World's First Stream Store Opens its Doors in Alkmaar

AMSTERDAM, September 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

As a world premiere, Dutch cheese shop Kaan's Kaashandel and ABN AMRO are today launching the world's first live Stream Store in the Dutch town of Alkmaar. The Stream Store is an omni-channel experiment that lets online customers order artisanal cheeses in real time, as though they were actually inside the shop. ABN AMRO is helping to optimise this new approach, which seamlessly meshes online and physical dimensions: the expertise, authenticity, and experience of a brick-and-mortar shop combined with the ease and speed of an online store http://www.kaansstreamstore.nl/en.

Until September 30, 2017, Kaan's Kaashandel will be offering its products to customers visiting its website. The world's first live Stream Store will give online customers a real-time view of the shop and its staff, and let them start a purchase via a live chat. Kaan and his team will communicate with them via a video link, providing recipe tips, and even cutting and wrapping cheeses while customers watch on screen. Customers can read product descriptions by tapping any one of the cheeses in the virtual shop.

Kaan's Kaashandel has a loyal local customer base, but also provides services to Dutch and foreign tourists. "We've been doing things the old-fashioned way for many years, but we also want to keep up with modern times," says Kaan. "ABN AMRO asked us to take part in this experiment. We do not have great online visibility yet, so that motivated our decision to participate. I hope the Stream Store will boost online sales of our artisanal cheeses. Alkmaar is famous for its cheese, and this kind of technology will allow us to ship our delicious cheeses to international customers as well."

According to ABN AMRO, independent retailers are vital to any shopping street, but they often suffer from strong online competition. What's more, many of these retailers see the omni-channel approach as something of the distant future. "We started this experiment to boost customer experience by linking the authentic character of a brick-and-mortar artisanal cheese shop with the ease and speed of online shopping," explains Henk Hofstede, Retail Sector Banker at ABN AMRO. "This enables us to provide independent retailers with a fresh take on innovation and hopefully inspire them."

For more information, please contact: 
ABN AMRO
Ariën Bikker
Arien.bikker@nl.abnamro.com
+31(0)2062-88900