AT&T Announces Next Evolution Of Its Retail Store, Designed For And Around The Customer Experience

Recently, AT&T unveiled its newest store design that gives a glimpse at what the future of retail will look like – a store built around the customer experience. This latest evolution of AT&T’s company-owned retail store design will begin rolling out at new and redesigned store locations across the country beginning today with a new store opening in LaGrange, Ill. and continuing into 2014. 

The new store concept is the culmination of more than two years of exploration of how to better meet the needs of customers and embodies the spirit of the brand’s "Rethink Possible" tagline with immersive product experiences and engaging merchandising displays. AT&T tested store concepts by building physical store shells in a warehouse in Milwaukee. 

Key store design elements include:

• Flexible design and open layout encourage customer exploration and discovery. This is achieved through flexible wall systems and a new adaptable kit of parts.
• Digital screens are integrated throughout the environment for interaction, education and brand content delivery.
• New finish palette blends the warmth of wood, with glossy white high tech finishes, both balanced by the bold pop of AT&T's signature orange.
• Familiar forms and residential styling of the fixture and furnishings create a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.
• New exterior design invites customers in with a unique porch feature and large open windows that maximize daylight and views in and out of the store.
• The store was designed with sustainability in mind with LED lighting and selective material use (such as reclaimed teak wood). 

The store design has an open, lofty and high tech atmosphere yet is made to feel more personal and intimate, with three distinct but interconnected zones:

• The Connected Experience Zone where customers can use vignettes, or “Experience Pavilions,” to discover AT&T technology solutions.
• The Community Zone, an area at the heart of the store that encourages customers to shop and explore in an open, interactive atmosphere.
• The Explore Zone where customers can experience AT&T’s device lineup.

Many of the elements of AT&T’s new flexible, scalable design have been implemented at our award-winning Michigan Avenue flagship brand store that launched last year. In addition to the cutting-edge design, AT&T is bringing in new technology to make sales more efficient and interactive, including:

• Mobile and distributed point-of-sale (POS) system that allows customers and reps to connect face-to-face and a semi-private customer consultation area.
• Mobile planograms that show store employees how and where to stock shelves and pegs, allowing for near real-time updates and reduction in paper consumption.
• E-brochures of products and service information that can be displayed on tablets, as well as removal of typical retail duratrans/printed banners.