tranquil shopping experience.
Stress Management and Mindfulness Training: Offer training that enables employees to create a calming and welcoming atmosphere, including stress management techniques and mindfulness.
Customer Service Excellence: Focus on advanced customer service training, emphasizing empathy, patience, and the ability to cater to individual needs for a refuge from traditional shopping environments.
Environment and Ambiance Management: Train employees on managing the physical and digital environment to ensure it remains a peaceful oasis, including spatial computing elements that contribute to tranquility and relaxation.
Service Design: Implement an adaptive sound environment using acoustic sensors to monitor and adjust background music or nature sounds, ensuring a relaxing atmosphere that responds to the current ambiance and noise levels.
Content Strategy: Curate a collection of calming soundscapes, guided meditations, and soft background music that promotes relaxation and mindfulness, available on demand via voice commands.
Ideation
Sound
Ambient Soundscapes: Create a tranquil environment using speakers to play natural sounds like running water, forest ambience, or soft music, adjustable via speech recognition to suit customer preferences.
Mood Detection: Employ mood tracking through voice recognition to personalize the ambient sound, playing soothing tones for relaxation or uplifting music to energize the space.
Sight
Ambient Environments: Implement light sensors and projectors to create changing landscapes or serene visuals that transform the space into a tranquil escape. Service design should prioritize simplicity and relaxation, with content that promotes well-being.
Mood-Based Lighting: Utilize motion detection and programmable lights to adjust the lighting based on the number of people in the area or the time of day, enhancing the oasis-like atmosphere with warm or cool lighting as needed.
Touch
Climate-Controlled Environments: Utilize temperature and humidity sensors coupled with heating and cooling actuators to create micro-climates within the oasis, such as a warm, humid tropical zone or a cool, misty forest area.
Relaxation Pods: Offer individual relaxation pods with controlled temperature settings, vibration massage seats, and humidity-controlled environments to provide a tactile escape from the outside world.
Spatial
Relaxation Paths: Implement geofencing and persistence tracking to guide customers on a relaxation path through the store, where ambient lighting and soundscapes change to create a peaceful shopping experience.
Occupancy-based Service Customization: Use occupancy sensors to adjust service levels and ambient elements (like scent diffusers or calming visuals) based on the number of people in the oasis, ensuring a serene environment.
Sixth
Mood-Based Environments: Utilize mood and face tracking to tailor the atmosphere of the oasis, changing lighting, music, and scents based on the collective mood of customers present.
Seasonal Wellness Tips: Implement time and season tracking to provide customers with wellness tips or product recommendations that are relevant to the current time of year or weather conditions
The Studio: Co-Creation and Customization through AR Tools
Provide AR tools that allow customers to customize and visualize products in real-time. For example, in a furniture store, customers could change the color, material, or design elements of a piece and immediately see how it looks in a virtual space or overlayed in their own home through their device's camera.
Sensing: Touchscreens and styluses for customers to design or customize products directly in the store.
Acting: Large, interactive screens display the customization process in real-time, allowing for adjustments and showcasing the final product. Printers or other fabrication devices create a physical sample or final product on-site.
Employee Experience: Set up design stations equipped with tablets or AR glasses linked to customization software. Staff can assist customers in using these tools and offer design consultations, making the co-creation process seamless and enjoyable.
Co-Creation and Customization Workshops: Train employees in facilitating co-creation sessions with customers, including the use of spatial computing tools for customization and experimentation.
Design Thinking: Introduce employees to design thinking methodologies to better understand customer needs and collaboratively develop solutions.
Technical Skills in Customization Tools: Ensure employees have the technical skills required to assist customers with customization tools and technologies, providing a seamless and engaging experience.
Service Design: Use microphones for voice-controlled customization tools, allowing customers to dictate design choices. Speakers provide auditory feedback or suggestions during the creation process.
Content Strategy: Offer tutorials and creative tips through an audio interface, supporting customers as they embark on personalized projects, ensuring they have immediate access to helpful information without disrupting their creative flow.
Ideation
Sound
Collaborative Audio Workshops: Facilitate workshops where customers can use their voices to interact with digital interfaces, customizing products or creating designs that are influenced by the pitch, tone, and rhythm of their speech.
Feedback Loops: Implement microphones and speech recognition to allow customers to leave verbal feedback on their creations or the workshop experience, using this input to refine and improve the service
Sight
Creative Collaboration Tools: Offer AR/VR displays and screens for customers to design or visualize custom creations in real-time, supported by cameras for capturing textures or colors they wish to incorporate. The service design should facilitate an easy-to-use creation process with staff on hand to assist.
Digital Fabrication Previews: Use projectors to show how designs will look in real life, including on products or within spaces, allowing for adjustments before the final creation process begins.
Touch
Material Exploration Stations: Set up stations where customers can use buttons and levers to manipulate and experiment with materials and textures, powered by motors and linear actuators to demonstrate different uses or effects.
Customization Tools: Provide tools with tactile feedback for customers creating or customizing products, such as vibration feedback pens for drawing or designing, giving a more intuitive sense of interaction.
Spatial
Customization Workshops: Leverage RFID and GPS to offer workshops or customization stations where customers' locations trigger specific content on nearby screens, showing customization options or tutorials related to the products they're viewing.
Design Collaboration: Use IP tracking and accelerometers for collaborative design sessions, where movements and choices in the physical space influence a shared digital project, enhancing the co-creation experience.
Sixth
Collaborative Design Tools: Use gesture recognition and body tracking to enable intuitive interactions with digital design tools, allowing customers to manipulate and customize products in a natural way.
Real-Time Customization Feedback: Employ mood and face tracking to gauge customer reactions to different customization options, offering suggestions or adjustments to improve satisfaction.
The Garden: Repair, Restore, Recycle with AR Guides and Workshops
Use AR to offer step-by-step guides for repairing or upcycling products. Customers can point their devices at an item to receive tailored instructions, tips, and animations that guide them through the process.
Sensing: Motion sensors to track foot traffic and engagement with different areas of the garden, along with environmental sensors to monitor conditions conducive to repair and recycle activities.
Acting: Digital signage and augmented reality guides that change based on user interaction, providing DIY tips, sustainability facts, or the story behind recycled products. Actuators could include tools for repair workshops, enabling customers to actively participate in the restoration of goods.
Employee Experience: Organize regular in-store workshops where customers can bring items to repair or upcycle, using AR guides for assistance. Partner with local artisans or experts who can provide live guidance and support. Offer a loyalty program that rewards participation with discounts on future purchases or services, aligning with sustainable values.
Sustainability and Repair Workshops: Educate employees on sustainability practices, repair techniques, and recycling processes related to the products offered.
Customer Education and Engagement: Train employees to educate customers on the importance of repair, restoration, and recycling, including how to use spatial computing tools for assessing and facilitating these processes.
Community Engagement and Value Alignment: Encourage employees to engage with the community on sustainability initiatives, aligning with brand and customer values to foster a sense of shared purpose.
Service Design: Equip the space with environmental sound sensors that trigger educational content about sustainability and the environment. Speech recognition can be used to answer visitor questions about gardening, repair, or recycling.
Content Strategy: Develop interactive audio tours and workshops focused on eco-friendly practices, narrated by experts in sustainability. Include stories of product lifecycles, from creation to recycling, enhancing the educational aspect of the garden.
Ideation
Sound
Educational Tours with Audio: Use speech recognition to offer guided tours where customers can learn about plants, sustainability practices, or the brand's environmental efforts through storytelling and ambient sounds, triggered by their movement through the garden.
Interactive Sound Installations: Place sound-emitting devices throughout the garden that react to customer proximity or touch, providing facts about sustainability or the origins of plants, encouraging learning through exploration.
Sight
Educational Pathways: Employ motion detectors and screens to present information about sustainability, recycling, and gardening as visitors move through different sections of the garden. Content should be designed to inform and inspire sustainable practices.
Virtual Plant Care Guides: Integrate cameras and AR displays to recognize plants and provide care instructions, pest management tips, and water needs directly overlaid onto the physical space, enhancing the educational aspect of the garden.
Touch
Interactive Educational Displays: Use tactile sensors in the garden to teach visitors about different plants and ecosystems through touch, with areas designed to mimic the textures and temperatures of various environmental conditions.
Sustainable Practice Demonstrations: Implement levers and buttons that activate demonstrations of sustainable practices, such as compost turning or water collection, allowing visitors to physically engage with and learn about sustainability.
Spatial
Sustainability Trails: Employ geofencing and RFID to create educational trails that highlight sustainability features and practices, engaging customers with interactive signs or augmented reality content that pops up on their devices as they move.
Resource-saving Tips: Utilize occupancy sensors and GPS to provide tips on saving resources or recycling, triggered by customer movement through different areas dedicated to sustainable living practices.
Sixth
Sustainable Practices Education: Incorporate object tracking to recognize when customers interact with specific products or displays, triggering educational content about sustainability practices related to the item.
Personalized Gardening Advice: Use time and season tracking to provide customers with personalized gardening tips or product suggestions that are optimal for the current season or weather conditions.
