Thomson Holidays launch digital retail experience at new Westfield store

Sticking with digital customer engagement this week – and the Retail Design Expo, Thomson Holidays  announced used the event to announce their new plans to roll out their successful ‘Holiday Design’ retail format to another new store, which will be opening in Westfield, London. You may remember we blogged about this design back in 2013 – when they opened the first store of its kind in Bluewater. Since then, the digital retail experience has proved so successful they are rolling it out to stores UK wide, including the new shop at Westfield which will be opening in mid-June.

Since 2013 27 of Thomson’s 650 stores have been redeveloped to include the new format which integrates digital retail technology including an interactive world map and a digital holiday mood board, coupled with a new sales strategy, where customers can design their own holiday and explore their decisions without pressure. Since it’s launch, the Bluewater store has proven the success of the format, making three times as many sales as any other Thomson store – along with a higher than average customer spend.

Head of retail transformation at Thomsen TUI Travel, Doug Glenwright described the success of their retail strategy to Retail Design World Magazine:

“We are putting people back at the heart of the buying process…from a people perspective, we are now focusing on service via a soft sell, so we are changing the conversation that staff are having. The new service concept is facilitated by technology and delivered by strategic design.

“By Introducing human technology to change the conversation, it enables us to maximise the experience of the customer. [The store has created] a memorable, branded experience for Thomson. Even if people choose not to purchase in the store, customers end up having a positive experience.

“Over 50% of the Net Promoter Score [which Thomson Holidays use to measure brand preference] is delivered by the pre-travel experience, so it’s incredibly important to deliver both an in-store and online experience.”