Challenge
Matthew McLemore embraced the challenge of developing a concept piece for a proposal to the Sony Retail Online Experience, tasked with creating a deeply engaging platform for select high-profile Sony Electronic products while serving as an effective guided-sales tool. With a stringent two-day deadline, he needed to deliver a solution that balanced creativity with practicality under significant time constraints.
Process
Matthew began with a field trip: a thorough walk-through of the Sony Retail Experience installed in over 300 Best Buy locations to capture real-world behaviors, merchandising patterns, and in-store storytelling techniques. Using those observations, he distilled key product interactions and pain points, then translated them into an online concept that foregrounded guided discovery—surfacing contextual product features, pairing logic (e.g., soundbar + TV), and decision forks tailored to distinct shopper profiles. He focused the design on clarity and rapid comprehension, emphasizing feature callouts, simple interactive demos, and sales-centric flows that reduced cognitive load while highlighting cross-product value.
Results
Delivered within the two-day window, Matthew produced a polished concept that showcased practical, high-impact features—such as unified soundbar/TV control mapped to a single remote and buyer-persona-led pathways—that reinforced product value and purchase confidence. Sony responded positively; the piece functioned both as a persuasive sales tool and a portfolio exemplar demonstrating how in-store retail experiences can be translated into conversion-focused online journeys.
