Reebok Touch Table
Augmented Reality Smart Retail
Brief as received
The Reebok brand is moving in a positive direction, but we’re still seeing a lag at retail.
Our brand tracking and product testing data says we should be doing better, but there’s a problem in the “last 10 feet” at retail.
How can we get consumers to be more curious and re-engage with our product at retail?
Research & Insights
Interviewed ten Footlocker employees and analyzed retail metrics for footwear.
Marketing was not the problem - everything after it was.
Retail employees not commissioned competitively for our products so much less likely to be recommended.
The retail research established a clear relationship between picking a shoe up and trying it on, and trying it on and buying the shoe.
Re-framed brief
Simply - How could we get consumers to pick up Reebok shoes at retail, more often?
Sharpened audience definition
Younger retail audience. Mostly 14-18 year old males. Many below driving age - “Mall Rats”
Problem identified
Reebok has poor retail presence - limited SKU’s and poor shelf position, so it’s difficult for consumers to pick them out in the environment.
There was little reason for commissioned sales people to recommend Reebok products so they were not going to help.
Net Net: Reeboks were too hard to pick up.
Insight that shed new light
The ratings, reviews and deep product technology information on the internet was powering Reebok sales online. There was disconnect between how many people wanted to try Reebok and actually did at retail.
Marketplace & cultural understanding
The internet was permitting retail environments through ”touch.” Retail touch screens have just come to market and have consumers attention but they were very expensive. Microsoft Surface launched a perfect solution for our problem, but it was almost $50k per unit.
A new way of thinking about the product or brand
The new Reebok Zigtech line says a lot with it’s looks, but what if they could explain themselves?
What if Reebok shoes could tap into the deep product info and positive reviews of the internet, and sell themselves to consumers?
Work the brief inspired
The Reebok Augmented Reality Touch Table - A never before seen interactive table was a multitouch retail display technology designed to encourage customers to pick up and interact with shoes.
When a Reebok shoe is placed on the table, infrared camera hardware combined with computer vision software uniquely recognizes the product by reading the tread pattern, and displays dynamic content including product information, videos, images as well as ratings and reviews from the internet.
The experience encourages consumers to take Reeboks off the shelf and place them on the large screen.
A 'Toe to To’ mode enabled shoppers to compare two shoes on the table at the same time, and save their favorites to their mobile phone.
The Reebok Touch Table enabled shoppers to interact with Reeboks in a wholly unexpected way.
Results
During initial prototype testing, at a single location, customers immediately picked shoes off the wall and placed them on the table, with no instruction or prompting.
The table increased Reebok “try-ons” by a factor of ten at this location.
The prototype’s success and it’s fractional cost when compared to the only other commercially available touch table in the marketplace, prompted Reebok to order 47 Augmented Reality tables for their Reebok Athletic Club stores around the world.