Applied technology to make commerce more competitive
The New Generation Retail Laboratory, BCN Retail Lab, has been conceived to tailor the digitalisation of shops and businesses, improve the analysis of customer behaviour and enhance competitiveness. The pilot project is running at four establishments at the Cor Eixample shopping hub following a process to identify the specific needs of each of them. The results will be analysed to assess the implementation of the process in other shopping areas in the city.
Four establishments have been chosen which respond to four criteria:
- Cros Croissant Gourmet, an Italian-style café specialising in sweet and savoury croissants: local people are present in numbers and the café gets very busy.
- Barrabes Esquí i Muntanya, a shop devoted to mountain sports: works with renowned brands.
- Crearte Styling, integrated beauty salon, image workshop, hairdressing and beauty treatments with biological products: a business with local services typical of the area.
- Flors Navarro, florist’s with more than 65 years of history: a unique establishment representing the history and identity of the neighbourhood, to be able to experiment with innovation to preserve businesses.
Having analysed their needs, an adapted tech solution was proposed with interactive screens to gauge the profile, interests and degree of satisfaction among customers, sensors to identify the busiest sections and the products sought most, and capacity controls to compile statistics on the busiest moments.
An assessment of the pilot project will be made in July 2021, with a possible view to extending the initiative to other shopping areas in the city.
Joint project
The New Generation Retail Laboratory, BCN Retail Lab, has a budget of 150,000 euros in this first stage and has been jointly launched with the Technology Circle of Catalonia.
The lab is one of the initiatives included in the Digitalisation Plan for Commerce, one of the goals of which is to diminish the adverse effects of the pandemic.
