This is the first store without dependents in Spain | Technology
Two catalogs on a table show some story rooms. They are in a room of about 30 square meters, in which there are also about twenty cabinets, shelves, chairs and headboards of the bed. On the wall, there are several samples of finishes for furniture in pine wood, different types of fabrics and a sample of handles and handles for cupboards and drawers. Although by this description it might seem a furniture trade of a lifetime, tudecora_open is the first store without dependents in Spain.
"The idea came to me a year ago when Amazon Go opened a store like that in Seattle. I thought: 'If Amazon has done it, why can not I do it? "Says Miguel Ángel López. He is founder and CEO of Tudecora.com, a company that is dedicated to the online sale of furniture. In January 2018 Amazon Go opened in Seattle (USA) a shop without dependents. There, the buyers only have to take a product and go out with it from the store without having to pay for it.
Tudecora.com opened this store in Madrid in November, after testing at another store in Guadalajara. To enter the store, the customer can open the door with his mobile phone even on holidays thanks to a free application. Then, you have an hour to see and touch the furniture and, if you wish, to place the order from there through a touch screen or even with your own mobile. "So the customer takes full control of the store for free and there is a dependent that can be overwhelming," says Lopez.
At the store, each product has a label with a QR code. "Pay with your card by scanning this code", can be read on the ballots that accompany small items such as photo frames, lamps or decorative objects. When using a QR code reader of the mobile, a window is opened directly to make the payment and the client can take his purchase home. On the other hand, when scanning the code of large furniture such as shelves or cabinets, the user arrives at a web portal where the different options and prices are shown.
Isabel Gil, a 40-year-old woman, went to tudecora_open with her husband and son about a month ago and has already received her request. I had been searching the Internet for a very specific model of a table. When he discovered that next to home he had a shop where he could check the quality of the furniture, varnishes and finishes, he decided to visit it. "If you are going to buy furniture for the house, it is convenient to see them beforehand, since you will not pay 400 euros without being sure if a store is reliable or not," he tells by telephone.
During the visit, the company offers customers the possibility of being assisted by video call. Given the criticism that this type of business can end with certain jobs, López is clear: "No job is destroyed, it is transformed. We are still the same team, but this gives the clerk the freedom to take the call while he is at home in the garden with his children. " "It's perfect for family conciliation," he says.
The main difference of this store and a traditional one, according to the founder of the company, is that "in this case the client is only physically and there is no human contact". Although when someone prefers that there is a dependent, Lopez makes an appointment and goes to the store. Gil preferred to enter the store without him and the experience was positive: "In small shops with shopkeepers you feel a bit pressured and you can not see and touch things so much. I felt I had more freedom of choice. "
Security in a store without dependents
Guaranteeing security in this type of business is one of the main challenges. "This system is based on trust in people," says Lopez. But to ensure that no one sneaks into the premises or there are robberies, the store has a system of sensors and surveillance cameras: "If I see someone is stealing from me, I can leave him locked up and call the police." Also, before going, it is necessary fill a form in which the client indicates his name, surnames and DNI. Whoever wants to enter the premises can only do so if they have previously requested permission from the company.
Like Gil, an average of 20 people a month have visited this store in Madrid since November. Currently the premises opens every day of the year from 10 in the morning to 10 at night. But the company intends to extend the schedule to 24 hours a day in the coming months. Tudecora.com wants to expand this business throughout the country and is already working to open this type of store in the main capitals of Spain.
Lopez believes that this way of "uniting the online world with the offline" is exportable to any business that sells something in a store. There are already companies of sofas, mattresses or kitchen furniture that have been interested in the idea. But this initiative may be only the beginning because, according to the entrepreneur, the stores will continue to evolve. "For example, there will be furniture stores without furniture. The client will sit on a sofa with virtual reality glasses and observe the catalog. " Lopez also imagines establishments in which, when entering, a voice assistant is asked to "see bedside tables" and, suddenly, some holograms appear with the different models.
