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Samsung has leased 10,000 feet of Manhattan real estate, billed as an experience store. Nothing is sold, visitors can check email and watch videos and make phone calls on Samsung products.
The new stores are designed to put a piece of merchandise into customers’ hands and teach them how to use it. The assumption is that after all the touching and feeling, customers will be willing to spend more.
There is evidence that this approach is working. In extensive surveys, Samsung says, it has found that those who spend time in its experience store are far more likely to buy a Samsung product back at their local Best Buy or Circuit City. Indeed, 31 percent of those who visited the store and within a year bought a high-definition television set chose a Samsung, said Paul Kim, senior manager of North American marketing at the company.
Last year, 500,000 people visited its Manhattan store, who the company estimates eventually made $55 million in Samsung purchases.
