Kirsten Taylor, head of digital experience at B&Q, admitted the retailer had made the “deadly mistake” of operating in-store kiosks on a different content management system to the rest of its operation, and said there had been “low uptake” of its app.
However, after an overhaul of all its infrastructure Taylor believes its click and collect offering and ability to offer customers easy access to its full range now represent the biggest opportunities for B&Q.
“We haven’t made progress in the sexier immersive stuff because we’ve been fixing the plumbing,” explained Taylor, in a candid talk at RBTE 2017.
B&Q is now experimenting with how it can combine physical and digital experiences to create more immersive experiences.
This includes using a virtual reality headset to enable customers to envisage what their new kitchen would look like, and the development of a "way-finding" feature that will allow customers to use their mobile devices to navigate to where their desired products are via a map of the store.
She added the latter is made possible through the introduction of in-store Wi-Fi, and Taylor believes retailers no longer need to provide apps to allow customers to take advantage of native technology on their phones.
“Technology is only half the answer and it is important to understand culture and mindset of colleagues in-store and get them to understand the opportunity,” concluded Taylor.
