The Luxe Appliance Studio is a showroom that allows customers to test appliances before buying.
The day's inching on noon, and lunch will be served as soon as the customer with the apron tied around her waist finishes sautéing the carrots on a state-of-the-art stove. The appliance doesn't belong to her, and neither does she own the kitchen where she has been cracking eggs and measuring flour for the past two hours, guided by an in-house chef with tattoos covering his stirring arm.
The Luxe Appliance Studio is open to anyone interested in test-driving the high-end Bosch, Thermador and Gaggenau products dominating the floor of the 6,000-square-foot Toronto showroom.
The customer in question, a mother of two who asked that her name be withheld for privacy reasons, has come in to try out a combi-steam oven, booking a session in advance with chef Nikko Jacino to see – or rather taste – for herself if the appliance is worth its $9,500 price tag.
For manual support, as much as moral, she has brought with her today her grown son who has stationed himself at a nearby counter, chopping apples for a kale salad to accompany his mother's risotto. The steam oven cooks the dish to perfection within 24 minutes.
Jacino serves it to them at a table at the centre of the showroom set with china and crystal. One bite and the food melts in their mouth. The family has consensus. They want to buy the oven.
Allowing customers the experience of trying before buying is helping to boost sales at a time when retail is taking a beating from Internet sellers, industry experts say.
"We consistently receive feedback from our dealer partners about customers who have visited the showroom prior to purchase," says Steve Preiner, the director of marketing for BSH Appliances, a German-owned company that manufactures a wide range of kitchen appliances under the Bosch, Thermador and Gaggenau brands.
"Everyone knows kitchen renovations are an investment, and a full suite of kitchen appliances is a major decision in that process, so it's important to let people experience the appliances up close and personal. We want to give our customers a personalized, interactive way to shop that gives them confidence in what they're buying."
Interactive retail is the way of the future right now. Creating a personalized experience is especially important to brands that want to build a connection with the new generation of consumers who are quickly getting used to shopping at a distance, using their smartphones.
It's the reason why Canadian Tire has made its new Edmonton location, open since May, fully interactive.
The store "aims to provide shoppers with an immersive, interactive experience that can't be found anywhere else in the country," says Micheline Davies, vice-president of store design and field merchandise. "Interactive elements play a huge role within the 140,000-square-foot space."
They include product selectors such as the ones in the automotive department that allow customers to choose the right wipers, filters and other parts for their car, and virtual reality technology which allows customers to create and interact with a 3-D rendering of their "dream" backyard.
"We have Canadian retail's first ever use of a car simulator, providing customers with the opportunity to test drive tires in different weather conditions before purchasing and installing them on their vehicle," Davies adds.
"We also have a RapidShot hockey simulator that allows customers to measure the speed and accuracy of their hockey shot while using different sticks in the store, and a coffee taster bar where customers can sample the latest single-serve beverage flavours, along with a Lego boutique and a Hot Wheels track for the kids."
Having face-to-face interaction with customers isn't always so high-tech, though. Canadian online footwear retailer, shoes.com, added an espresso bar to its first bricks-and-mortar location, which opened on Toronto's Queen Street West this month. The drinks are free and the lounge is meant to serve as a gathering space for customers and local community workshops. Located at the back of the new store, the space also doubles as a stress-free area where customers can mull over what they want to buy before making a purchase, company spokeswoman Sarah Gooding says.
The Kit and Ace pop-up shop in Port Carling, Ont., a stylish port of call in the heart of Muskoka, meanwhile, has a DJ spinning tunes while customers shop, encouraging them to linger, and feel the groove of the Vancouver brand's hip yet laid-back sensibility. The temporary summer boutique, located on the upper level of a boat house, is a collaboration with Drake General Store. The venue also plays host to nightly presentations of live music.
"Our goal is always to differentiate ourselves through innovative product, exceptional education on the technicalities of our product, as well as an element of surprise and delight," says JJ Wilson, Kit and Ace co-founder and head of brand.
"It's a new way to look at retail and the importance of brick and mortar locations."
Experiential retail, whether in the form of a cooking class, a simulated car ride or a beverage served up gratis for the pleasure of even the most committed of browsers, is about creating an emotional connection with the shopper in the hopes that they will not only stay and spend some money but also come back, retailers say. Again and again.
"We understand that retail is changing," Davies at Canadian Tire says, "and that providing customers with an engaging and memorable shopping experience is necessary to ensure their return."