Tensator Virtual Assistant bags more sales for Grafton centre retailers

Back in June, we installed the very first Tensator Virtual Assistant in a shopping centre, at the Grafton in Cambridge. Here, centre manager Lance Stanbury explains the impact that it has had.

“We decided that the unit should be located in the main hall of the centre, close to the entrances of some of our largest stores. There, it has been interacting with customers, answering common questions and providing details of in-store offers.”

Having been in the centre for just over two months, the Tensator Virtual Assistant Ultra has already produced positive results for the Grafton and our retailers.

We’ve seen a strong cross-section of groups using the unit and listening to the information it gives. It has been particularly good at attracting younger shoppers to engage directly with it and ask questions using the control panel.

One of our major anchor stores has used the Tensator Virtual Assistant to promote free coffee for customers, whilst another offered free bags of cosmetics with purchases and had around 40 redemptions.

Meanwhile, one of our major restaurants offered diners 20 per cent off their food bill if they quoted a code given by the character. Again, approximately 40 people took up the offer.

We know that the Tensator Virtual Assistant has become a familiar sight in air transport hubs and exhibitions. However, we’re very proud that this was the first to be installed in a UK shopping centre – befitting Cambridge’s nickname as the ‘Silicone Fen’ because of the technology industry based around here.

Today, customers are demanding more technological development in shops, so solutions like the Tensator Virtual Assistant are able to create a much more immersive and enhanced customer retail experience to the benefit of both visitors and stores.

Lance Stanbury is centre manager at the Grafton shopping centre in Cambridge.