Although it’s 2020, and the flying cars we predicted would be invented back in the 80’s aren’t a thing yet, innovation has become central for retailers when developing creative ways to engage customers.

b8ta, a Retail-as-a-Service (RaaS) company, has used its innovative spirit to create an engaging shopping experience for consumers. Each of the b8ta stores is a destination to discover and try innovative gadgets, without the pressure to buy.

A couple of weeks ago, we visited their flagship location in the Chicagoland area. We experienced the best, the not-so-great, and the noteworthy merchandise within the store. For brands, b8ta it is a marketplace to exhibit their innovative products for consumers.

b8ta is unique compared to other traditional retailers because they use the power of digitization throughout their stores to make the customer journey frictionless and easy. They also use this technology to provide crucial consumer insights to the brands they serve using sensors that track shopper cadence. Although digitization is a key element for b8ta, they also incorporate several physical elements to complement the digitization present in their stores. Here are some of the things we noticed that differentiated b8ta…

The store is designed for ‘Play’

Like other modern retailers, b8ta incorporates a freeform layout which encourages shoppers to wander, browse, and spend more time in the store. When we spoke to store staff, they confirmed they intentionally designed their stores to feel as ‘easy, smart, and open as online.’

The philosophy behind the b8ta stores is to increase awareness and engagement, not sales. For this reason, b8ta has purposely made the product displays – which encourage shoppers to touch and feel products – the focal points of the store.

In fact, touch itself is a powerful factor in consumer purchasing decisions. Pamela N. Danziger, a market researcher and senior contributor to Forbes.com stated, “the more people touch products while shopping the more likely they to buy…”

Simply put, touching or playing enables consumers to emotionally connect with a product – regardless if it is positive or negative interaction. Generally speaking, if a consumer has a positive interaction with a product, they will be more likely to buy a product.

Other retailers such as MediaMarkt in Eindhoven, Netherlands provide their customers with free standing interactive stations on each floor of their 4-story retail location. Live cooking workshops, gaming events and DJ sessions are just some of the few experiences customers can take part in regularly at the store. Aside from these interactive stations, MediaMarkt houses 25,000 products which are openly displayed in the store to allow customers to try-out, touch and feel the products before purchasing.

The shift in product placement and addition of interaction allows retailers to add a sense of ‘touch’ throughout their stores and helps customers have a meaningful product experience.

B8ta testers are ONLY there to help

B8ta testers are slightly different from traditional retail sales representatives. It is not mandatory for them check out customers (they have built digital channels for payment), they do not receive sales commissions nor incentives. Testers are motivated by their love for b8ta and the innovative products.

This is because b8ta invests in their employees’ development. Within these employee development plans, testers receive the foundation to learn industry trends, product features, and understand their importance as a b8ta employee. As a result, testers develop a greater sense of satisfaction and happiness in their roles.

For retailers, employee satisfaction and happiness are crucial for success. In retail, sales associates are the face of a brand and their behavior determines how a customer perceives a brand.

For instance, Apple has built its notoriety because of its geniuses’ superior customer service skills. When you walk into any Apple store, you are immediately greeted with a smile from one of their Apple Geniuses. Apple has strategically planned out (and almost scripted) each element of the customer journey for their staff to focus on and have implemented it in their training handbooks with an easy acronym ‘A.P.P.L.E’. Apple’s geniuses are the most valuable element for the Apple brand. Their interactions with customers, happy disposition, and attention to detail make Apple users want to come back to the store.

There is a direct link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction.

In today’s retail landscape, creating a plan for employee satisfaction is imperative and is the first step in developing effective strategies for improving customer experience.

The sensors track ‘shopper cadence’ and much more

B8ta has built in sensors to help them collect ‘good data’ that can be used to improve the shopping experience. This data provides a real-time view of product engagement and performance. When someone stands in front an item for longer than five seconds, the sensor tracks it as ‘interest’ and keeps a record of that information.

From our discussion with one of the testers, we discovered that those insights are then shared with the brand behind the product. This information then can be used as a metric to help brands determine product selection and placement within the store, which then gets reported back to b8ta who then makes changes to product placement and store layout on a reoccurring basis. This helps the brand keep up with changing customer preferences.

Since traditional retail metrics (i.e. sales history) aren’t indicative of customer satisfaction alone, it’s important that retailers begin to utilize other sources of data and insights to validate their business decisions. A great example of this is present in loyalty programs.

While loyalty programs incentivize shopping, they also offer retailers greater insight into understanding their customers. Through loyalty programs, retailers can understand what motivates a customer and how to create better paths to purchase.

How does this all relate to you as a retailer?


In this new era of retail, using your physical assets to complement your digital ones will help you eliminate the nuances in your customers’ shopping experience. To learn more about this concept, please read The Future of Retail: Buying vs Shopping Theory whitepaper.