AT&T is going the “experience store” route, borrowing from Apple and Helio who have similar lifestyle stores: A Cingular store in Houston has been rebranded to “The AT&T Experience Store”, reports InformationWeek. “Entertainment is a major store theme and a music station will include Apple’s highly-anticipated iPhone, due out in June. Visitors can listen to XM Satellite Radio on various wireless and Bluetooth-equipped devices. Throughout the store, the Cingular brand is being downplayed in favor of the AT&T brand.” In addition to mobile entertainment the store promotes other AT&T content services.
Customers can test mobile phones, PDAs etc, and there is a Messaging and Video station which features 3G phones and “gives customers messaging and opportunities for photo and video sharing”. Not to mention a specific gaming section…
NYTimes: This is the first of 11 such stores the company plans to open this year that aim to make shopping for communications equipment less daunting and, perhaps, more fun. AT&T executives are hoping a single brand name will help convince customers that AT&T is not just a phone company, but rather a one-stop shop for a range of communications products and entertainment services.