New Zealand technology and appliance retail chain Noel Leeming is getting into the smart home market, launching an experiential pop-up store.
The pop-up is located in the Westfield shopping centre in Newmarket, Auckland where Noel Leeming recently opened a new store. It is a 100sqm apartment with, according to Noel Leeming “a fully integrated kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, laundry, living and office areas, bringing smart-enabled home appliance systems together for Kiwis to experience first-hand.”
Noel Leeming CEO, Tim Edwards said the facility would enable Kiwis to experience how technology and appliances can be integrated to make living easier.
“Think Wi-Fi enabled heat pumps, smart door-locking and security systems, lighting, placing an online supermarket order from the door of your fridge, and controlling the functionality of your home, whether you’re there or not. “Our smart home is set-up so our customers can walk through, and imagine their homes enabled in the same way.”
The facility showcases products from Amazon, Samsung, Philips, Ring, TP-LINK, Bose, Vodafone, HP and more and will operate until February 2020.
Meet Noel Leeming’s digital human
The smart home pop-up is the company’s second foray into new technology in recent months. The new Newmarket store features “Noel Leeming’s newest employee, digital human Nola … one of the first human-like interfaces backed by artificial intelligence in a New Zealand retail store.”
Nola has been designed to help customers navigate the store and answer questions. She was developed by New Zealand company UneeQ (formerly FaceMe) and Christchurch based business software developer Jade Software Corporation.
