The Challenge
Frontgate is a national omnichannel retailer specializing in high-quality home furnishings and décor. At its brick-and-mortar stores, Frontgate elevates the shopping experience with personalized in-house design services that empower customers to reimagine their spaces. As part of a redesign effort, Frontgate needed to reduce the footprint of many of its stores. The brand wanted to implement cutting-edge technology to help in-house designers collaborate seamlessly with customers to bring ideas to life and perfect the look and feel of any space without limiting them to the items only available in the physical store. Previously, designers relied on PC-sized computer screens to showcase designs and communicate ideas, but Frontgate wanted a more immersive, interactive experience for its customers.
The Solution
To provide a better customer experience, Frontgate chose to adopt Samsung Interactive Displays in several of its redesigned stores. Designers use the displays to reveal a world of possibilities to customers, offering them a vibrant, detailed preview of how furniture, fabrics and décor can transform their spaces. Because customers can easily view and interact with the large screen instead of hunching over a smaller monitor or tablet, they enjoy a more comfortable and engaging experience during the design process and gain a crystal-clear vision of how each piece will come together. This helps create a truly immersive experience that brings their dream home to life.
"We're a one-stop shop at Frontgate, and the interactive displays allow us to showcase that in a compelling way."
– Clarece Creighton, Design Consultant for Frontgate
The Results
As part of the redesign effort, Frontgate wanted to elevate its free design services — and with the help of the interactive displays, that effort is bearing fruit. Since the redesign, the store has seen a 9% lift in sales attributed to Design Services. The displays help increase customers’ confidence in a purchase and build trust with the designer — which, in many cases, seals more deals.
About Frontgate
Since 1991, omni-channel retailer Frontgate has inspired its customers to enhance everyday living throughout the entire home with an assortment of stylish, high-quality and purposeful outdoor, interior, entertaining, seasonal and holiday decor items. Frontgate is part of Qurate Retail GroupSM, a select group of leading retail brands that also includes QVC®, HSN®, Ballard Designs®, Garnet Hill® and Grandin Road®.
The Challenge
Helping customers visualize design choices
Known for its handcrafted furniture, charming outdoor décor, and seasonal items, Frontgate was on a mission to expand its offerings while reducing the footprint of its retail spaces. Reimagining its brick-and-mortar stores involved choosing cutting-edge technology to help in-house designers work seamlessly with customers, curate the perfect combination of colors, fabrics, furniture, and décor, and ultimately show how each element will come together in the customer’s home.
The idea behind the redesign was to operate more cost-efficiently while maximizing communications between guests and the brand. “We asked how we can be more mobile, connect with guests better, and make it easier to communicate,” said Nathan Myers, director of retail operations at Cornerstone Brands Inc., the holding company that supports Frontgate. A move toward mobile technology was one of the primary goals, including mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) devices and tablets that can easily cast to a larger screen. The test cases yielded helpful insights as the brand replaced a few larger stores with smaller footprints. “We’ve learned that you don’t need to have every item in store, as long as you can show customers everything in a compelling way — such as in a 3D walkthrough.”
In the previous Frontgate Dallas location, designers worked with customers at desks in a large, open area of the warehouse-style store. “The customers would have to look over the designer’s shoulder to see the monitor,” recalled Jason Roso, general manager at the Dallas location. “It wasn’t always easy to help customers visualize designs and keep them engaged.”
The design studio also often got lost in the expansive layout of the old store. Because they couldn’t see examples of designs without making an appointment and sitting down with a designer, customers were more likely to shop for products independently — without becoming aware of Frontgate’s free design services. Brand leaders began to brainstorm a new approach that would meet client expectations and help them feel more engaged and connected to the products they were seeking.
The Solution
Creating a more immersive experience with Samsung Interactive Displays
The Frontgate leadership team explored leveraging technology and connectivity by unifying their mPOS and in-store devices in a cloud-based system. The big-picture goal was creating a seamless experience.
The installation process was smooth when the brand tested the 55-inch interactive displays at Ballard Designs in West Palm Beach, Florida. “We didn’t even have to send someone in,” said Myers. “The team was able to power up and implement the displays on their own, then connect with Samsung for a live videoconference to learn some of the basics.”
Frontgate leadership decided to invest in the technology and design new, smaller stores to support it. In several test cases, they went from a 22,000-square-foot store to a 13,500-square-foot space. In-store designers combine a 3D walkthrough on the interactive display with colorful fabrics, cushions, and other pleasing details and accessories customers can touch and feel.
“While they’re looking at the 3D walkthrough of their room, they are holding a sample of the fabric that will be on that sofa,” Myers said. “It becomes an immersive experience.”
Internally, in-house designers use displays to craft mood boards, sort through 3D renderings, and browse product assortments in real time, easily transferring files and mirroring screens from tablets and PCs to the displays.
“We’re a one-stop shop at Frontgate, and the interactive displays allow us to showcase that in a compelling way,” said Clarece Creighton, a design consultant for Frontgate. She often uses the dual screen function, a powerful tool for comparing design options. She also uses the display to go through invoices with customers. “It’s fun for me because I’m really creative and innovative, and the Samsung display allows me to explore and develop new ways to interact with customers.”
Frontgate management teams also use the displays to show videos and act as a collaborative whiteboard during meetings and training sessions.
“With Samsung and Frontage working together, we were able to create very unique use cases for the Samsung Interactive Display, bringing customers’ designs in their living space to life,” explained Sara Grofcsik, executive director of U.S. sales at Samsung Electronics America. “Together, we’re changing the game in retail.”
The Technology
Samsung Interactive Displays
The Samsung Interactive Display supports collaboration with features like split screen and multi-window, and by allowing multiple users to draw on the display at the same time. A 3-in-1 USB-C port enables touch control and external device charging.
The Results
Happy customers and increased design sales
As Frontgate redesigned some of its stores to leverage the new technology, leaders wanted to promote the design side of the business. The store has seen a 9% lift in sales attributed to Design Services since the store redesign. By offering a seamless, fully immersive planning experience, the displays empower customers to make decisions more confidently while fostering a deeper trust and connection with the designer. In many cases, that positive chemistry leads to increased sales.
“Frontgate’s customers are confident and comfortable with their purchase because they can see it in real time on the interactive display,” explained Grofcsik. The addition of a smooth technology-based experience also makes an impression on guests, Roso noted. “It shows we’re making healthy investments in what we’re doing, and it’s a tangible way to demonstrate that we’re on point with trends — both in technology and design.”
Mounted on the rear wall, the strikingly large displays effortlessly capture the attention of people browsing the store. “They wander over, intrigued by what I am doing,” said Creighton. “Clients and sales associates will gather around to watch, and it oftentimes feels like a live home-makeover show.”
The displays engage customers even when designers are not actively using them. “I put up pictures of my work or videos explaining our design process on the display when I’m not using it,” Creighton said. “Having those images on hand shows clients what we can do for them, and people often wander over to see.”
Frontgate leaders also stress the importance of meeting customer expectations. “We live in a technologically advanced society, and our customers walk in with expectations,” said Creighton. “The Samsung Interactive Displays help us deliver a smooth experience that lives up to those expectations, allowing us to work through even large projects in one sitting.”
Ultimately, Creighton sees the technology as a way to scale up the customer experience even as Frontgate adjusts the size of its store footprint.
“We now have the ability to show customers what the entire collection could look like in their home, and because it’s also an immersive experience, they feel more engaged and connected to our products. They leave more certain of what it is they are buying.”
