Kelly Goetsch, Chief Strategy Officer at commercetools, hosted the first "Walk the Future of Retail" event in New York City in 2022. Last month, almost exactly two years later, he hosted our seventh walking tour along Chicago’s famed Magnificent Mile. It was undoubtedly our most unforgettable tour to date! The attendees, a mix of commercetools customers and prospects, were promised a guided tour of amazing experiential retail experiences complemented by expert insights provided by Kelly and store personnel. What they didn’t bargain for was torrential rain, thunder, wind and a frigid, pounding hail storm. Amazingly, everyone bravely stuck it out to the end, reinforcing (for us at least) that experiencing great retail is worth the effort.
The half-day tour started at Starbucks Reserve®, the brand’s largest location worldwide. After treating attendees from Abbott Laboratories, Foot Locker, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Mars, Allbirds and RVO Health to drinks, Kelly welcomed the crew, sharing that he chose to kick off the event at the 5-story flagship “roastery,” because he considers it a perfect example of experiential retail. “Think of the raw ingredients of coffee, they only cost a couple of cents. And how much does Starbucks get us to pay? It’s because it’s not just a store, it’s the place to be. You're not coming to drink coffee, you're here to enjoy an immersive experience.”
The Apple store was first on the list. The all-glass, custom-designed store sits on the Chicago River and offers an upper level with stadium seating, where visitors can relax, meet up and enjoy the view away from the bustling sales floor below. Before walking in, Kelly provided a little intel on the store design: (1) Apple likes to embed its standalone stores in the cityscape to help create a sense of community and, (2) the building’s roof is designed to look like the top of a Macbook complete with the Apple logo.
Saruul Tamir, a business expert at Apple, gave the group a tour of the store, pointing out unique ways the store integrates physical and digital commerce to deliver phygital experiences. For example, offering self-checkout capabilities on a wall showcasing cell phone cases. A few lucky attendees got to try the Apple Vision Pro. Greg Augustine, Engineering Manager at RVO Health, called the experience incredible and said he was surprised it was so user-friendly. Meena John, Senior Business Systems Analyst at Abbott Laboratories, seconded this emotion, commenting that it feels so real that you mentally disconnect from where you are. She said she could see its applications for fashion brands, as it can enable virtual try-ons.
I’m glad that commercetools is doing this. I think awareness is the first point — helping us see these capabilities, this is what you can do. I think many people struggle with this. I'm honored to be part of your journey.
SENIOR BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST, ABBOTT LABORATORIES
The next stop was Pandora, which Kelly informed the group is now the largest jewelry store in the world. Mike Edmonds, Strategy at Microsoft, correctly answered a trivia question (about baseball, not commerce!) to win a free custom-engraved pendant at Pandora. The store offers “Pandora Doodle,” which can replicate a customer’s handwriting to personalize items. In less than five minutes, Mike had the perfect birthday gift for his daughter.
At Sephora, attendees learned about the brand’s Color IQ technology, which uses advanced camera technology to scan a customer's face to identify the exact skin tone. With this information, store associates can help them find products that work best for them. After watching a demonstration and seeing the quality of the scan, the Sephora associate told the group that the brand tested many different tools before choosing the current technology. “So, if you’re looking for foundation or concealer, it will show me shades that match. It also takes pictures under different magnifications, and then under a blue light to detect how oily or dry someone’s skin is or if they have a lot of pores, fine lines or wrinkles and then it recommends skincare products.”
Kelly threw out another trivia question upon arrival at the LEGO® store, this time asking how many LEGOs each person in the world would get if they were all gathered up and distributed evenly. Raj Bhino Rajamani, Senior Enterprise Architect at McDonald’s, hit on the exact number, 80, winning the Batmobile Set. The stop was definitely a group favorite, with everyone immediately tapping into their inner child the moment Kelly offered the opportunity to build a mini-figurine, compliments of commercetools. The perfect follow-up? Cupcakes from the Sprinkles ATM, of course.
The hail storm hit en route to Christian Dior. Despite the group’s weather-worn appearance, the boutique manager graciously hosted us in the VIP lounge and explained different ways the luxury brand leverages technology to deliver customers more personalized experiences.
Kelly included a special stop at a local business near and dear to his heart. Owned by master jeweler Koorosh Daneshgar, Wedding Bands & Co. specializes in custom-designed rings, which Koorosh sketches by hand based on conversations with each customer. He explained that he has continually embraced technological advances to enhance the customer experience and build the brand. Koorosh showed the group how he uses CAD and 3-D printing to help reassure customers in the design process, and walked them through the store’s unique online shopping experience.
Over the last ten years, more and more people don’t want things that are already made. They want something they can customize. They are looking to have the dream ring they have in mind come to light. I still start with a sketch, but now we also use technology to bring that to our customers.
OWNER, WEDDING BANDS & CO.
After trying on a 3-D printed ring, Guneet Paintal, Global Senior Director of Sales and Retail at Mars, shared that he typically visits stores every few months to stay on top of the trends. He signed up for the tour to connect with other commercetools customers. “We’re pretty innovative at M&M’S, but we still want to do more on the experience side. So getting out and looking at what else out there is interesting and what services are being offered is important. I’ve been in retail so long, it's a natural, almost subconscious thing I do.”
Greg Augustine also said networking with other commercetools customers was a big reason to attend the walking tour. “We’ve only been on commercetools for about four months, so it’s been helpful. Even having the little chats with people as we walk is allowing me to find out what stage people are in and the different things they’re doing.”
By the time the tour arrived at trendy menswear retailer Suit Supply for happy hour, the attendees acted like old friends. The commercetools events team had set up appetizers and drinks in the second-floor lounge, which gave everyone the chance to relax and exchange information. While the complimentary custom shirt fittings were already on the event agenda, it almost seemed like the gift was a reward for their bravery. When asked if there was something she felt she could take back to her job, Sarah Grosz, Head of Influencer Marketing at Allbirds, responded, “Well, we’ve been doing a lot more store activations, and I think it’s always better to be informed about the possibilities.”
To learn more about the direction retail is going, what the biggest opportunities are and the strategies you need to adopt to drive business growth, read our white paper, Reimagining Retail Commerce in 2024.
Anita J. Temple is the Corporate Journalist at commercetools. She was a fashion editor at Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) and W Magazine before launching a career as a freelance writer and creative producer. She has written content and worked on a wide range of marketing projects for companies including Dreamworks, Walmart, Coca-Cola, Verizon, and Adidas.