Dyson puts its tech prowess on display at its newest ‘demo’ store
The British brand best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans and high-tech hairdryer has expanded its fledgling U.S. footprint.
Dyson has brought its “demo” store concept to Westfield Valley Fair, in Santa Clara, Calif., its fifth U.S. location. Designed by James Dyson, the format is engineered to encourage visitors to pick up, test and experienced Dyson products hands-on. Each space is focused on education and experience, with Dyson experts available to demonstrate and/or explain each item — in-person or via live video chat.
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The first Dyson demo store in the U.S. opened in 2017, in Tysons Corner, and was followed by three additional locations (New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles). The company currently has some 200 stores around the world.
“Since we first started enabling owners to buy from us directly, we have been focused on understanding how we explain our technology, educating on why it pioneers and responds to a real problem,” stated Sir James Dyson. “Doing this in a cluttered environment with stacked boxes or in the online equivalent, where endless pages of irrelevant and sometimes non-genuine products vie for attention, is just confusing. We think people want to get the right information quickly, and to hear it from the people who know best – those who actually invented, developed and manufactured the technology.”
The Santa Clara location includes a dedicated space offering appointments for professional hair styling, including blow-outs. Five styling stations and one wash basin are featured. The stylists utilize Dyson’s hair-styling tools, which are designed to prevent extreme heat damage. Customers can customize select purchases via complimentary debossing of initials.
The store also puts Dyson’s latest cord-free vacuuming technology through its paces, with different types of debris and dust spread across three different floor types. Visitors can also learn about local air quality and how to manage the pollution within their homes. Dyson’s full line of air treatment products is on display and brought to life with Dyson-engineered demonstrations.
Store Lighting
All products in the store are illuminated by Dyson Lighting’s Cu-Beam suspended lights, which use a single high-power LED to project powerful light precisely where needed. As a result of their effective cooling system, which uses heat pipe technology to direct heat away from the LEDs, the lights stay bright for up to 180,000 hours.
In addition, the system includes the newly launched Dyson Lightcycle Morph, a task light that has the ability to replicate natural daylight.
Online
Dyson has recreated its store experience online. Customers can also learn about Dyson technologies through a fully interactive, virtual tour of the company’s London, Los Angeles, Paris and Guangzhou stores. Augmented reality filters are available to simulate the at-home experience of a Dyson product and experts are available for live video demonstrations of any Dyson machine or styling tool.
“These virtual Dyson Demo stores replicate not just the physical layout of the stores but also the experience,” the company said.