Team Desire

Technology has radically changed how people shop, the retail industry is evolving.

It’s not just about the physical store, it’s about engaging senses and emotions. About communication and interaction

joining seamlessly to provide a consistent and complete brand experience at every touch point.

How can we own the future of retail?

We knew we wanted to create an innovative retail experience, so we carried out some research in 5 key areas to try and narrow down the brief. The 5 areas are as follows;

- Companies that do experience/theatrical retail- Consumer likes and dislikes- Emotions and Senses- Technology- Theatrics outside retail

Challenging and narrowing the brief

Following our research we decided to concentrate on holiday retail. Holidays are the highlight of a persons year, so why is it that the booking process is the exact opposite? Travel agent stores themselves haven’t changed much since the 90’s and we think it’s time they did.

Here are just a few travel facts;- 60million people go on holiday every year- The UK travel industry is work £114billion- 80% of holidays are now booked online- Travel agents are disappearing from the high street

We decided we needed to bring theatrics, senses and emotions to the holiday retail experience. Create an emotional connection with the consumer and a tailor not just their holiday experience but how they book it too.

We decided bring Expedia to the high street

- Connect customers positive emotions of going on holiday, with the actual booking process- Deliver a personalised travel services- Become a trusted travel partner rather than just a booking engine.- Become a travel agent run by travellers- Become a World bank of knowledge- Deliver an exciting, efficient, honest and cost effective service- Give stores a contemporary, warm and clean yet innovative and quirky feel

Objectives

Development

We need to involve people in the experience of exploration.We should be a facilitator of knowledge to help customers discover their perfect holiday

Tell me, and I will forget. Show me and I may remember.

Involve and I will understand.

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The IdeasWe decided on 4 key elements in our to meet our objectives:

- In-store experience

- The big screen

- Expedia passport

- Service propositions

Throughout these touch points we have 3 key aims:

- Create and experience that brings the emotion of holidays to the booking stage

- To become a facilitator enabling consumers to connect with others around the World, to help

them create their ideal holiday

- Engage with the customer fluidly between touch points to create a complete holiday

experience

In-store Experience

The store itself will be a haven in the middle of a busy street. Staff will be friendly and welcoming. Customers will step down into the store, as if

stepping into another zone.

The colour scheme will be calming and natural – with the open plan layout encouraging exploration. We want to create a warm and

serene atmosphere in the store. Natural wood features will create a relaxed mood, with gentle lighting and soft colourings giving the

store a comfortable feel.

Furniture will be contemporary and modern, with clean lines and colours included in the Expedia logo.

The staff hub will be a central docking stand, which will be low and unimposing. The atmosphere with in the store will be

informal, with most staff will moving around freely.

Scent Wall

To engage customers’ senses, we feel that smell is particularly important. The area of the brain that interprets scent has a very close relationship with the areas responsible for emotion, learning and memory, meaning that scents can cause incredibly strong emotion and memories. The wall display scents from around the world, encouraging customers to smell and see what memories the scents trigger for them. There will also be a twitter feed where customers can use a hash-tag to share their memories of the scent with others – as well as engaging the senses we hope that this will inspire our customers, another way that they can connect with other travellers.

We will also connect with the senses using lighting and music. Run through the lighting, music, and drinks/snacks.

The interactive map will incorporate touch screen technology to allow customers to interact with destinations and other holiday makers. The map will work as a whole to create an arresting visual experience and also as individual screens when customers approach it. The wall will encompass an expanse of information from social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.

The information will be interpreted and visualised for the user. Through reviews, photographs and memories from other travellers, the customer will gain a better understanding of destinations.

Customers will have the opportunity to search the map based on personal interests, for example filtering areas by their nightlife or historical relevance.

The screen will also show real time weather information, and users will be able to view live web cams of destinations. A partnership with Google maps will enable zooming right to street level. With

more and more specified information being filtered through.

Interactive Map

At the point of purchase, customers will receive an Expedia Travel card featuring a QR code. This will connect them to a personalised online profile.

Specific to the customers holiday and destination they will have direct access to relevant information and advice. This may feature:

- Journey/flight information- Recommended vaccinations- Visa requirements- Packing tips- Useful phrases/online language tuition- A Spotify playlist- Countdown to their holiday- Vouchers for restaurants/bars

Expedia Passport

The welcome home pack will be delivered to the holiday makers home address for them to find when they return home. The aim is to allow a stress

free transition from holiday back to real life. The pack will include:

- Basic groceries; Milk, bread, etc

- Link to a personalised ‘catch up website’ so they can find out what they’ve missed. This would include World news and news about their friends through

a link with their Facebook account.

- Link to discounted photo printing facilities

Welcome Home

ConclusionOur creative brief was to connect our customers to the holiday feeling from booking to arrival home. We believe we have created a complete experience that will impact upon customers.

It’s not just about fancy technology of friendly staff. It’s about sharing and passing on travel knowledge to make the World a more accessible place for customers.