The merchandisers were developed by Systemax for AMD and Western Digital (WD). The AMD unit provides an interactive PC configurator that makes component recommendations based on in-store availability, while the WD unit features a touchscreen display and offers educational product videos.

Like previous interactive systems deployed within Systemax’s CompUSA and TigerDirect stores, the new merchandisers provide the company with customer data based on shoppers’ interaction with the units.

Marketing and strategic initiatives VP Lonny Paul said the displays are more productive than traditional end caps, which do little more than hold inventory.

The displays were rolled out to 25 percent of Systemax’s 46 U.S. and Canadian retail stores in December, and should be installed system-wide within the next two months.

Elsewhere, the company opened its first TigerConnect in-store mobile shop at its flagship Miami location, and has four more on the way, and will open its second Chicago-area TigerDirect.com store and call center later this quarter in Vernon Hills, Ill.

Source: TWICE

CompUSA … is rebooting the stores through an interactive shopping concept called Retail 2.0 and will be opening its biggest location in the country in Chicago next month.

At the new stores, in-aisle displays come with scanners, monitors and keyboards. When a shopper scans a product, a Web page appears with detailed product information and recommendations based on local inventory and what’s physically available at that store. The terminals also are open to the full Web, allowing shoppers to check their e-mail, update their Facebook account and check competitors’ sites for better deals. The retailer is ready to take that risk.

The retailer set up a mock store at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel for the Consumer Electronics Show, with TVs displaying information specific to their manufacturers and models, rather than showing the same content on every set. A custom-designed tiered display of hand-held gadgets comes with a monitor that displays product information when a device is lifted up. And another display for software has a touch-screen interface that guides shoppers through the process of selecting a product.

CompUSA has three Chicago-area locations with Retail 2.0: Naperville, Hoffman Estates and Orland Park. The new Chicago store will be on Elston Avenue in a former Circuit City location that has been gutted and redone.

For the Full Article, Visit the Source: Chicago Tribune