Optical retailer OPSM has partnered with marketing and consultancy company SapientNitro to launch its first digitally enabled concept store at Macquarie Centre Sydney with other concept stores expected to roll out nationally in 2015.

The new in-store model uses digital technology to help achieve the OPSM goal of delivering the world’s best customer experience in the optical category. The first generation of the prototype store consists of a GetSet check-in kiosk and Digital Dashboard. The GetSet check-in kiosk is designed to help customers orient themselves once instore, manage queues and enable customers to have a quick overview of the services and offerings in-store, making the experience more personable even though the customer self-manages the process.

The first iteration of digital dashboard displays will be used to drive incremental foot traffic in-store by showing available eye test appointment times in real time, as well as displaying in-store promotions. It will also contain other branded content such as a list of optometrists working in store, the latest styles, and opening hours. The second generation of the dashboard will enable customers to book eye test appointments directly through the dashboard.

OPSM with the SapientNitro team will focus on validating the initial hypotheses and watching real life consumers interact with the new in-store experience to define the scope for the next iteration. The team will also focus on testing what type of content best builds the OPSM experience and redefine the new store experience and identify future digital opportunities for today’s time poor consumer.

This is the first time SapientNitro’s proprietary IONOS Management Application has been used in Australia. IONOS is a cloud-based solution that allows content to be managed across multiple digital touch points in venues such as airports, shopping centres and retail stores. It enables OPSM to manage their digital signage deployment from a single web-accessible console, including managing digital display content, managing devices, and scheduling the advertising elements of the digital displays.

Elizabeth Arnold, director, omnichannel customer experience said, “We’re delighted with the new concept store and seeing how digital has become a key part of that experience. SapientNitro’s collaborative and iterative approach has helped us deliver a really great experience against a rapid rollout and tight timeline. This is a key step for realising our omnichannel vision by defining and implementing a set of digital experiences that will redefine how OPSM interacts with our customers across all of our stores in Australia and New Zealand.”

SapientNitro’s managing director Australia Marcos Kurowski added, “Too much in-store technology spend is currently being wasted on gimmicky solutions that don’t scale. We are excited to be able to bring our unique blend of creative and technical imagination and agile prototyping approach to help OPSM build and optimise their retail environment to become the benchmark amongst Australasian retailers. This project has allowed us to bring to bear our key skills and strengths in omnichannel retail. On the back of relaunching OPSM’s brand online and adding ecommerce capabilities to their website, it’s great to be able to bring a more deeply engaging customer experience to the retail environment.”