IMG_3697Verizon debuted a fancy, futuristic retail store last month in Seattle. Now, AT&T is trying to one up the competition with its own “store of the future” across Lake Washington.

The wireless carrier opened the doors to its new store in downtown Bellevue on Thursday, hoping to make customers feel more comfortable during their AT&T retail shopping visit.

IMG_3685“When you walk in here, it doesn’t look like a phone store,” said AT&T district manager Manfredo Rendon. “It’s an experience.”

The new location is separated into three zones. The “Explore Zone” puts all the smartphones and tablets in one place, separated by operating system. The “Community Zone” features phones and tablets that are connected to accessories to show customers how a wearable or in-car device might fit their lifestyle.

Finally, the “Connected Experience Zone” — which was my favorite — is meant to demonstrate in-home gadgets that “make the customers feel like they’re at home,” as store manager Seneca Luetke explained. Here, customers can test out AT&T’s Digital Life products, which include home security and home automation devices.

During my visit, I used a smartphone app to control a security camera, turn a light off, and lock a door.

“You don’t really understand what your phone can actually do until you come into an AT&T store,” Luetke said.

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AT&T also ditched cash registers inside the store, instead opting to equip each employee with a mobile point-of-sale device, similar to what Apple does in its retail locations.

One other thing I noticed about this particular store — AT&T is still prominently featuring the rather unpopular Amazon Fire Phone, which the carrier is selling exclusively.

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Also, there’s another zone that the employees did not talk about — the “Blast From The Past” zone:

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Though it’s vastly smaller, this AT&T store shares a lot of similarities with Verizon’s new spot in University Village — namely, both are trying to get away from the typical mobile store that lacks energy and makes it difficult to demonstrate anything other than a tablet or smartphone.

“If you look at the whole design of this store — the colors, the wood — it’s meant to be more of a warm feeling type of store where a customer feels at home,” Luetke said.

AT&T has four other similar “store of the future” locations across the Pacific Northwest and nearly 50 others around the nation. The new Bellevue store is located at Lincoln Square Mall at the corner of Bellevue Way and NE 8th Street.

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