Retail Case Study: Microsoft Surface
The retail sector has become a very competitive environment in recent years. Online competition has changed the game significantly, yet traditional brick and mortar stores still have their place, particularly for products that require trying-on or test-driving to some extent. So if you’re one of the world’s largest technology companies, how do you architect a retail model that not only brings traffic into stores, but also engages people and provides an experience that they’ll remember after they’re done shopping? For Microsoft, the answer is XOGO.
Challenge
Microsoft sells its acclaimed Surface products (Surface Pro, Surface Book and Surface Studio) via retail channel partners all over the world including Best Buy, FNAC and Harvey Norman. The Surface management team needed to find a way to make their products stand out among competing hardware in-store and provide a fun experience that shoppers would want to interact with. The solution would have to be intuitive, cost-effective and technologically bulletproof.
Solution
XOGO worked with Microsoft in order to design interactive experiences powered by our digital signage platform that would be plugged into displays on the end of their retail tables. Essentially there is a fanless media player PC securely hidden inside the retail table that plays looping “attract” videos on large displays, displaying information about the various Surface devices sitting on the table.
When a shopper interacts with the Surface devices on the table, he is invariably surprised to discover that as he clicks a Surface Pen or removes a Surface Pro keyboard (as just two examples), the content on the large screens instantly changes to display video content related to the pen or keyboard, respectively. Imagine clicking a stylus and seeing an entire video wall transform and tell you about the finer points of that device. That’s what the experience is all about.
Outcome
After extensive testing internally, Microsoft deployed the interactive XOGO solution via selected retail partners across Europe, Asia and North America in late 2016. The initial systems received excellent reviews for customer engagement and reliability, and will be deployed in nearly a dozen more countries in early 2017.
What’s Next
XOGO and Microsoft are continually refining the Surface retail experience - we can’t discuss all of the development going on just yet, but future iterations are likely to include additional gamification and social media integrations. Stop by your local Microsoft Surface retailer to see the latest.
The XOGO platform was designed to be beautiful and easy to use, yet it supports powerful features like IOT triggers that allow everyone -from small businesses to the world’s largest software company- to create compelling retail experiences that bridge the gap between online and in-store. Why not download our software today and give it a test drive? We think you’ll like what we’ve done.
