What is a Concept Store?

The Concept Store is where retailers and brands test new ideas such as store layout and fixtures and design, launch specialty products for a targeted audience, introduce lifestyle services such as on-site tailors and restaurants, and deploy interactive elements such as augmented reality studios.

Experiential Retail refers to elements that enhance the In-Store Customer Experience, such as private client retailing, cafes and live music, and virtual reality games.   

Most retailers consider a single pilot store as a concept store. The more innovative retailers embed experimental attitude into their flagship stores.

5 Must-See Examples & Case Studies of Experiential Retail (NEW in 2020):

• Nordstrom Flagship on 57th & Broadway
• Showfields on 11 Bond Street Soho
• Hudson Yards Mall on 11Avenue & 30th  
• Starbucks Reserve on 10 Waverly Place
• Nike’s Flagship on 650 Fifth Avenue

Retail-Tech Trends in 2020
2020 welcomes a new decade in retail with a focus on technology, stores, and ecosystems:

• AI + 5G = Retail-Tech Store: AI stands for a variety of advanced technologies. With 5G, data can move with ease back and forth between corporate servers and the local stores. The data highway ignites creativity. and growth.
• Physical Stores are Hubs: Physical stores evolved into fulfillment centers, showrooms to Omnichannel shopping, and high-touch market and product research centers.
• ​Retail-Tech is an Ecosystem: As strong brands get stronger, and big stores get bigger, the relationships between retailers, brands, and malls are being rebalanced. In the next decade, retail will evolve into a holistic distribution and communication ecosystem.

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​New York has some of the biggest and best known department stores in the world. But they didn’t just gain such status through their age or product offerings. Spaces like Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Bergdorf Goodman and Nordstrom invest a lot of time and money into innovation to keep the customer experience, and back-end operations, as good as it can be.
With that in mind here are ten of the best innovations from New York’s department store giants:

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​Personalisation
 
1. Macy’s One Below

This 53,00sqft space within Macy’s Manhattan flagship may be aimed at millennials, but there are some interesting personalisation offerings among the selfie walls. A 3D printer from 3D Systems Cube lets customers print their own jewellery and phone cases, while links with big brands means shoppers can end up with a product that’s very personal to them. That includes building their own Fossil watch and adding an engraving, or laser-etching designs on their Levi jeans.
 
2. Saks Fifth Avenue 24-hour personalised ecommerce service

The home of numerous innovations, Saks Fifth Avenue’s latest development aims to bring the in-store experience to online shoppers – any time of the day or night. The 24/7 personalised ecommerce experience (powered by Salesfloor) lets Saks Associates create customised boutique pages with a personally curated selection of Saks products, and share them with new and existing customers.

Associates can also offer advice through live chatbots, email or scheduled appointments giving customers the personal shopper experience wherever they are.

Source:
https://www.insider-trends.com/10-innovations-from-new-york-department-stores/