Thursday 15th may

group members: Rose & Poppy
time: London day visit- 8am til 9pm

We haven't met over the past two days due to all researching and beginning to write our individual sections and researching further into the big idea.

Two group members have visited London today to collect more research on the consumer, Liberty store and its competitors. During the visit we spoke to two sales advisors and five consumers from each store we visited, asking about their opinions on technology, customer experience and loyalty.  the first place we visited was Selfridges, looking at the way it is creating a new experience through the 'Fragrance Lab.' The lab ignites the senses and provides a unique and personal experience for the consumer- this was really influential to our big idea providing us with examples of ways to engage the consumer on a technological level but whist still keeping the one-on-one and physicality of a purchase. We also visited John Lewis the '150 years of John Lewis' exhibition- giving us an insight on how the department store started and how they see the future of John Lewis, giving us more ideas of technological advancements that can be used for the current brief. We were particularly engaged by the smile technology tv which was a video on screen that only played when the consumer smiled at it- this could be used within visual merchandising inside Liberty. We also spent a lot of time inside Liberty, studying the consumer journey, purchasing hotspots and asking sales assistants questions on what they think makes Liberty different from the competition- and how they think the store could benefit from in store smartphone engagement.
Other store visits were:
House Of Fraser
Debenhams
Hamleys
Harrods
Burberry
We visited competitor stores which gave a unique experience for the consumer, looking at ways they are using technology to increase loyalty. We also made observations in each store on phone usage/how many people had their phones out during their shopping experience and at what points.
Overall the day was really influential, it has made us realise that our current big idea is too advanced for the Liberty store so this needs to be edited.