WHSmith Store Uses Massive Digital Facade For New London Stansted Airport Store

November 18, 2021 by Dave Haynes

Technical details have eluded me, but what I do know is the just-opened WHSmith store at London Stansted Airport went all-in with digital – with a huge, all-digital facade facing the concourse and screens all through the store.

The travel retail focused online publication Moodie Davitt Report was at the store opening Wednesday and filed a lengthy piece about the background on the store and the new features. It is the largest store in UK airports for the brand, and incorporates the products and offers from an electronics brand. “The ambitious opening, featuring wide, easily navigable aisles and multiple self-service tills for a speedy exit, showcases a best-in-class store design from WHSmith, with a bespoke wrap-around LED fascia complemented by in-store digital signage.”

There are screens at end-caps and what may be stretched LCDs (or 16:9s stretched by a wide angle lens) over the food and drink section, but what catches the eye is the huge direct-view LED that bookends the wide-store entry and runs along the bulkhead. I have seen this a few times with retail, but not often, I think, at this kind of scale. It is reminiscent of this beast at a duty-free store in Istanbul’s flashy new airport.

 

 

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