Third Verizon Wireless Destination Store Opens With Music Stations and Drone Cage
While sales floor expertise is largely considered to be at a low point in CE retailing, Verizon Wireless has opened its largest of three Destination Stores in Houston, touting a staff of 70, including specialists available to assist with hands-on training and product education, according to a news release.
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The two-story, 12,224-square-foot space in Houston joins Destination stores in Mall of America outside of Minneapolis that opened a year ago and a Chicago store that opened earlier this month. Destination Stores follow an upscale Apple-like approach to retail with classes and interactive stations versus the bustling atmosphere of a big-box store. The Destination Store is designed to create an “integrated, hands-on technology retail experience for today's sophisticated technology shopper,” Verizon said.
An online ad for sales positions at the Houston store (listed as no longer active) outlined the job responsibilities of an “experience specialist” at the store, which are to create “a welcoming, exciting, and engaging store environment, quickly and completely resolve customer issues," and deliver “the ultimate one-on-one coaching experience to customers as you demonstrate product and accessory functionality.” An experience specialist is expected to be “an all-solutions expert and point of contact for product features and functionality,” the ad said, and be able to “assist with wireless workshops where you will work with groups of customers to demonstrate and educate them on a variety of technology solutions, including the hottest smartphones, tablets and smart accessories.”
The Houston store features interactive zones for audio, healthcare, tech toys and connected home technologies where visitors can get a hands-on experience with apps, gadgets and other gear in a “visual playground setting,” Verizon said. In the Amplify It section, visitors can audition different music products ranging from “high-end headsets” to Bluetooth speakers, including some 136 speakers inside a “digital DJ booth” using the Slacker Radio app, it said. In an accessories section, consumers can create a customized smartphone case with their own photos and choice of colors that can be made in-store while they shop, it said. Consumers can interact with wearables in a fitness area that shows them how to measure activity progress, maintain fitness goals and “improve sleep habits,” Verizon said. Visitors can test out the products -- and how they work with a smartphone -- at a basketball hoop or soccer station or on a stationary bike, it said.
Among the tech toys at the Verizon store are a Power Drone and GoPro camera, which the company said are on display and “available to try first-hand in an interactive setting.” A Verizon spokeswoman told us there’s a “drone cage” set up in the Fun zone where visitors can “safely test fly a drone.” There’s also a games zone for experienced and first-time gamers.
The connected home area allows shoppers to tinker with smart home products, including a Belkin WeMo switch to unlock and open doors, a Belkin light switch to power lights and a Belkin HD camera and Dropcam Pro to demonstrate remote camera monitoring. Consumers will be able to control the devices from a wireless device, Verizon said.
Absent from the smart home section are Iris products, the platform that Lowe’s launched for its smart home family of products. Verizon Wireless tested Iris products in stores in Georgia and New York before deciding to roll out the smart home line in 118 stores throughout the country in 2013 (see 1302280080). Regarding the absence of Iris products from the stores, the Verizon spokeswoman told us, “Verizon Wireless continually evaluates the portfolio of products for the Smart Stores and Destination Stores. At the moment, that product is not in our array.” Lowe’s didn't respond to requests for comment.
Verizon is staging two types of retail stores, the spokeswoman said. Destination Stores are large-footprint retail properties in “iconic locations,” which she called high-traffic shopping areas that draw consumers from throughout the area, the U.S. and the world. Verizon Smart Stores, found locally, showcase “mobile lifestyles,” including fitness or music-focused products, she said. Smart Stores are not as fully equipped with interactive features such as music or customization stations, she said. Verizon plans to open a number of Destination Stores in the next few years in high-traffic locations across the U.S., she said.