{"id":403,"date":"2016-01-18T22:32:29","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T22:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-ca\/industry\/blog\/industry\/2016\/01\/18\/creating-immersive-digitally-enhanced-retail-experiences\/"},"modified":"2016-01-18T22:32:29","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T22:32:29","slug":"creating-immersive-digitally-enhanced-retail-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-ca\/industry\/blog\/retail\/2016\/01\/18\/creating-immersive-digitally-enhanced-retail-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating immersive, digitally-enhanced retail experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"
A company\u2019s relationship with customers is fundamentally different today. In the old world, customers were passive recipients of goods and services. Today they are active participants in product development, feedback, and in many cases the actually marketing and communications for a brand or organization. Think of the power of #fail on twitter.<\/p>\n
Additionally, computing is moving toward a more emotionally-intelligent future, with technology subtly embedded in our everyday environment. Wearables and sensors are increasingly adept at tuning technology to the behavior and emotions of users. As a result, devices are becoming more intuitive and more pervasive in users\u2019 everyday lives, with vast potential for improving productivity, personalized marketing, and immersive experiences. How entities respond to this shift will determine the next generation of disruptive organizations.<\/p>\n
Retailers are leading the way in responding to the age of the customer, and Microsoft is no exception. Recently, Microsoft Retail stores set sail into unexplored waters with multi-story, flagship stores in New York City and Sydney, charting the course to new experiences for customers in those communities. The stores\u2014on Manhattan\u2019s stylish Fifth Avenue and in the bustling and trendy Pitt Street Mall in Australia\u2019s biggest city\u2014let customers interact with, and more fully explore, Microsoft and partner products, Microsoft online services, and the Microsoft brand before leaving the store. In addition to consumers, the two new stores offer an opportunity for partners and commercial business leaders to experience devices and productivity solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuddenly we\u2019re not talking just to consumers, but we\u2019re reaching out to small business, enterprise, and education, and saying this store can represent a lot of things to different people.<\/em>\u201d Charlie McNerney, vice president, Microsoft Retail IT.<\/p>\n In Manhattan\u2019s seven-floor building, Microsoft retail is the equivalent of two floors. There\u2019s a Dell store on floor three, and above that is employee space, as well as conference, exhibition, and learning areas for everything from training to customer meetings. The Sydney store also features a conference meeting space so that the local Microsoft sales team can host customers, let them interact with devices, and show them how to be more productive with devices and online services.<\/p>\n