Store Redesigns Continue At T-Mobile

By Joseph Palenchar On Apr 9 2012 - 4:01am

BELLEVUE, WASH. – T-Mobile continues to roll out its new store design to company-owned stores and independently owned Premium Retailer locations, which operate under the T-Mobile brand and carry the carrier’s full product range.

The carrier began rolling out the new design last August.

By the end of 2012, 90 percent of T-Mobile’s corporate stores and kiosks will have received either a complete store redesign or elements of the new store design, said Ami Silverman, sales and operations senior VP. The carrier operates more than 2,000 outlets.

Although she didn’t disclose details, Silverman said the store redesign program so far “has more than met expectations with great customer feedback, increased employee energy and store performance. We have seen a sales lift and are pleased to say that the experience is positive to both the customer and the company.”

This year, the carrier plans to implement the complete redesign in 500 more corporate stores following last year’s revamp of 400 corporate stores. On top of that, 300 corporate stores and company-owned kiosks this year will get elements of the new design following last year’s rollout of design elements to 300 company-owned outlets.

Also this year, more than 200 T-Mobile-branded Premium Retailer outlets will also get the revamp, joining 70 outlets that got the redesign in 2011.

Besides getting a new look, corporate stores and Premium Retailer outlets will become more numerous, Silverman noted. The number of T-Mobile-branded Premium Retailers is 850, up from 775 at the end of 2011, and the carrier plans to expand that number to more than 1,000 by the end of the year, with the majority of that growth coming in the first half of the year.

The total number of carrier-owned outlets will grow by about 40 in 2012, slightly more than the 30 new outlets added in 2011. Between 2008 through 2010, the carrier added about 400 corporate outlets.

The design’s highlights include private customer service desks to complement standing service counters, 55-inch digital display at the back of the store, interactive information kiosks and video monitors to educate customers, and the display of devices with their relevant accessories so shoppers don’t have to walk from place to place to get everything they need, the company said.

The use of standing service counters and seated service desks is designed to reduce customer wait times.

Other changes to the 800- to 1,400-square-foot locations include fewer floor fixtures to allow more space to roam and an uninterrupted travel path from the entrance to digital display on the back wall of the sales floor.