New York has long been regarded as one of the planet’s best shopping destinations, with iconic department stores, chic boutiques and a vast array of independent stores all jostling for the attention of shoppers here.
Well, right now the Big Apple is also a fantastic place to look for the latest technology in innovative, eye-catching stores that use stunning new technology. The following are a few of the stores where you can get an incredible experience while looking for deals and products.
This 13,700 foot Apple store on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn uses the building’s industrial heritage as part of the inspiration for a modern, cutting-edge retail environment. Among the delights to be found here are the brick walls and steel beams, brilliantly combined with the firm’s latest and most dazzling products.
Regarding technology, the back wall of the Apple store has been turned into a giant video screen where movies and product demos are shown. This gives it more of a relaxed, community space type of feel that makes it an easy place to spend some time.
As you would expect, Microsoft has poured a lot of its know-how on the latest technology into its thrilling store on Fifth Avenue. This is the first multi-floor store that the technology giant has ever opened, and it is packed with exciting stuff to see and do.
For example, the first floor has a virtual reality area and big LED digital wall panels, ensuring that it is somewhere visitors can get a wonderful experience during their visit. Then they can go up to the second floor to see what is going on in the community theater and the giant Xbox section of the score.
While the Polo Ralph Lauren brand is famous for offering great looking garments, their store on 5th Avenue now also lets you get kitted out in style thanks to the latest technology. This is because their flagship store here is the first by the company to offer interactive fitting room mirrors.
Once you enter the fitting room to try on a garment you can use the clever interactive mirror, which has been created for them by Oak Labs. This touchscreen mirror lets you change the style of lighting and also to find out more details about the items you have brought in with you.
With a massive 55,000 square feet of retail space, it is clear that the Samsung store on Washington Street has room to offer you brand new shopping experiences. Indeed, this Manhattan flagship store has a host of unexpected delights waiting for tech fans.
Maybe you will take part in virtual reality cooking classes, get your selfie up on the giant digital screen or sit in the store’s theater. Interestingly, you can’t buy Samsung products here, so all you can do is enjoy the brand and have a fabulous time.
Meanwhile, across in Greenwich Village Cadillac House on Hudson Street offers a dazzling mixture of art exhibitions and the latest technology. The retail space here takes up some 12,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Cadillac headquarters.
Cadillac House showcases the brand’s latest vehicles, but it also showcases trendy technology with the likes of multi-sensory light shows and interactive art installations too. Fashion shows and specialty coffee are among the other attractions that are likely to make this a favorite spot for car lovers and those people who are just looking for a unique experience in the Big Apple.
You don’t even have to be a huge basketball fan to fall in love with the glorious NBA Store on 5th Avenue. With a strong focus on technology, this is a powerful digital experience that is packed with fun things to do at every turn.
For a start, the NBA Store has loads of interactive touchscreens where you can find content and immerse yourself in the world of basketball and play games. The store is driven by Kurt Salmon Digital and has a full omnichannel range, while the best new technology has been used to make it easy to buy from this store or just to enjoy an hour or so of digital basketball heaven in New York.
For a world famous store with a history that stretches back about a century and a half, Bloomingdale’s certainly has a powerful and very modern omnichannel presence. Over on the Upper East Side, there has been a Bloomingdale’s store at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue since 1886, yet this long-standing store still continues to showcase exciting innovations.
Among the most impressive digital advances that they have made in recent times is their Digital Directories initiative. This is a customer service that has seen touchscreens located on every level to help visitors find exactly what they are after and to receive tailored content.
Lifestyle brand Muji has pulled out all the stops to produce a unique and vibrant retail experience in their Fifth Avenue flagship store. This giant retail space covers around 3,250 square feet above ground and 8,400 below the ground level and is crammed with thoughtful touches.
You can customize aroma diffuser scents and add customized embroidery to your purchase here, while there are tons of products to browse through as well. The store has included a lot of partners in their store, to provide products such as natural plants and fresh coffee for visitors to enjoy.
Over on Lafayette Street in Lower Manhattan, Pirch lets you take their products on a test drive with a difference. This premium lifestyle brand offers a broad range of cutting-edge products for the home and has made a real effort to get customers to test their goods in kind of the same way they would with a new car.
To do this, they have a store design that lets customers feel as though they are at home relaxing with the latest Pirch products all around them. It is a fascinating way to shop for home goods and makes any shopping trip here into something special.
The very first Sonos store in SoHo covers 4,200 square feet and is built around the idea of giving visitors a fantastic audio experience using powerful technology and smart ideas. As part of this, you get to listen to great music inside rooms that are set up to resemble a real home.
There are digital screens to try out, old records to listen to and the chance to settle down into the different rooms of the store’s “home” set-up. The individual rooms are all sound-proofed and acoustically tuned, as well as each having an iPad that lets the user alter the settings and listen to any song they want to.
This giant 47,000 square feet Zara store in New York goes for a simple look, with painted brick walls and black fixtures and fittings. However, the former Old Navy building on Broadway has some exciting technology waiting for customers who head over there.
This is because it is the Spanish retail giant’s first entry into the smart changing rooms field. A sales associate uses a touchscreen to select a room and scan the items you want to try, while you can then use another screen inside the changing room to find put more about the garments and ask for assistance if needed.
There is no doubt that if you want to go shopping with the latest and best technology, then New York is the place to head to right now. You can find world-class brands and innovative retail experiences in many different settings right here.
