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# Tablet-Powered Apparel Stores
Timberland's Connected Store Encourages Discovery with NFC Tablets

By Laura McQuarrie | Published 2016-03-08 | Business
Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/connected-store
References: [retail-innovation](http://retail-innovation.com/timberland-make-store-nfc-enabled/) & [timberland](https://www.timberland.com/)

One of the [Timberland](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/telfar-4) shops in New York is now becoming a model for [connected store concepts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/target-soho-store). This retail space features a station where consumers are able to pick up a [NFC-enabled tablet](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/golden-tag) in order to discover more about the products in store. With a tablet in hand, users are able to go around the store and "tap a tag" hanging from a physical item in order to pull up additional product info on-screen.

Unlike many retail experiences, this one does not require a customer to download an app or share their personal email. However, they may do so if they are interested in creating a wish list based on the items they explored in-store.

Using CloudTags, this experience seems to fall between consulting a store associate or a shopper pulling out their own smartphone to find out more information.

## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter)

- Score: 4.0/10
- Popularity: 28% | Activity: 85% | Freshness: 8%
- Audience gender: 70% men, 30% women
- Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial
- Top markets: North America

## Categories

[Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Business](https://www.trendhunter.com/business) > [Retail](https://www.trendhunter.com/retail)

## Key Themes

### Why This Trend Is Growing

- **Connected Retail Spaces:** Exploring retail spaces that integrate technology to enhance customer experiences.
- **Seamless Product Discovery:** Using technology to make product discovery more effortless, engaging and immersive.
- **Nfc-enabled Interactive Tablets:** Facilitating product exploration in-store by providing interactive NFC-enabled tablets to customers.

### Industries Being Reshaped

- **Retail Industry:** Using technology to revolutionize the in-store customer experience and drive engagement.
- **Mobile Device Industry:** Providing the necessary tools for brands to design interactive and memorable offline customer experiences.
- **Software Industry:** Developing software solutions that create interactive, immersive and engaging retail experiences.

## Related on Trend Hunter

- [QR Code Shopping Assistants](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/qrcode-shopping-assistant.md)
- [Digital-First Tech Shops](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tech-shops.md)
- [Smartphone Retail Security Tags](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/safe-tag.md)
- [Connected Store Window Stickers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/alo-yoga-sanctuary.md)
- [Tablet-Based POS Units](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/petrosoft-smartpos-tablet-edition.md)
- [AI-Powered Product Discovery Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shoppe-advisor.md)
- [QR-Enabled Shelf Tags](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/smart-shelf-tags.md)
- [Video-Equipped Smart Shelf Tags](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cornerstone-for-natural.md)
- [Playground-Inspired Tech Retail Experiences](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tech-playground.md)