Case

KWANTUM

Kwantum presented its new 3.0 shop formula in Deventer. Formula manager Barbara Maarschalkerweerd aims to offer more inspiration, make the shopping process easier for customers and achieve complexity reduction internally. A number of customised innovations will help achieve this, such as a customer engagement tool, trend boxes and a window decoration inspiration house complete with a style quiz.

The very first 3.0 branch opened in Deventer on 16 March. “This was a slightly older shop with a lot of potential, situated in the heart of our target market,” explained Maarschalkerweerd. “That made it an ideal location for us to test our new retail concept for our boulevard shops.” The total process from initial brainstorming to roll-out took a year and a half. “We held several brainstorming sessions on how we could design ‘the shop of the future’.”

Stay relevant to consumers. According to the formula manager, this was a crucial starting point. “You see that customers in a physical shop expect more of an experience and optimal service as part of their customer journey. The current Kwantum shops have a rather functional layout and so, with the new 3.0 concept, we particularly wanted to feed the emotional axis more and help the customer with making his or her choice. In our previous concept we mainly show products, while the focus in the 3.0 concept is on solutions.”

More inspiration

Maarschalkerweerd had three objectives when developing the new concept: offer more inspiration, simplify the shopping process and reduce complexity. “Window and floor coverings are our most important product groups. We began with building on the quality perception of these products. We worked on developing its presentation further and made some changes to ensure that these products are even better showcased.”

Another novelty is trend boxes, which bring products from a variety of categories together in one trend and in one place. An inspiration house was also developed, which helps customers who aren’t exactly sure yet which window decoration suits their style. “They can take a sample from the shop presentation with them to the inspiration house, where it is projected on a huge screen in a live setting.” Whoever wants some extra help to choose a specific style can always do our style quiz, where they ‘swipe’ through different styles. “This way, we try to inspire and improve the customer journey in different ways.”

Facilitate the shopping process

The second objective was to make the shopping process more straightforward. Maarschalkerweerd explains: “In our 2.0 shops, we work with fixed samples and we have a sales counter to sell our products. It means that customers often have to walk back and forth. We have changed this in our 3.0 shop. The samples are now smaller and therefore easier to carry with you, for example to the inspiration house. The counter in this new concept has also been redesigned as is now a sales advice square, where customers don’t just come for information but can also enjoy a cup of coffee. Furthermore, presentations have been added to the concept to put all the solutions for windows or flooring we offer on display. This allows us to explain to customers how we can install made-to-measure window decoration, for example, and explain the services we provide to make their lives easier.”

To help customers make the right choice in flooring, we have developed a customer engagement tool that is almost ready for testing. “The tool lets customers scan a QR code, after which they get a list of questions in an online environment about the type of flooring they are looking for, what room it’s for, and so on. Then the tool offers a selection of floors and that match their preferences. The tool can also activate the LED lights on the ESL pricing, so that the customer sees the floors that have been selected for them.”

Complexity reduction

The above innovations align closely with objective three: complexity reduction. “Kwantum also recognises the tight labour market, which means we have to work smarter. That will allow us to dedicate more time to our customers. One development we are testing in this shop is a self-scan checkout, and there is a trial with ESL pricing. We expect that this will save a lot of time.”

Finally, it was decided to remove carpet rolls from the shop as a test. “That was actually very exciting, seeing as these roles add to our recognisability. But rolling the carpets in, cutting, rolling them up and taking them to the checkout seemed to have such an impact that we want to see what happens if we only sell these products to order.”

Partnership with Bulsink

The introduction of Concept 3.0 brings another major change. “To enhance the customer experience, we moved away from our forced routing. Customers are now in control of how they navigate through our shop.” She is happy to be working with Bulsink. “The company has been a preferred partner of ours for many years, helping us with the walls, flooring and painting. They also did a wonderful job helping us to create the open routing by putting up several walls. The cooperation has always been very pleasant.”

Maarschalkerweerd is very happy so far with the new 3.0 shop. “We are already noticing that the digital tools are being used regularly. The same goes for the self-scan and the inspiration house. In terms of revenue, we have had very good weeks.” There are already plans for a follow-up project. “We will be starting in a few weeks to create a second 3.0 shop. For this next project, too, Bulsink will take care of finishing the walls and floors, and will do the painting. We are happy that we can rely on our regular partner.”

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