Sport Chek’s High-Tech Flagship
Sport Chek has opened a digitally savvy flagship in the largest shopping mall in North America: West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada). The sporting goods retailer has woven interactive technology and digital installations throughout the 80,000-sq.-ft., two-level space, which is designed to offer an enhanced, personalized shopping experience that connects consumers to the sports they are passionate about.
The experience starts on the facade, designed to resemble a player’s entrance tunnel into a hockey rink or football field. As customers enter, they trigger motion-activated video screens showing sports scenes.
Inside the store, hundreds of interactive screens allow customers and employees to source product information, including in-stock sizes, colors and access to vendor videos. Customers can also access interactive digital video walls that enhance and provide one-of-a-kind sport and lifestyle experiences. In all, the store features more than 1,200 sq. ft. of digital projection, and 800 screens displaying product images, deals and other information. Transparent display boxes with digitally over-layed content showcase the newest product. Employees are outfitted with tablets and the latest in technology.
Sport Chek also features an array of interactive features, including a treadmill equipped with cameras that capture a runner’s biome-chanics to ensure the best shoe fit. And golfers can receive feedback by swinging in the store’s FlightScope simulator, which uses 3-D tracking radar and video analysis. Customers can learn how to light a camping stove upstairs in a designated area with a pop-up exhaust fan.
The high-tech feel is combined with a strong service element. Featured services include an electronic stringer for tennis racquets, a baseball glove steamer and a ski-tuning machine. Sport Chek is a division of Canadian Tires’ FGL Sports Limited, which is Canada’s largest national retailer of sporting goods, operating more than 400 stores throughout Canada under various banners.