What Happened
Toy retailer American Girl is moving its New York flagship store from Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center with a revamped concept in fall 2017. The Mattel-owned brand is looking to reinvent its retail experience to offer more customization. For example, the new store will include an AG Signature Studio where customers can design clothes and accessories for both their dolls and themselves. It will also have private rooms for hosting “personalized parties” and a salon that will help both the customers and their dolls get new looks.
Besides customization, the retailer is looking to draw in doll-lovers by offering unique in-store experiences. The store will debut a media studio, where the retailer plans to host animation workshops for creating stop-motion videos with American Girl dolls, as well as cooking and yoga classes. Digital kiosks will be installed to help with store navigation and booking reservations, which will also be synced up with a new American Girl app.
What Retailers Need To Do
By focusing on personalization and offering unique in-store experiences, American Girl provides a great example of how retailers can modernize their retail experience and give customers good reasons to visit. With more and more consumers choosing the convenience of online shopping over physical stores, brick-and-mortar retailers need to take the initiative in creating in-store experiences that provide added value for customers.
For more information on how retailers can leverage digital technology to modernize their retail experience, please check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.
Source: Racked
