Immersive Customer Engagement Experience: Electronics Retailer

You visit an electronics retailer because you’re interested in buying a new Smart TV. You’ve done some research online, and whittled it down to a few potential options, but you now feel you need to see the options with your own eyes before making a decision. Specifically, you want to know, if you stream to the TV in a particular way, if it would be able to display the image in 4K resolution with HDR. You have not been able to get a straight answer to that question online, so you hope you can learn the answer in the store. The thought that the store might themselves not know the answer, worries you a bit: you don’t look forward to the possibility that you might have to buy the TV, bring it home and test it, only then to learn it can’t do what you want — and then having to box it back up again and return it!

When you arrive at the store, there is good music playing. Somehow the store seems to know that you’re interested in TVs, since you’re quickly directed to the correct section. As you wander over to the TVs, you see a note appear on a screen that tells you how you can test-drive a lot of the equipment yourself, directly from your smartphone. This is echoed by an audio announcement. You’re really pleased, because that means you can run your test directly on all the TVs you’re interested in, without having to face any salesperson. As you’re going around, the sales people see that you know what you’re doing, and they leave you in peace. You discover that only one of the TVs will actually operate in the way you want. You’re thankful, because this has saved you a lot of time! You decide you’re close to purchasing the TV, but you start wondering if you might get a better deal for that TV online from another supplier. You feel a tinge of guilt, because the store does seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to help you see the TV for yourself, and to figure out if it would work for you. Yet, you convince yourself that price is important, so you look. And right at that moment, a message plays on the audio and the signage, that reminds you that the store will not only price-match with any legitimate online supplier that has stock of the item you’re interested in, you will also be able to take the TV home right now, without having to pay for, or wait for any shipping.

You realize this is the fastest way to get what you want, and it presents a great deal, especially considering how much the store has helped you so far. One thing you wonder about though, is what would happen if you had any problems when you got home. Right at that moment, a sales person drops by, specifically asking whether you have any questions about after-sales support and the benefits of buying in the store vs online. He already knows which online vendor you had looked at, and what their pricing for the product would be, so is able to help you right away in showing you how much you save by avoiding the shipping charges.