Target Open House closed — but just for a couple of months

Target Corp. its updating its experimental concept store in San Francisco, Target Open House, which opened in summer 2015 as a showcase for smart, “connected” home technology.



In a blog on its website, Target said Open House has closed for a significant remodel project. It will reopen to the public on Friday, Feb. 10.



“We built Open House as an iterative space that is all about research and development around the connected consumer,” said Target’s VP of consumer IoT, Gene Han. “We’ve measured guest traffic and sales and listened to what guests and entrepreneurs had to say about their experiences. And we’ve learned a lot about perceptions of connected home technologies. Now, with this feedback, we’ll renovate Open House in ways that will help better engage, educate and excite guests and the IOT community.”



In the blog, Target revealed five of the most exciting new features and experiences being installed as part of the remodel:



• A new space, called “The Garage,” where companies can showcase or launch early-stage products on a retail shelf, get valuable quantitative and qualitative feedback on their products and have direct visibility to Target buyers. The space will preview 16 products that will rotate every month.



• A personalized experience within the space’s acrylic home installation that more effectively demonstrates the potential of various connected products for the user. Guests will be asked to answer a series of questions, which allow the house to show a personalized example of how connected products could fit into their lives.



• A new, flexible event space to accommodate Open’s House’s popular and frequent gatherings. The refreshed space will be modular, allowing Open House to more easily transition from a store during the day to a community gathering spot in the evening.



• An updated interactive space, including vertically mounted touchscreen monitors. In all, the new space will feature around 70 Internet of Things products.



• Enhanced feedback and analytics for partners, including the ability to do A/B testing, view product interactions and comparative engagement data, see event recaps and receive qualitative feedback from guests.