Lowe’s Innovation Lab Leverages Augmented Reality to Streamline Internal Retail Processes

Last month McMillanDoolittle launched Retail Innovations 2023, our annual publication featuring cutting edge retail concepts from around the world. In this #ThemeThursday innovation feature, we highlight a new technology leading US home improvement retailer Lowe’s launched to improve their store efficiency: Store Digital Twin. Contact us for support in developing and implementing the latest technologies to streamline your retail processes.

In September of 2022, the Lowe’s Innovation Labs team revealed their latest retail technology pilot which uses Nvidia’s Omniverse metaverse environment to digitally replicate two of their physical stores. Store associates wear specialized headsets and use a handheld device for:

• Plannogram compliance and floor replenishment – Associates can access a hologram of the store overlaid onto the physical store in augmented reality (AR) allowing them to visualize what the shelf should look like versus the current display.
• Visual access of hard to reach areas of the store – AR “x-ray vision” allows associates to see what products are on the floor in difficult to reach areas without having to climb a ladder or in enclosed cardboard boxes without opening.
• Virtual notes – The technology offers a digital sticky note feature, enabling store associates to note improvements or corrections.
• Layout and service optimization – AR technology visualizes 3D heat maps and provides distance measurements between items that are frequently bundled by customers.

The Innovation Lab’s creation is groundbreaking in the retail industry. It improves the store team experience, operational efficiency and increases safety.

We expect to see more leading retailers utilizing these technologies to increase internal process efficiencies and the customer experience. To learn more about Lowe’s Store Digital Twin and other innovative new retail concepts highlighted in Retail Innovations 2023, download the latest edition of our annual report here.

Photo Credit: Lowe’s

You can follow along as we highlight case studies on #ThemeThursday in the weeks to come.  We invite you to join in on the conversation by commenting or messaging us on our Instagram account. There, you can get more immersed in interactive content surrounding this year’s retail innovations.