Innovative technology helps bring Canadian Tire’s new ‘showcase’ store to life

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada -- Canadian Tire Corp. on Monday opened its largest location to date and first-ever 'showcase' store in Edmonton, Alberta. With 140,000 sq. ft. spread across two floors, the store is sleek and modern and provides customers with an array of digital technology experiences and comprehensive product assortment.



"Canadian Tire's new store in Edmonton is built around celebrating life in Canada and our investments in high impact digital technology create a modern, inspirational and fun environment to shop," said Allan MacDonald, COO of Canadian Tire.



The new Canadian Tire uses advanced interactive technology to provide personalized customer service. With over 100 digital screens, the store features a large exterior high resolution LED screen, digital flyer access and a plethora of helpful product selectors in the living, playing, fixing, seasonal and automotive departments. The automotive department also features Canadian retail's first ever use of a car simulator, providing customers with the opportunity to test drive tires in different weather conditions before purchasing and installing them on their vehicle.



Additionally, in the seasonal department, customers can create and interact with a 3D image of their dream backyard using app technology called 'Canada's Dream Backyard and Patio Builder.' This technology, which raises the bar for our customers to engage with large interactive screens, was built internally at Canadian Tire's "NEWcleus" digital lab in Winnipeg and utilizes state-of-the-art virtual reality technology from Oculus.



Here are some other highlights of the store:



• The playing department has a custom Hockey Canada Museum which houses jerseys, trophies and other historical assets from the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s also home to a rapid shot simulator, allowing customers to test their new hockey stick and their slap shot on-site.



• With a focus on e-commerce and creating a seamless shopping experience, the store has over 50,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space to house inventory intended to fulfill online orders. A dedicated drive-thru area along the side of the building makes it convenient for customers to easily pick-up their e-commerce purchases.