IRL is both familiar and unique, combining the staples you’d expect in a Walmart Neighborhood Market — associates, cash registers and shelves with thousands of products — with high-tech features that stand out right away.
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Near the front of the IRL, the Welcome Center offers customers answers to commonly asked questions on interactive displays.
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The massive, glass-enclosed Data Center is bathed in a blue glow and fully visible to shoppers.
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“We chose right from the very start to not hide the technology,” said Mike Hanrahan, CEO of IRL, noting that visible technology such as the Data Center was a key consideration for the team while designing IRL.
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This display outside the Data Center shares facts about IRL’s information processing ability.
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Just outside the Data Center where the servers are housed is a large interactive display that encourages participants to move around and learn how technology reacts to body positioning.
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The IRL team will use real-time information to explore efficiencies that will allow associates to know more precisely when to restock products, so items are available on shelves when they’re needed.
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The IRL store is starting with real, practical solutions like making sure shopping carts are available and registers are open.
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Small “Haven” displays are spaced throughout the store for customers to learn as they shop.