The Converge Retail platform brings online shopping to the in-store shopping experience. An implementation of its kinetic retail display platform has gone in at Fred Meyer’s Happy Valley, Oregon test store. Fred Meyer deployed the Converge platform across its entire consumer electronics (CE) department, encompassing 40 feet of linear retail displays and two end-caps.
Fred Meyer wants to deliver innovative content-rich customer experiences throughout its network of retail stores across the western United States. The company engaged Converge Retail to redesign how Fred Meyer presents CE products to its customers with a solution that uses interactive AV technology to enrich the in-store shopping experience.
As Fred Meyer serves multiple product categories within its stores, the company does not employ dedicated CE sales associates to field tech-specific questions. Realizing that CE products have a much different sell-cycle than other categories, the company recognized the need to create a content-rich shopping experience specifically for its CE products.
Fred Meyer and Converge Retail collaborated to blend the best aspects of physical and online shopping to deliver an informative in-store shopping experience, with rich data analytics to measure success and bolster lead-generation.
The Converge platform provides the consumer with a device that shops with them, understands their intent and delivers rich content about the product they are interested in without needing to enter a search term. Physically, the Converge system consists of rail-mounted tablet displays that slide laterally, automatically displaying in-depth product information as customers position the tablet in front of different products on display. Customers then interact with rich information and are able to view product specs and watch explainer videos. The Converge system combines a physical display experience and a curated digital experience, all in the aisle at the point of sale. If the consumer wishes to purchase in-aisle or even take the information home for purchasing later, they enter their phone number which transfers their in-store browsing experience to their personal device.
The customer-facing experience is complemented by rich analytics captured behind the scenes. Every aspect of the customer journey is privately logged, which informs the retailer about how frequently and how deeply customers engage with the various products on display. Retailers and brands now have access to key insights such as which products hold more interest than others and which videos are watched the longest, enabling the retailer to refresh content as needed. This sort of A/B testing in the field makes the digital messaging most powerful, and the product assortment most relevant.
The Converge system also captures actionable leads each time a customer sends product information to their mobile phone, including detailed information about the customer’s engagement path with the Converge display. These leads represent highly motivated customers who traveled to the store, took the time to engage with the interactive retail display and sent the information to their phones. Until now, this sort of lead generation was not possible in traditional retail settings.
Converge Retail designed a solution that works in conjunction with Fred Meyer’s existing displays, sitting atop the legacy structures and presenting the sliding tablets at the ideal height for customers to comfortably engage with the displays.
As with any retailer, security was a primary concern for Fred Meyer, given the high value and small size of the tech products on display. The custom enclosure and rail system secure the sliding tablets, while securely mounted product samples are within easy reach for customers to get a feel for the products’ scale, texture and general aesthetic feel.
According to Fred Meyer executives, sales of the displayed products have more than doubled, compared to stores with legacy displays in place.
