London, 16thMarch 2020 - The Natuzzi Augmented Store wins the Retail Week Award, in the category Hermes Customer Experience – GAME CHANGER. The prize celebrates the Italian excellence and recognizes the retailer as pioneer delivering outstanding customer experience through a good mix of innovation and creativity. The project has been developed together with Hevolus Innovation, Microsoft’s global mixed reality partner, with which Natuzzi designed an innovative customer journey able to make the shopping experience truly engaging and exciting.
The award was received by Andrew Frost, Store Manager Natuzzi Italia Tottenham Court Road, Leila Martine, Microsoft Product Marketing Director, and Joe Varrasso, Microsoft Partner Solutions Executive, during the ceremony held on March 12th at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London.
The Retail Week Award conquered by the Natuzzi Augmented Store celebrates the combination of innovation and tradition which has always been one of Natuzzi’s key elements in its approach to home furniture; it highlights the forward-thinking approach of a company which has always been the symbol of the Italian style around the world. Using Microsoft technology – in particular the holographic computer HoloLens - and Hevolus solutions, the Natuzzi Augmented store combines the great history of Italian talent with the latest digital developments.
One of the first in the furniture industry, the Natuzzi Augmented Store consists in a mixed reality system located in dedicated spaces in Natuzzi Italia stores worldwide. Consumers put on a headset and interact with spaces and furniture—shifting products around, changing patterns and colours, and moving through the space to gain a full-range view of what a room could look like with their favourite Natuzzi furniture. The Natuzzi new retail format is reshaping the concept of the purchasing experience in the furniture sector by offering customers a useful, omnichannel, interactive, and memorable journey.
The Natuzzi Augmented Store is currently available in the flagship stores in Madison Avenue, New York, and Tottenham Court Road, London; it will eventually be installed in all the most important stores around the world enhancing the customer experience for the company’s global clients.
THE AWARD
The Retail Week Awards celebrate excellence in the retail sector. For 25 years, these awards have continued to create a platform to celebrate the creativity and innovation that this great industry is renowned for. Held on 12th March 2020, it is the most anticipated awards of the retail calendar, providing companies with the ultimate platform for industry-wide recognition and celebration from boardroom leaders to digital stars and store managers.