Checkout app replicates in-store experience

In an attempt to create a safer and more comfortable shopping experience for customers, the immersive Showfields is launching a contactless in-store app

Spotted: The COVID-19 pandemic has cost the retail sector billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. One such place that has been affected is the immersive retail startup Showfields in New York City, which has been adjusting to a new normal, where interacting with objects and people in-store can be a hazard. As its flagship store in Soho has reopened, they’ve had to be innovative, maintaining the old in-store experience for customers in the form of the Magic Wand app.

For customers who feel comfortable venturing out and making the trip to the store, the recently launched Magic Wand app has been designed to serve as a virtual retail adviser for customers. The app will provide additional information on display objects, which customers can choose by tapping or scanning them using their phones. To make a purchase, objects can simply be added to a digital cart, and customers can then check out without having to interact with a store associate. Purchases can then be picked up fully sanitised on the way out of the store.

Showfields CEO, Tal Zvi Nathanel, launched the store’s eCommerce website shortly after the pandemic broke out. The site replicates the in-store experience by streaming live product reviews that customers can watch before purchasing an item.

Customers can now book virtual or in-store viewing appointments on the Showfields website.  

Explore more: Retail Innovations | COVID-19 Innovations