Halfords has lifted the curtain on a ‘store of the future’ concept as it looks to make its shops easier for customers to navigate.
The motoring and cycling specialist has overhauled its shop at Kingsway Retail Park in Derby to incorporate a raft of new features over two floors.
Among the new features are:
- A charging station for electric vehicles
- Dedicated fitting bays for on-the-spot bulb, battery and wiper blade fittings and also windscreen chip repairs
- A cycling area reorganised by gender, style and price points, with changing rooms
- A ‘smart fit’ cycling centre, allowing shoppers to have their measurements taken before buying a bike
- A customer lounge with wifi and refreshments
- Headsets allowing staff to communicate instantly regardless of whether they are inside or outside the shop
The ground floor of the store is 5,729 sq ft and the mezzanine floor is 3,522 sq ft.
Halfords, which has 460 UK shops, said last month it expects to refresh three other stores by the end of March and then “accelerate” a roll-out in its next financial year.
Concepts at the Derby store will “inform future refurbishments”, the retailer said.
It came as the retailer reported a 12% dip in half-year profits as the fall in sterling hampered its bottom line.
Boss Jill McDonald has vowed to invest in understanding customers more through data and promised a “renewed focus on customer service” as part of a new strategy.
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