The NextRetail Research Center (NRRC) is an ecosystem for human-centered design thinking in retail and loss prevention. We consider this new location a hub for innovation, allowing our researchers and the LPRC community to craft the retail landscape of the future. The following applications for the NRRC demonstrate potential ways that our members can utilize this new environment.
- Brainstorm Solutions in our Ideation Lab
The Ideation and Simulation Lab (ISL) at the NRRC is a flexible, modular space where interdisciplinary teams gather to solve problems. This space is built to be fluid, as teams have different needs at different stages of the design process. For example, we might have to provide three different subspaces for teams to work on competing solutions, and the next day we may need a theater where participants act out scenarios where the same solutions might come into play.
- Training Simulations
The immersive experiences afforded by virtual and augmented reality offer exciting improvements upon traditional training methods. The LPRC is interested in bringing behavioral insights to training programs and refining them in the NextRetail Research Center. With the use of AR/VR technology, the insights of our members, and our ongoing collection of data, we have the capability to produce effective and innovative training applications.
- Build your Store Environment in VR
One of the many exciting opportunities VR allows us is to quickly redesign stores in the morning, and shop in them the same afternoon. The LPRC is working on a VR application that will be a retail sandbox for our members. The idea is to model several store environments and create a library of objects to place within these environments. Collaborations with key industry and technology partners, including Sensormatic and Nedap, allow us to develop and iterate new assets and implementations.
- Get detailed biometric and eye-tracking data to validate new ideas
Eye-tracking technology, in both virtual reality and real stores, allows us to measure what test participants really notice. For example: To test the deterrent value of a new approach to combatting shoplifting, we could simulate multiple versions in a virtual environment, and then ask test participants to perform actions in that environment. Eye-tracking allows us to map which versions offenders and customers noticed the most and returned to visually.
Further measurements like heart rate and galvanic skin response allow us to quantify an emotional response alongside eye-tracking data. This data allows us to resolve ambiguity around new approaches and important questions in the rapidly changing retail landscape.
To start a conversation with our team on how your organization can use the NextRetail Research Center, reach out to us here.