Dive Brief:

• Target is expanding its efforts to educate consumers on the possibilties of the Internet of Things, launching a “connected living experience” department in a suburban Minneapolis store and planning similar initiatives in Cupertino, CA (home of Apple) and New York City's Tribeca neighborhood, Engadget reports.

• The smart home department, like Target’s “Open House” display at its Yerba Buena Gardens store in San Francisco, collects a variety of connected IoT devices in one spot for display and trial, with dedicated staff to help out. 

• Scott Nygaard, Target's senior vice president of hardline, told Engadget that such dedicated areas help customers understand the full capabilities of emerging technologies, adding that sales are better when devices are displayed and sold in one space.

Dive Insight:

The Internet of Things has arrived. Connected home technologies that offer ways to save energy and simplify hectic lives have now reached affordable price points, making them accessible to a large segment of the customer population.

Sears, which has also carved out a connected home showcase in some stores, sees the energy-saving and convenience of IoT appliances and devices as their key selling points, and is training its technicians and repair staff on their workings and operations. Many people want help setting things up through Wi-Fi routers or need troubleshooting, especially at first.

Target’s San Francisco IoT store-within-a-store glowed purple and featured touchscreen explanations of many devices, but the Minneapolis store is not quite as decked out, according to Engadget. The focus is more on centralizing the devices in one area, as opposed to presenting them in their traditional store departments, like baby goods or home goods.

Like Sears, Target also emphasizes the energy-saving potential of devices like thermostats and connected power outlets. These are items with fairly significant markups—for example, a Nest thermostat sells for $249.00, compared to standard programmable thermostats that sell for less than half of that price. 

The Target Open House has 35 items on display, including connected slow cookers, lamps, Sonos speakers, locks, doorbells and programmable tiles that help you locate your keys. While some of these items may not be huge energy savers, they can make life easier. There are no more questions like "Did I turn the iron off?" when you leave for vacation; as long as you've plugged it into a smart outlet, you can double-check that from the airport gate area. You can also program locks to let in dog walkers or landscape workers at certain times, but not others. 

"We want to become the go-to resource that's credible in this space," Target's Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Casey Carl told Engadget.