With consumers demanding more convenient and unique shopping experiences, what is your retail operation going to do to ensure you swim and don't sink?

1. THE PLAY
ISSUE 06 || DECEMBER 2013 REPORT A brief study on the changing landscape
of brand experiences.
Ar
AUGMENTED
REALITY
O² M
MOBILE
ONLINE
+ OFFLINE
DP
DIGITAL
PERSONALISATION
P
POP UP
The Retail
Experience
Featuring Selfridges, +rehabstudio, Oscar Wylee, QThru & IKEA

2. P DP OAUGMENTED
POP UP DIGITAL PERSONALISATION ² ONLINE+OFFLINE M MOBILE AR
REALITY Hello
As we flick the calendar over to
December, the holiday season
draws even closer.
So it's time to write that manic
shopping list for all things festive -
food, presents and parties.
In 2013 the shopping experience
is more diverse and ubiquitous
than ever - online, offline, POP Up
or perhaps you prefer the retailer
coming to you?
The choice is well and truly yours.
Come with us as we examine our
favourite innovations and trends
in retail from 2013.
Enjoy!
The PLAY team
PS – We’d love to hear your
feedback on the issue. Tweet us
your thoughts! @playcomm
+REHABSTUDIO
The future of store front
window displays.
OSCAR WYLEE
The online and offline retail
experience integrated.
QTHRU
Say goodbye to
supermarket queues
forever.
SELFRIDGES
Department store retailing
turned on its head.
IKEA
Augmented reality in home
furniture trials.

3. THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
Did you
know?
DID YOU KNOW?
88%
of online shoppers in Australia
expect to increase or maintain
their current online spending
Frost & Sullivan Report, PWC (2012)
$16.0 billion
2012 Australian online sales
$253.8 billion
2012 Australian retail sales
Frost & Sullivan Report, PWC (2012)
of in store respondents
want easier and faster
payment processes
(Oracle: Experience Retail, 2013)
1 in 3 shoppers use their
smartphones to find information
instead of asking store employees
Google, How Mobile Is Transforming the Shopping Experience In Stores (2013)
According to Boston Consulting
Group Australian online retail
grows by 18% per year, while the
growth of classic brick & mortar
retail remains flat with about 3%
per year
Survey BCG 2013 http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/australians-killing-brick-mortar-retail-
205201950.html
According to research conducted
by eMarketer, 92.5 million US
consumers redeemed a digital
coupon in 2012.
CMO.com.au article “Burgeoning Mobile Coupon Phenomenon
Poised to Sweep Australian Retail Landscape” (2013)
54%
of worldwide shoppers see
physical stores as their most
preferred shopping channel
Fitchs joy of shopping survey
84%
of smartphone shoppers use
their device to help shop in store.
Google, How Mobile Is Transforming the Shopping Experience In Stores
67%

4. THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
SELFRIDGES TURNS DEPARTMENT STORE RETAILING ON ITS HEAD
No logos + no branding +
meditation = more sales
A high-end department store is typically not the place to
escape materialism and establish a state of calm.
However, this year, Selfridges brought its1909 Silence Room back
to life, giving shoppers a place to “retire from the whirl of bargains
and the build-up of energy”. The 21st century reincarnation is a
quiet space complete with guided meditation programmes.
On top of this, Selfridges has built a custom ‘No Noise’ pop up store,
selling de-branded products ranging from Heinz baked beans to
Levi’s jeans.
So what is it about hushed salespeople, minimalist clothing
and famous products without their names and logos that
attracts shoppers?
This minimalist approach to branding puts emphasis on the
brilliance of the product rather than the fame of the brand.
In doing so, the companies demonstrate confidence in their
products and their no-noise brands suggest they are good
enough to speak for themselves.
The result? Increased sales, increased store traffic and raised brand
awareness for Selfridges and the involved brands. All that from a
campaign that claims to do just the opposite.
WATCH
ON
YOUTUBE
P DP O² M AR
PERSPECTIVE
Understand the power of your brand.
Provide a meaningful shopping
experiences. Offer unique and
limited products.

5. THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
WHAT IF WINDOW DISPLAYS WERE
TAILORED TO EACH CONSUMER?
+rehabstudiobring Minority
Report style advertising
to life with the interactive
digital window display
According to PLAY’s research, shop window displays first
appeared in department stores in 1780. Since then not much
has changed, until now.
Belfast digital developers,+rehabstudio, dream of a future
where shop windows don’t have to be a passive experience.
They have taken one step forward by creating a prototype –
a window that adapts its content to suit whoever standing in front of it.
Identifying passing by consumers via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
technology, it instantly reacts to a combination of personal data
stored on each consumer's mobile device (e.g. brand preference
or purchase history) and real-time events (e.g. news and weather)
to personalise content and purchase opportunities.
Intrigued shoppers can then swipe through personalised offers
and place items in a virtual shopping cart – purchasing straight
from the display.
+rehabstudio look to a future where billboards, ambient advertising,
bus stops and venue screens incorporate this kind of personalisation.
There is no escape mahaha (evil laugh).
WATCH
ON
YOUTUBE
P DP O² M AR
PERSPECTIVE
Use data, connection technology and
human customer service to meet the
shopper where they are and tailor
offerings that are most suited to them.

6. THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
HOW DO RETAILERS MAKE HIGH INVOLVEMENT
PURCHASES EASIER ON THE CONSUMER?
Oscar Wylee eyewear
merges the world of online
and offline shopping
How do two 20 somethings operating out of a garage start
to scare multinational eyeglass retailers?
They change everything about the consumer experience!
Realising that high-quality stylish eyewear shouldn’t be expensive,
nor should consumers actually have to visit a store, Oscar Wylee
invented their own try-on concept.
They have given power back to the consumer who can visit the
brick and mortar store (conveniently located in Sydney CBD), try
glasses on via the “virtual mirror” online, or pick 5 pairs and have
them delivered to their home free of charge to try out which pair
they prefer. The choice is ours!
Cutting out the middleman and sourcing the eyewear direct from
the factory means a pair of glasses with either prescription or
polarized lenses costs only $98 AUD.
It seems Oscar Wylee’s model is gaining traction. The website is
attracting 80,000+ unique visitors a month - 5000+ of whom are
using the Virtual Mirror.
Adding salt to the wounds of multinational eyewear retailers, this
two-man operation donates a pair of glasses for every pair bought
to someone in need in a developing nation.
WATCH
ON
YOUTUBE
P DP O² M AR
PERSPECTIVE
Think like the consumer.
Don’t be confined by industry norms.
Adapt to the needs of the consumer.

7. THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
HOW CAN LESS QUEUEING LEAD TO HIGHER STORE TRAFFIC?
QThru says goodbye to lines,
reduces labour costs and
improves customer satisfaction
After a successful test-run at a local supermarket in Washington,
mobile self-checkout service provider, QThru, is gaining
momentum and spreading throughout the USA.
QThru aims to solve - once and for all - the issue of long lines in
grocery stores. Users download the iOS or Android app and fill
in their credit cards’ details. When in store, a quick glance at the
Deals section shows all the daily discounts on offer, then shoppers
scan item barcodes and check out by entering their pass code
and QR-code at a QThru kiosk. Once a supermarket employee
does a final check, shoppers are on their way. Easy!
Targeting small-mid-sized stores who cannot justify the
$20,000+ investment needed for self-checkout counters, QThru
represents an affordable solution that delivers real cost savings
and increased patronage.
The App will work in any store that is connected to the system
and incorporate a coupon portal, allowing stores to create
coupon campaigns with advanced geographic and store targeting.
This is an exciting innovation for the consumer and retailer as sales
promotions become customised to the shopper and are delivered
in real time based on scanned products.
WATCH
ON
YOUTUBE
P DP O² M AR
PERSPECTIVE
Technology should simultaneously
decrease business expenses whilst
enhancing the consumer experience.

8. THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
P DP O² M AR
HOW CAN AN APP HELP CONSUMERS
MAKE COMPLEX PURCHASE DECISIONS?
IKEA enable in home
furniture trials with the
help of augmented reality.
According to Innovative Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, more than
14% of customers suffer from Square peg, round hole syndrome.
That is they’ve bought the wrong-sized furniture for their rooms.
With the release of the 2014 IKEA catalogue, the retailer takes the
guess work out of furniture shopping by incorporating augmented
reality furniture trials into traditional print catalogues.
No longer must consumers rely on flimsy tape measures
to determine whether their desired furniture will fit.
Using a smartphone or tablet, furniture is scanned and the
catalogue is placed in the hypothetical location, the app then
judges the scale of surrounding furnishings and creates an
augmented reality image of the furniture in context of its
potential future home.
Once the consumer has chosen their furniture and laid it throughout
their house, they can watch a few branded films and browse 360°
room sets on their device.
PERSPECTIVE
Consumers Crave Convenience!
Digital Applications should
alleviate real consumer problems.
WATCH
ON
YOUTUBE

9. WHO WE ARE
PLAY is a communication agency that specialises in
Brand Experience Marketing. We activate brands,
leverage sponsorships, create events and branded
environments, and maximise every connection through
mobile and digital amplification. We are known for our
strategic, accountable and business centric approach.
Our clients understand that we deliver sales,
differentiate their brand and products, and build loyalty
across consumer, trade and internal audiences.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
We are experiential thinkers. We place the customer
experience at the centre of what we do. This enables us
to identify channel neutral, high impact marketing
opportunities for our clients and ensures a relevant and
meaningful dialogue with consumers.
WE HAVE AN EXPERIENTIAL
MIND AND A DIGITAL SPIRIT
Consumers don't differentiate between a digital and real
life experience with a brand. Neither do we. We fuse our
strategic, creative, digital and activation capabilities into
a seamless experience, delivering against defined
business objectives.
WANT TO PLAY?
For business and press enquiries please contact:
Simon Horauf // Founder Director
Simon.Horauf@playcomms.com
CONTACT
T: +61 2 8199 9900
F: +61 2 9281 8125
OFFICE ADDRESS
Level 1, 91 Campbell Street, Surry Hills
NSW 2010, Australia
POSTAL ADDRESS
PO Box 1073 Darlinghurst
NSW 1300, Australia
WEBSITE