De-Risking Innovation with a Structured Approach
The Call
An online retail giant had successfully operated a series of brick-and-mortar stores for several years and was ready to revolutionize the shopper experience in version 2.0. Shopper data gave this client a firm grasp on the shopping behaviors of their target customers and the next step was to learn more about their lifestyle, motivations, and needs, take those learnings into ideation, and finally develop and test solutions. Catapult was brought in to design and support a comprehensive research and innovation program to guide a well-informed and de-risked path to their store of the future.
Our Response
Our design involved 3 phases, beginning with virtual ethnographic interviews delving into the daily lives of the client’s target customers. This uncovered aspirations and blockers that create issues in the lives of target customers as well as an in-depth understanding of how client and competitor stores are perceived to impact their goals. These insights allowed us to identify and develop an empathetic understanding of unmet needs, forming a well-defined set of opportunities for our client to develop solutions.
Our next step was an immersive workshop with client stakeholders to socialize what we learned about their customers’ lives and facilitate an ideation session to bridge the gap between customer needs and client capabilities. The session generated 100 ideas, which were prioritized and eventually culled into 2 dozen components, including offerings, services, and experiences, which we took into focus groups to test reactions to various combinations and design executions again with the target customer group.
The Celebration
Our final work illuminated customer reactions and preferences that the store design and leadership teams used to set development strategies. These teams quickly launched from insights into action, devising plans to reimagine interior and exterior aesthetics, updating assortment, and weaving in a broader set of brand flywheel services that would resonate in a meaningful way in the lives of target customers. Store redesigns are underway and expected to rollout beginning later this year, at which point we will conduct further in-store research to understand the customer experience.