The Nokia experience centers are small in size, about 200 sf on average, but they represent what many retail manufacturers, marketers and industry consultants consider a big idea that is taking hold in retailing. Experience centers, sometimes called customer experience centers, are designed to boost sales not only by displaying products but by permitting shoppers to try the products right there in the store to eliminate the mystery and confusion that often surrounds new electronics gadgetry.

Unlike a traditional wireless store that carries a limited selection of phones, for example, the Nokia Experience Center features the full line of Nokia products and each is fully operational to allow consumers to understand the newest wireless features. Explaining the features clearly is important, Nokia says, because phones today are much more than phones. They can include integrated cameras, Bluetooth technology (new technology that combines many electronics devices via one standard), e-mail, wireless games and other features. Says Winston Wright, branded retail planning manager for Nokia, "A traditional wireless outlet can be overwhelming for many consumers" because of the maze of available features, rate plans, contracts and rebate programs, and the different levels of expertise on the part of sales people. Besides informing customers, the Nokia centers feature what the company considers another plus from the shopper's point of view: The experience centers don't sell the products, they just explain them. Wright says the experience centers are staffed by highly trained product representatives who explain the company's phones in a "no-pressure" situation. Instead of selling, the product representatives direct consumers to nearby retailers who sell the products.

Besides the new Las Vegas location, Nokia has experience centers in Dallas, Chicago, New York and Miami. It is one of a growing number of companies that are turning to various types of experience centers in addition to traditional retailing and merchandising, and shopping center operators also are embracing the concept. CompUSA has opened a number of Digital Living Experience centers, for example, and Hewlett Packard has teamed with Microsoft in sponsoring experience centers in partnership with a number of retailers. Los Angeles-based shopping center owner Westfield Corp. recently entered an arrangement with Intel Corp. for a series of Intel Experience Zones at Westfield shopping venues that calls for experience zones at Westfield Shoppingtowns throughout the top 25 markets in the US. The Intel Experience Zones spotlight products from Intel partners including Gateway, Microsoft and Sony at kiosks featuring entertainment, digital media and computing systems. Westfield says the experience zones are aimed at "technically savvy consumers" who know about the new technology and want to try it as well as shoppers who are unfamiliar with the new products but want to learn.