Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has transformed its stores from being traditional and transactional centers into a café-inspired environment where subscribers can relax and experience the “Smart Life.”
In an event held at the Smart Store in Powerplant Mall, Makati City, Smart launched lifestyle nooks featuring digital services that enable Filipinos to enjoy their passions more – the Music Hub, Reading Nook, Digital Mall, and Games Station.
“The traditional Smart Stores are straightforward, functional areas where people apply for a postpaid plan or have their aftersales concerns attended to. The experience used to be quite impersonal. While customers can still complete these transactions in Smart Stores, they will experience so much more in the coming months,” said Maloo Agoncillo, Vice President and head of Retail Support at Smart.
“We won’t just be selling to customers. We want to get to know them better, learn more about their needs and lifestyles, so we could recommend the products and services that are best for them.”
The newly renovated Smart Store in Power Plant Mall, Makati City, just one among 18 other stores that have been transformed in the past year, features a café-inspired setup that encourages subscribers to relax and unwind as frontliners attend to their needs. IMAGE CREDIT: SMART COMMUNICATIONS
At the Music Hub, visitors can use the Spinnr and Deezer mobile applications to download and stream music on devices. There they will learn more about the affordable subscription packages available via Smart, and how they can enjoy music streaming and downloads even without a credit card.
At the Reading Nook, which looks like a personal library, customers will enjoy the Buqo app which enables them to access their favorite books and magazines on their mobile device, and pay for these via load deductions or postpaid bill charging.
Gaming aficionados will have a blast at the Games Station where they will be introduced to GameX, an online portal that allows them to buy game credits without leaving their seats. They can pay conveniently using their prepaid load or via postpaid bill charging.
Fashionistas will surely enjoy the Digital Mall section which features the convenient online shopping services provided by Zalora.
“We will bring these lifestyle nooks to different Smart Stores all over the country so Filipinos can see and experience what we mean when we say that Smart enables them to live more. The Smart Store is where they will get a taste of the Smart Life,” said Charles Lim, Executive Vice President and head of the Wireless Consumer Business of Smart and Sun Cellular.
Lim noted that even before the launch of the lifestyle nooks, Smart has been transforming its Smart Stores to provide a more personalized service to its customers. Several Smart Stores nationwide now have a hip and personal café-style environment, inspired by neighborhood artisanal cafés.
The New Generation Smart Stores also feature customer service innovations like the Digital Profiler – a touch-screen that enables visitors to learn more about the features of devices and plans so they could better decide which offers suit their needs – and the iQueue, an automated queuing system. iQueue allows customers to roam around the mall and attend to other needs while waiting for their turn to be served at the Smart Store. The system sends a text message to inform them once their turn comes.
Currently, 18 stores have undergone transformation already. A total of 78 stores are expected to be revamped into New Generation Smart Stores by the end of 2015.
Agoncillo revealed that the transformation efforts will lead up to the launch of the telco’s flagship store at SM Megamall early next year.
