Brookstone has loyal shoppers throughout the United States and Puerto Rico that are well acquainted with the retailer’s unique selection of innovative and lifestyle products, but Brookstone executives were seeking to dramatically broaden their scope of awareness beyond this core group. Like many retailers in today’s evolving retail environment, Brookstone was looking for ways to better engage its customers and enrich the shopping experience.
The path to discovery
The path to discovering a state-of-the-art customer experience station began in an untraditional manner. The Toshiba Team introduced Brookstone to digital signage for product promotions during a regularly scheduled review of Brookstone’s print fleet and managed print services – or MPS – program.
Intrigued by Toshiba’s innovative line of digital signage solutions, Brookstone wanted to learn more. After an extensive technology review Toshiba was able to demonstrate the scope and capabilities of the Ellumina line to Brookstone. The discussion quickly moved on to the feasibility of creating an interactive customer engagement station for Brookstone customers.
Toshiba engineers quickly created a pilot program tailored to interact with Brookstone’s customers near the retailer’s Merrimack, New Hampshire headquarters. To expedite the development process, Toshiba sales and engineering personnel worked closely with Brookstone architects and representatives from a third-party software vendor to pilot, test and refine the digital signage product. The result is Toshiba’s ‘Lift ‘n Learn’ Customer Experience Station.
“Given our unique product portfolio, our customers expect us to be more innovative in how we approach retailing and Toshiba allowed us to hit the mark.” (Chief Marketing Officer, Kiran Smith)
Here’s how it works:
- Dynamic content related to the products displayed at the 'Lift 'n Learn' Customer Experience Station plays to attract customers.
- Once at the display, the customer can visually review the products available.
- The customer is instructed to lift a product to learn more.
- When a product is removed from its stand, the display screen will begin playing content that is specific to that product.
- When a second product is removed, product comparison data is displayed.
“Toshiba’s interactive digital signage complements our customers’ in-store experience with the kind of dynamic content they’ve come to expect when shopping online.” (Chief Marketing Officer, Kiran Smith)
Toshiba’s state-of-the-art Ellumina digital signage product went from creation to completion within 60 days. Three 'Lift ‘n Learn' Customer Experience Stations, each featuring 4 products, were installed in Brookstone’s Nashua, N.H. store. A vertical 49-inch ultra high-definition screen is the signature element of each of the two column stations. An equally dazzling-2-foot by 2-foot video wall comprises the third station, which is prominently situated just inside the store’s entrance.
Just six months after installation, the store has already seen a definitive uptick in sales of the 16 different products – stick massagers, Bluetooth speakers and personal robotics – that the three Lift ‘n Learn Customer Experience Stations are featuring.
Toshiba’s innovative shopper experience additionally integrates a web-enabled analytics dashboard measuring the number of times an item has been lifted, the cumulative duration of the pickups as well as the average duration a product has been raised.
“Though Toshiba’s digital signage has only been in place for six months, it’s 'Lift ‘n Learn' solutions have clearly resonated with our customers and we have seen an increase in sales for the products we are promoting with it,” said Kiran Smith, Chief Marketing Officer at Brookstone. “It also serves as an effective
training tool for our sales associates. As a result, we are looking at a wider integration of Ellumina throughout our stores.”
