Argos opens its first digital store in the north

Argos has opened its first new digital store in the North of England in Manchester.

Located at Manchester Fort Shopping Park, the shop is designed to showcase a new digitally enabled way to shop. The new, larger ‘paperless’ store has a fresh and contemporary look, with tables of tablets replacing the laminated paper catalogues, stock checkers and pencils.

Research commissioned by Argos into what local shoppers want from retailers in Manchester reveals that around 85% have shopped online using a computer, laptop or tablet, and one in three shop on their mobile phones – while 90% still shop on the high street.

Argos claims that the new store ’embraces online shopping with the convenience of a physical store’.
Customers can benefit from Fast Track: a new service that allows them to browse and prepay for goods online at home, and then collect them at the Fast Track area in the store. They can also access free WiFi and charge their own smartphone or tablet using the free ‘charge bar’.

Argos regional general manager for the North Steve Farndale said: “We’ve been committed to the Manchester Fort area for the last 10 years and it’s fantastic for our local customers that this store was selected for a digital makeover.

“We’ve had really positive feedback from customers on the bright new modern look of the store, and the tablets and digital media screens. They’ve told us that they can really see the benefit of being able to pay online, and collect quickly, using the new Fast Track service. The revamped store holds 40% more products now, so we can provide even more choice, more quickly, to our customers.”

Argos first opened its Manchester Fort store in September 2005. It has a total of 27 stores in the Manchester and Lancashire area, employing around 765 people across the region.