Specialty retailer blends design, technology and personalized service for a completely reimagined customer experience

The Container Store, the country’s leading retailer of storage and organization products, has reimagined its flagship store in Dallas revealing a new architectural design, merchandising strategy and proprietary digital resources that make it easier for customers to accomplish their storage and organization projects.

The Container Store Next Generation Store entrance.

The Next Generation Store concept is a result of extensive consumer research conducted in partnership by The Container Store, strategic design and architectural firm, FRCH Design Worldwide and digital innovation agency, MJD. It brings to life a customer experience that offers a balance of convenient and unique digital resources combined with personalized service to deliver on the brand’s purpose. The innovative new concept will serve as a test and learn environment to determine elements for eventual rollout to new and existing locations.

Our purpose as a brand is to help our customers accomplish their projects, maximize their space and make the most of their home. In order to help them achieve those goals you’ll see a focus across all of our channels on making it easier to find the solutions they want and need. The Next Gen Store plays a key role in bringing our purpose to life and continuing to cultivate meaningful relationships with our customers.

— Melissa Collins,
Chief Marketing Officer, The Container Store

The Container Store Next Generation Store Custom Closet Studio.

The technology components in the store were finalized after many rounds of customer testing, which showed that customers’ biggest hurdle in beginning a project was feeling overwhelmed. The store features 18 digital screens supporting customers as they shop, featuring everything from inspiration and tips, to an interactive design tool and even a new proprietary digital experience called The Organization Studio.

The Container Store Next Generation Store Custom Closet Studio.

The Organization Studio was developed exclusively for The Container Store and is currently only available at the Next Gen Store. It allows customers to upload a photo or video of their organizational challenge online, describe the challenge, and set an in-store appointment to meet with a store Organization Expert. The Organization Experts will then present the personalized solution they developed for the customer free of charge and with no purchase commitment.

The Container Store Next Generation Store Organization Studio.

“We know that countless retailers are building digital tools and using them to innovate the shopping experience, but combining the human element with technology is when things really get powerful,” said Val Richardson, vice president of real estate at The Container Store. “The Organization Studio offers the convenience of an online experience and marries it with a personalized in-store engagement that offers a curated solution created by a real person.”

The Container Store Next Generation Store office department.

The architectural design breaks the store space into manageable areas that naturally pull the customer through the store and make it easier to navigate. Ceilings were lowered to make the store more inviting, rows of shelving were removed to improve sightlines, and new flooring as well as enhanced lighting were implemented to create a more approachable and comfortable environment.

The Container Store Next Generation Store kitchen department.

This redesign features Custom Closets as a real focal point with higher ceilings anchoring the Custom Closet Studio in the store, creating a destination where closet vignettes allow customers to visualize possibilities at every price point. It is an elevated and more comfortable experience featuring a new hospitality component, including a seating area where customers can review an inspiration book and gather ideas for their own spaces. There are also interactive screens at the Custom Design Centers – a great tool for the store team and the customers, showing more examples of “real” closet spaces for them to peruse.

The Container Store Next Generation Store checkout and pickup area.

In addition to the Custom Closets Studio, new merchandising is reflective of a real home kitchen or office space to allow shoppers to get a sense of how products might work in their own homes. Small and large project solutions are highlighted throughout the store to show how one might begin a project or maximize their space in any area they had not yet considered organizing.

The Container Store Next Generation Store elfa Door & Wall Rack Planner.

The Container Store is the nation’s leading retailer of storage and organization products — a concept they originated in 1978. Today, with locations nationwide, the retailer offers more than 11,000 products designed to help customers accomplish their storage and organization projects and maximize any size space. The Container Store also offers a suite of custom closet systems, and a wide variety of convenient online and mobile shopping services.

Visit www.containerstore.com for more information about store locations, the product collection and services offered. Visit www.containerstore.com/blog for inspiration, tips and real solutions to everyday organization challenges, and www.whatwestandfor.com to learn more about the company’s unique culture.

All images courtesy of The Container Store