problem hunt
Right after the first wave of Covid, a team of four business students uncovered challenges the retail industry faced as people no longer wanted to visit stores in person. Problem evaluation was one of the most significant aspects of the project, and we set out to define the factors affecting the viability. Our approach:  identify a worthy problem, calculate the market size and understand the target segments' willingness to pay.
innovation intent framework
We conducted surveys and one-on-one interviews for more than twenty retail stores in Vancouver to uncover various thoughts. Miro helped us map out and understand the relations between lines of thought. Based on the innovation intent framework, we drew up the link: the problem statement, affected stakeholders, why the solution matters and how we could be different.
problem funnel
A step-by-step approach helped us dial into the problem statement and make it test-ready. It involved ideating, research, refining, discovering, and hypothesis. Therefore, an idea that started from learning the impact of Covid on retail industries was refined into a VR Store than enables real human interaction with customers.
research
We jotted down all the assumptions that we wanted to validate. In the next step of our research, we focused on operational parameters, consumer psychographics, industry research and the competitive landscape.
what we learnt
The research helped us create the lean business canvas of the solution. During the interviews, we found that the customers craved human interaction during lockdowns. Providing a solution that would help them enter a store virtually and interact with sales executives would be ideal. This allowed us to move further along with the project and create a business canvas.
continuing to build
Based on our findings, we could form a new hypothesis we would like to validate moving on. With digital stores propping up on the blockchain and Web3, we want to understand consumers' barriers to adapting to the changing landscape of retail. Some say that is the future, but we want to be sure consumer purchasing behaviour aligns with it.