EE launches new immersive customer experience in London and Nottingham

• EE unveils innovative new store in London’s Tottenham Court Road, one of four ‘Showcase‘ stores, designed to offer the most personal and immersive experience on the high street
• The stores include dedicated customer Help Hubs and experiential zones giving customers the chance to get a hands-on experience with the latest tech
• New technologies, including an in-store video calling service which gives customers the ability to speak to specialist customer service teams on-the-spot are also available
• EE continues to invest in new store formats including showcase stores, pop-up shops and mobile vans, to ensure 95% of the population has access to an EE store within 20 minutes’ drive

EE, the UK’s biggest mobile operator and part of BT Group, today unveils the first of four new ‘Showcase’ stores designed to provide customers with a more personal and immersive experience. The new stores are the latest in EE’s drive to deliver industry-leading customer service in-store, online and over the phone.

These new flagship stores reflect the changing nature of the high street, with the majority of EE customers eager to learn about and try the latest technology or talk to experts about their devices and accounts.

Within the store, customers are greeted with EE’s new showcase and highlight stages, giving them a chance to get hands-on with the latest tech such as Google Home, the Apple Watch, and Samsung’s VR headsets at new connected booths. As they walk through the store, customers are encouraged to check 4GEE network coverage where they live or work as well as sample content from both EETV and BT TV via a selection of screens.

Specialist advisors are also on-hand via dedicated ‘Help Hubs’ and new video calling capabilities allow customers to sit with store staff, while speaking to a specialist service expert who can diagnose and fix complex issues live.

Ettienne Brandt, Managing Director of Channels and Trading at EE, said: “Our new Showcase stores are about creating a destination where customers can speak to a real expert face-to-face to solve any problems, charge their device, or just have some fun while immersing themselves in the latest gadgets. There’s no substitute for getting help from an expert in person and we’re mixing technology with the personal touch to make customers feel as supported as possible.”

EE worked with BT’s Wholesale and Ventures division to deliver a digital content solution which allows for the use of varied digital signage, interactive displays and a centralised content management system. The whole experience is designed to provide a rich, engaging experience for consumers – much more akin to what they might experience online.

As well as Tottenham Court Road, the Showcase stores will be found in a number of central locations, including the recently opened Westfield London and Westfield Stratford stores, as well as the soon to be opened Nottingham Victoria store.

The overhaul forms part of EE’s wider retail expansion, announced in July this year, including a major UK-wide partnership with Sainsbury’s which will see the company add 100 new stores and create 400 new customer service jobs in the next two years. This, alongside its investment in a variety of different store formats such as pop-up shops, cabins and mobile EE shops in vans, will help achieve its ambition to provide 95% of the population with access to an EE store within a 20 minutes’ drive.

In the last year, EE has made industry-leading improvements to customer service in-store, on the phone and online, with 100% of customer service calls answered in the UK & Ireland, as well as investing in improved online chat capabilities and the new My EE app, which now provides 24-hour support to more than nine million users.