Our research showed technology brands in particular suffer from a focus on features instead of stories that demonstrate solutions to recognizable problems. It’s not the technology shoppers care about; it’s the benefits. One study showed 72% of consumers find IoT “a confusing concept.”

We needed an environment where shoppers could project their own lives onto the products.

At the same time, we wanted shoppers to feel in control, and not like the machines were taking over.

Also, most retail environments are ruthlessly measured by sales-per-square-foot. To flip that model and focus on engaging and educating rather than selling, we measured success by insights- and relationships-per-square-foot, as well as by how many IoT products were introduced chain-wide.

We designed Open House, a 3,600-square-foot space featuring a five-room home built entirely from transparent acrylic. Each wall was designed as a projection surface, transforming the entire house into an immersive, interactive theatre.

Motion tracking recognizes visitors as they enter, and each product introduces itself in friendly first-person. Then, shoppers take control and choose from a series of stories demonstrating how connected products solve relatable challenges.

With scenarios ranging from restless babies to kitchen fires, these stories weren’t pre-recorded video: they were generated with live code and an API call to the products, which come to life as the story unfolds. Augmented by sound design elements like a baby’s cries or a window breaking during a burglary, the experience reinforces the human emotion of each story.

Unlike temporary brand experiences, the system uses a modular CMS, so Target can swap products out and write new stories as needed.

After visiting the home and experiencing the big idea, visitors proceed to interactive tables for a hands-on experience with the individual products. From here, they can purchase products, completing the funnel from education to conversion.

Open House debuted to immediate fanfare and became a must-stop for shoppers visiting downtown San Francisco.

More importantly, Target now has a funnel for going to market with IoT products based on data from real shoppers. Open House is the insight center Target uses as it introduces IoT into its 1,800 stores.

Target will test over 100 connected devices in its first year. Of these, three have been confirmed as viable and are now available chain-wide: Tile, Petnet, and the Hello sleep sensor.

Finally, Target leapt over its competition by forging exclusive relationships with scores of startup founders and hosting dozens of events engaging the public in essential conversations about security, reliability and the influence of connected devices. Target relocated a suite of veterans from headquarters in Minneapolis to maximize these opportunities.

Thanks to Open House, Target has a competitive advantage in the largest market opportunity in a generation.

Open House’s location in San Francisco was chosen for its proximity to its two target audiences: startup founders and tech-savvy parents. Each represent significant opportunities for Target’s growth.

The experience strategy dictated three spaces: First, an immersive storytelling experience to show (not tell) the benefits of a connected home. Second, a hands-on environment where customers can dive deep into individual products’ benefits. Third, a space for intimate events connecting founders and customers, with room to demonstrate prototypes.

Our early conversations with customers drove the tone and design of the experience. Much of IoT can seem odd and alien—while this may be appealing to “techboys,” it is particularly troublesome for parents. We had to present the devices in a familiar home environment, but still appeal to early adopters—to be both warm and cool. Most of all, we had to show that customers, not technology, were still in charge.

Smart devices are predicted to be a $17 trillion industry by 2020. However, brands struggle to communicate their transformative potential in an emotional way, instead resorting to buzzwords and an alphabet soup of tech specs. Furthermore, most big retailers like Target can't even engage IoT startups unless they can supply hundreds of thousands of units, an impossibility when many are barely out of prototype.

That's an enormous missed opportunity, since some of those startups may have the next billion-dollar product.

Target gave Local Projects—a firm mostly known for museum design—a dual challenge: 1) design a permanent learning lab for exploring how to merchandise and market the nascent IoT category

2) bring founders and customers together for meaningful conversation about the benefits and risks of the connected home

This would not be a pop-up: we had just six months for research, design, software development, fabrication, integration and staffing a fully-operational store.