Not so long ago, consumers mostly visited or telephoned a bricks-and-mortar travel agent to research and purchase travel tickets and holiday packages, but high street-based travel agents have found it tough to compete with internet-based bucket shops and aggregators.
Kathryn Ward, UK and Ireland director of retail and financial services at Thomson, indicated that Thomson wants to bring customers back into stores by creating a more compelling, next-generation in-store experience that incorporates the latest technologies.
"The message for retailers is clear: the high street is changing," she said. "SCC has helped us realise digital solutions which engage a generation of shoppers who demand experiences that blur online and in-store shopping."
Its first "holiday design store" – as the next-generation concept stores are being described – implemented by SCC is being unveiled at the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent on the outskirts of London. A national rollout is to follow shortly.
"The entire, award-winning store is treated as a digital canvas with evocative, high-impact imagery used to attract, entertain, and inspire customers, whether they are outside the store or immersed in a personalised holiday experience inside the store," according to a statement from SCC.
This includes high-impact, interactive video walling and signage which can be used to allow individual customers to explore their options on a big screen.
There is also an 84in interactive world map which customers can play with, incorporated with virtual tours of resorts and accommodation, and an interactive "smart" table which can be used to search for hotels by features and facilities, according to SCC.
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