Retail Only Dedicated monthly retail coverage High Street’s new look Firm uses empty retail windows to direct footfall to local businesses
by Laura Barnes A NEW company is hoping to regenerate footfall on UK High Streets by filling up empty windows with interactive brand showcases. With over 46,000 empty
windows currently on the High Street, Nexus Engage is working with tech brands to fill stores with interactive screens, Twitter walls and Click & Collect services. “One of the things that
we try to do is preserve the High Street rather than take business away,” Simon Ellson, Nexus Engage’s CEO, told PCR. “We can use it as brand building, to launch new products and then use it as a direction mechanism to send a consumers to a retailer.” One example of how this
works is the firm’s recent campaign with Monster. In Southampton’s
WestQuay shopping centre Nexus Engage set up a
“One of the things we try to do is preserve the High Street rather than take business away from it.”
Simon Ellson, Nexus Engage
window displaying Monster’s £170 headphones and directed them to John Lewis. “The store saw a 300 per cent uplift in sales,” said Ellson. The firm, which was only set up in September 2013, plans on incorporating a Click & Collect service. “A consumer will see a product in a window, use their smartphone to look it up then arrange to pick it up in a local store,” added Ellson.
Store of the Month Mystery Shopper News Comment On the Frontline Sector Guides
Save our stores
IT’S NO secret that UK High Streets are struggling at the moment. Over the past few years we’ve seen a number of big retailers fall into administration and I would hate to guess how many independent IT retailers have closed down up and down the country. We’ve seen a number of projects
launch that are trying their hardest to convince consumers to get off the internet and return to their local town centre. The UK government recently announced that it will hand out discounts on business rates to smaller retailers, including indie PC and tech stores. Projects such as Independent Retailer Month and,
more recently, Small Business Saturday, are encouraging UK shoppers to visit these independent tech stores. But what about the retail space that is already empty? The government will be halving the rates for new occupants in a bid to get vacant shops on the High Street open again and companies like Nexus Engage are setting up interactive displays showing product ranges and special in-store offers in the area – all in the windows of empty stores. Its recent campaign with Monster proved very successful. The firm set up a window displaying Monster’s £170 headphones, directing shoppers to a nearby John Lewis. The store saw a 300 per cent uplift in sales during the campaign. I predict that in the near future we’ll be seeing the face of the High Street change from empty property on every corner to gleaming interactive windows directing us to the nearest retailer best suited to our needs.
Laura Barnes
Laura.Barnes@
intentmedia.co.uk PCR takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues in the industry. The current members are: RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD
Craig Hume, Utopia Computers
Jason Eccles, SimplyFixIT
Lorelei Gibb, Dolphin Upgrades
Chris Butterworth, Synaxon
Ketu Patel, Amazon
Duncan Rutherford,
Dabs.com
Steve Ling, Overclockers UK
Jonpaul Warren, ebuyer
Sarah Jasper,
Zavvi.com
Dean Kramer, Dixons
CK, YOYOTech
Jat Mann, PC PAL
Iain Shaw, Brigantia
Phil Browes, HMV
Phylip Morgan, Network Group
Vaughan Shayler, CompTIA
Rebecca Smith, John Lewis
Simon Barry, Argos
Gavin Holder, GHI Computers
Chris Innes, Micro Plus
James Gorbold, Scan Computers
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