The Vitamin Shoppe has opened an innovation store in Edgewater, N.J. that incorporates on-demand digital product guides, enhanced mobile POS checkout and the new Only Me personalized health assessment and subscription service, among other features. The retailer plans to open five additional similar-format stores through January 2020.
The shop was created inside an existing 3,185-square-foot store that was redesigned for this purpose. It combines retail and education through technology such as a complimentary body composition analysis station and a supplement sampling machine. Shoppers also can receive free nutritionist consultations through the retailer’s loyalty program, and browse specialized sections like CBD Central and Keto HQ.
Shoppers looking for in-depth information can use a digital product education tool to bring up detailed usage guides, nutrition facts, customer reviews, current promotions and additional recommended products. The technology, which was installed through a partnership with Spacee, can quickly recognize any item in the store and display relevant facts on an LCD screen.
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Despite the wide array of new options, the store actually was designed to simplify the shopper journey, through the addition of a wayfinding and educational guides that help direct customers to the products they need. The store also has been designed with a warm color palette and updated fixtures to enhance merchandise layouts.
The experience will be further streamlined through the Aptos ONE Store Commerce mobile selling application, which will enable associates to ring up transactions on iPads. The tablets also can be used to access shoppers’ personal information and answer questions without requiring associates to leave the customer’s side.
Shoppers seeking a truly curated experience can visit the Only Me health bar, where they will receive a personalized online assessment that provides a custom assortment of vitamins and supplements every month. Once a subscription is set up, each delivery is sent straight to the customer’s home.
The Vitamin Shoppe is also deploying traffic counting and heat mapping technology from RetailNext to better analyze the in-store experience. This data will be used to improve the customer experience across all channels.
“Our newly remodeled Edgewater location represents the next generation of stores for The Vitamin Shoppe, and will inform the future direction of our total retail experience,” said Sharon Leite, CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe in a statement. “We have taken the elevated aesthetic of a modern apothecary and imbued it with leading-edge technology and services that will simplify and demystify the experience of shopping for health and wellness supplements.”
