Macy's 2011 Spring:
Virtual Merchandising Multimedia Tour,
Electronic Directives System,
Virtual Prototype Store (internal use)
In Spring 2011, we continued to work with Macy’s to
develop a virtual tour for the store’s “Spring”
layout, which was then utilized by Macy’s employees
nationwide. The tour features our Electronic Directives
System, a unique tool generated by our team specifically
for the virtual merchandising niche.
The Electronic Directives System provides merchandise managers
and associates with an in-depth resource for producing universal
seasonal store layouts in Macy’s stores.
Extensive feedback collected by the system tracks the number
of visits to the tour, average time of stay, as well as
unique individual feedback from tour visitors regarding
usability, fun and their overall rating. Based on the feedback
provided by about 30 percent of visitors, the average rating
for each of the categories was an average of 4.75 out of
5. Furthermore, over 70 percent of visitors spent more than
20 minutes on the site, and the tour had nearly 27,000 hits
during its first month of operation.
A simplistic intro screen gives visitors a brief overview
of the system’s main features, and the entire tour
is fine-tuned for maximum performance.
Our Electronic Directives System displays all information
via dynamic data-feeds, as shown below.
Because all of the content in the system is based on XML
feeds, everything in the tour can be updated in a matter
of minutes.
Another valuable feature of the tour is an interactive map
that allows users to easily navigate store levels through
map references.
Each of the main store sections is equipped with instructional
audio narrative to accompany tour visuals. Control features
include “volume,” “pause/play” and
“file length.”
If a visitor prefers to read rather than listen to the
tour, the “View Narrative” function allows users
to see the text for any featured audio file.
The “Walkthrough” section of the tour is developed
to a full-scale interactive walkthrough of the entire store.
The Electronic Directives System allows users to highlight
significant classes of objects and decor, name them, and
provide instructions.
Additionally, all floors are interconnected through the
store elevators. Thus, the system allows users to walk through
the virtual prototype store as they would walk through a
real store.
Various area-specific, downloadable materials are available
through the “Features Menu” along the bottom
of the screen for printout or in-store merchandising demos.
Finally, high-resolution zoom is a permanent feature of
the Electronic Directives System, allowing the user to increase
the quality of an image and avoid pixelation.
Extensive feedback is another benefit of EDS. It tracks:
- number of visits;
- average time of stay;
- job functions numbers and ratio vs. other store employees;
Unique feedback is collected from users about useability,
fun, ease of use and overall rating. Based on the feedback
provided by about 30% of visitors, the average rating for
each of the categories keeps at about 4.75 out of 5. Over
70% of visitors spent more than 20 minutes on the site.
This specific project had about 27,000 hits during the first
month.
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