Specialty retailer blends design, technology and personalized
service for a completely reimagined customer experience
COPPELL, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The
Container Store, the country’s leading retailer of storage and
organization products, has reimagined its flagship store in Dallas
revealing a new architectural design, merchandising strategy and
proprietary digital resources that make it easier for customers to
accomplish their storage and organization projects.
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The Container Store Next Generation Store entrance. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Next Generation Store concept is a result of extensive consumer
research conducted in partnership by The Container Store, strategic
design and architectural firm, FRCH Design Worldwide and digital
innovation agency, MJD. It brings to life a customer experience that
offers a balance of convenient and unique digital resources combined
with personalized service to deliver on the brand’s purpose. The
innovative new concept will serve as a test and learn environment to
determine elements for eventual rollout to new and existing locations.
“Our purpose as a brand is to help our customers accomplish their
projects, maximize their space and make the most of their home. In order
to help them achieve those goals you’ll see a focus across all of our
channels on making it easier to find the solutions they want and need,”
said Melissa Collins, chief marketing officer for The Container Store.
“The Next Gen Store plays a key role in bringing our purpose to life and
continuing to cultivate meaningful relationships with our customers.”
The technology components in the store were finalized after many rounds
of customer testing, which showed that customers’ biggest hurdle in
beginning a project was feeling overwhelmed. The store features 18
digital screens supporting customers as they shop, featuring everything
from inspiration and tips, to an interactive design tool and even a new
proprietary digital experience called The Organization Studio. The
Organization Studio was developed exclusively for The Container Store
and is currently only available at the Next Gen Store. It allows
customers to upload a photo or video of their organizational challenge
online, describe the challenge, and set an in-store appointment to meet
with a store Organization Expert. The Organization Experts will then
present the personalized solution they developed for the customer free
of charge and with no purchase commitment.
“We know that countless retailers are building digital tools and using
them to innovate the shopping experience, but combining the human
element with technology is when things really get powerful,” said Val
Richardson, vice president of real estate at The Container Store. “The
Organization Studio offers the convenience of an online experience and
marries it with a personalized in-store engagement that offers a curated
solution created by a real person.”
The architectural design breaks the store space into manageable areas
that naturally pull the customer through the store and make it easier to
navigate. Ceilings were lowered to make the store more inviting, rows of
shelving were removed to improve sightlines, and new flooring as well as
enhanced lighting were implemented to create a more approachable and
comfortable environment.
This redesign features Custom Closets as a real focal point with higher
ceilings anchoring the Custom Closet Studio in the store, creating a
destination where closet vignettes allow customers to visualize
possibilities at every price point. It is an elevated and more
comfortable experience featuring a new hospitality component, including
a seating area where customers can review an inspiration book and gather
ideas for their own spaces. There are also interactive screens at the
Custom Design Centers – a great tool for the store team and the
customers, showing more examples of “real” closet spaces for them to
peruse.
In addition to the Custom Closets Studio, new merchandising is
reflective of a real home kitchen or office space to allow shoppers to
get a sense of how products might work in their own homes. Small and
large project solutions are highlighted throughout the store to show how
one might begin a project or maximize their space in any area they had
not yet considered organizing.
About The Container Store
The Container Store (NYSE: TCS) is the nation’s leading retailer of
storage and organization products — a concept they originated in 1978.
Today, with locations nationwide, the retailer offers more than 11,000
products designed to help customers accomplish their storage and
organization projects and maximize any size space. The Container Store
also offers a suite of custom closet systems, and a wide variety of
convenient online and mobile shopping services. Visit www.containerstore.com
for more information about store locations, the product collection and
services offered. Visit www.containerstore.com/blog
for inspiration, tips and real solutions to everyday organization
challenges, and www.whatwestandfor.com
to learn more about the company’s unique culture.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180628005354/en/
Source: The Container Store