Coffee, the drink that a lot of the world likes to have the first thing in the morning, over a social outing, conversation or just to help fuel the engine when one is burning the candle working through the night on looming deadlines. For coffee drinkers the options now-a-days are endless. From powdered coffee, roasting and crushing beans, buying a machine the crushes the beans and gives you your shot to the “pod”! Nespresso, is a store that has always pushed the envelope in retail design experience. Their Nespresso Cube is a small but extremely visible footprint on a high street locations where the Nespresso experience starts. You can only enter by swiping your members-only card! Once you are recognized the access control door opens and you start your immersive shopping experience in a store that has “no salesperson” – an unmanned experience.

The store is designed by French Architect Francis Kemp. The is an eclectic mix of materials with the plushness of leather, warmth of wood, the cutting edge feel of steel and the clarity of glass. The entire store is digital, and you are greeted by a large screen! You can browse the coffee flavours you want or let the system remind you of the coffee you bought last.

Here’s where the magic starts. After you swipe you credit/debit card, select the coffee you want on the screen, enter the quantity and…seamless automation takes over. You can sense the various flavours ordered being counted and collected, organized into a cubic package and served forward by a steel arm onto a tray in a console with a Perspex cover over it. This cover opens and voila! you reach out and collect your well-stacked coffee packages and transfer them into handy paper bags to carry. No fuss, no people. Just you and your coffee.

Through this fantastic sensory and immersive experience Nespresso leaves the customer with the desire for the aspirational cup of coffee. Nespresso has realized that shoppers today are so comfortable with technology and are happy interacting with it. In this fast-paced innovation hungry world this shopping experience is a must-have!

Photo by Arun Sharma on Unsplash