THE DIGITAL RETAIL EXPERIENCE

TitleTHE DIGITAL RETAIL EXPERIENCE
BrandPOLESTAR
Product/ServicePOLESTAR
Category G02. Spatial Tech
Entrant POLESTAR HQ Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Idea Creation EHRENSTRAHLE Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production THE TECHNO CREATIVES Göthenburg, SWEDEN
Production 2 EDITHOUSE FILMWORKS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Production 3 BRIGO AB Mölndal, SWEDEN
Production 4 ITAB SHOP CONCEPT Jönköping, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Andréas Silverblad Ehrenstråhle Design Director
Robert Waern Ehrenstråhle Business Director
Johan Kruse Ehrenstråhle Strategist
Fredrik Widell Ehrenstråhle Digital Director
Elinor Vestergaard Ehrenstråhle Copywriter
Johan De Cal Ehrenstråhle Copywriter
Jesper Hellmark Ehrenstråhle UI Designer
Emelie Eriksson Ehrenstråhle Graphic Designer
Kathrin Bachert Polestar Digital Lead, Retail Experiences

Background

Entering this project, Polestar had a showrooms concept – Polestar Spaces. This minimalistic concept was built to show off design, cars and selected components in a gallery-like fashion. However, it soon became obvious to Polestar that the ultra minimalistic concept needed further communication and visitor gratification and assigned us to solve this. Visitors could enter the showroom, look around and maybe talk to a salesperson if they were available – but that was it. Our assignment was to make the entire retail concept more interactive, with the goal of making consumers understand and like the brand and products in a deeper way. There was one big challenge though – we weren’t allowed to add any physical signage or additional visible screens to the existing concept other than what was already part of the concept. If successful in first implementations in Oslo and Shanghai, the solutions would then be implemented globally.

Describe the strategy

Visitors entering the showroom all have different mindsets. Some are just curious to find out more about the Polestar brand and its products – some are there to configure and buy a new car. No matter what they were there for, we needed to heighten the brand experience during their stay. So, in line with the minimalistic concept of Polestar Spaces, our approach was to find new ways to apply interactive technology that didn’t interfere with the overall visual experience of the showroom. We needed to develop concealed, smart solutions that could adapt and enhance the experience for the individual visitor when it was needed – rather than being always on for the masses.

Describe the execution

We broke down the direct needs of visitors into three types of touchpoints: wayfinding, deepened product information and car configuration. For wayfinding we used hidden projectors, projecting simplistic animated CTA’s onto the floor of the showroom – keeping communication low-key but visible. As a backdrop to the exhibited dampers and brakes, we installed digital displays behind a custom developed frosted glass to seamlessly integrate them into the interior. The displays were connected to proximity cameras that allowed us to adapt the information behind the displayed objects. The closer you got, the deeper the info displayed on the hidden screens. To heighten the in-store car configuration experience, we designed and developed RFID-connected material samples to be used with a new touchscreen car configurator. This allowed visitors to tactilely configure the exterior, interior and wheels of their new Polestar car in a way that just couldn’t be done at home.

List the results

With the implementation of new, intuitive retail solutions, Polestar Spaces went from being a gallery of cars, car parts and materials to being a fully spatial and digital interactive brand experience. These interactive solutions freed up time for the busy Polestar staff and kept visitors occupied long enough for the staff to deal with them later on. After a successful pilot testing in Oslo and Shanghai in 2020, the solutions are now being implemented on a full global scale in over 40 more locations.