在實(shí)體店面不斷關(guān)閉的零售業(yè)大潮之中，一家令人意想不到的公司進(jìn)入了這個行業(yè)，并開始逆流而上，它就是麥肯錫（McKinsey & Co）。

這家老字號精英咨詢公司在9月26日表示，公司旗下的首家零售店Modern Retail Collective將于9月底在明尼阿波利斯的美國商城（Mall of America）正式開張。

在這里，你買不到麥肯錫標(biāo)志性的公司報告，也無法得到咨詢服務(wù)。實(shí)際上，來訪的消費(fèi)者幾乎感覺不到它背后的支持者是麥肯錫。

正相反，消費(fèi)者看到的將是3,000平方英尺的生活用品零售實(shí)驗室。這里原本是Abercrombie & Fitch的兒童店，如今會定期輪換不同品牌的產(chǎn)品，并采用了一系列新型零售技術(shù)。此舉的目的是讓麥肯錫的客戶了解哪種技術(shù)能夠吸引消費(fèi)者進(jìn)入門店，購物時消費(fèi)更多，在店內(nèi)停留的時間更長。門店也會調(diào)查哪些技術(shù)未能取得成功，并會提供智能鏡子和所謂的熱點(diǎn)（可以在店內(nèi)的特定地點(diǎn)提供數(shù)字服務(wù)）等流行工具，還支持加密貨幣支付。

門店第一批進(jìn)駐的品牌包括珠寶商Kendra Scott、文胸廠商ThirdLove、體香劑廠商Type:A和美妝公司Elevé Cosmetics。以Kendra Scott為例，其中評估的一項技術(shù)可以讓消費(fèi)者在定制手鏈上鑲嵌各種石頭，并虛擬地“看到”不同配置下產(chǎn)品的樣式。

計劃利用麥肯錫的門店構(gòu)建測試案例的第一批技術(shù)供應(yīng)商包括RetailNext、Zebra Technologies和微軟（Microsoft）。

許多品牌在向公眾推出技術(shù)之前，已經(jīng)在實(shí)驗室進(jìn)行過測試。麥肯錫開設(shè)門店，就是為了更快地看到真實(shí)環(huán)境下的技術(shù)效果。對于那些考慮實(shí)體門店或快閃店卻尚不具備條件的小型數(shù)字化本土品牌而言，這尤其提供了方便。

麥肯錫亞特蘭大辦公室的合伙人蒂凡尼·伯恩斯表示：“客戶希望掌握更多面向消費(fèi)者的信息。很多技術(shù)是無法模擬的。”盡管麥肯錫的品牌在店內(nèi)隱形，但公司會收集有助于向客戶提供建議的數(shù)據(jù)。

麥肯錫計劃至少維持這家門店一年時間，并且每隔幾個月就輪換一批品牌和技術(shù)供應(yīng)商。公司希望這種節(jié)奏可以讓它評估有助于在亞馬遜（Amazon）時代武裝零售商，并（依照麥肯錫客戶的希望）將瀏覽者轉(zhuǎn)化為購買者的一系列技術(shù)。

麥肯錫的合伙人普拉文·阿提表示：“讓每件產(chǎn)品都變成智能產(chǎn)品是一種途徑。客戶可以弄清楚：那些技術(shù)消費(fèi)者在意嗎，能推動轉(zhuǎn)型嗎？”（財富中文網(wǎng)）

?

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

In an endless wave of brick-and-mortar store closings, one unexpected new entrant is swimming against the retail industry tide: McKinsey & Co.

The white shoe consulting firm said on September 26 it was opening its first ever retail store, called the Modern Retail Collective, the end of September at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.

It won’t be a place to buy McKinsey’s signature corporate reports or pop in to get consulting services. In fact, shoppers visiting will have no inkling that McKinsey is behind the space at all.

Instead, shoppers will explore a 3,000 square-foot living retail lab (in a space once occupied by an Abercrombie & Fitch kids store) that will feature a regular rotation of different brands using an array of new retail tech. The goal is to allow McKinsey clients to see which technology compels customers to enter a store, shell out more money when they do shop, and stay longer. The space will also investigate which technologies flop, and may include trendy tools like smart mirrors or so-called hotspots, which offer digital services in specific locations within a store. It will accept cryptocurrency as payment, too.

The store’s first cohort includes up-and-coming brands like jeweler Kendra Scott, bra-maker ThirdLove, Type:A deodorant and Elevé Cosmetics. In the case of Kendra Scott, one technology under evaluation would allow a customer to use different stones to assemble a personalized bracelet and virtually “see” what the product would look like in various configurations.

The first group of tech providers that intend to use McKinsey’s store to build test cases include RetailNext, Zebra Technologies, and Microsoft.

Many brands test technology in labs before rolling it out to the public. The idea behind McKinsey’s store is to sooner see how tech works in a real-life setting—a particular boon for smaller, digitally native brands that are considering physical stores or pop-ups but don’t yet have them.

“Clients wanted more customer facing information. A lot of technology, you can’t simulate,” Tiffany Burns, a partner in McKinsey’s Atlanta office, tells Fortune. While McKinsey’s brand will be invisible in the store, the company will gather data that it hopes will help it advise clients.

McKinsey, which plans to operate the store for at least a year, expects to rotate each cohort of brands and tech providers every few months. The company hopes that cadence will allow it to evaluate a spectrum of technology that promises to fortify retailers in the Amazon era and, McKinsey’s clients hope, turn browsers into buyers.

“It’s a way to have every product become a smart product,” says McKinsey partner Praveen Adhi. “They can understand: Does the customer care about that? And does that drive the conversion?”