Target Debuts "Smart Home" Display At Minnesota Store
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Retailer joins others in the connected home marketplace.
Target has become the latest retailer to leverage the Internet of Things and the possibilities of a “smart home.” Target is launching a “connected living experience” department in a suburban Minneapolis store and planning similar initiatives in Cupertino, CA (home of Apple) and New York City's Tribeca neighborhood, Engadget reports.
Lowes and Home Depot each already offer dedicated “smart home” displays. Lowes also developed it “holoroom” technology, which uses 3D technology to help customers envision remodeling efforts in their homes.
The new smart home department, like Target’s “Open House” display at its Yerba Buena Gardens store in San Francisco, collects a variety of connected IoT devices in one spot for display and trial, with dedicated staff to help out. Scott Nygaard, Target's senior vice president of hardline, told Engadget that such dedicated areas help customers understand the full capabilities of emerging technologies, adding that sales are better when devices are displayed and sold in one space.
Nygaard also asserted that employees in the new department will be ready, stating, “All of them will have special training, and there will be dedicated staff there at all times.”
The connected home could very well be the future of retail electronic sales. Target execs say that customers are often confused about where to find particular electronic items in its store. For example, if one is shopping for a smart thermostat, would it be in electronics or home sections? By uniting the smart and connected home devices in a single display, customers will feel more comfortable browsing and selecting items and envisioning how multiple devices might interact.
“When we have working displays in-store, we see a significant sales increase,” Nygaard explained. “It shows what the experience is like. That’s where we really see the benefit.”
The connected home display will be expanded to stores in Cupterino, California and Tribeca in New York City shortly, Chief Strategy and innovation Officer Casey Carl told Endgadget. And for the future, “We want to become the go-to resource that’s credible in this space,” Carl said.