Homeware design business MADE.COM has announced the launch of MADE Labs, a tech innovation lab that will work with emerging technologies and innovative start- ups.
The new Labs team, based at MADE’s HQ in Shoreditch, will work with startups to create an engaging shopping experience using the latest technology, with an emphasis on helping customers find the right products and then visualise them in their own space.
It seems as though Made.com is determined to utilise technology to stay competitive and at the forefront of innovation. It recognises the value that many customers place on having a real-life experience of the brand – and has since launched View it Live, a partnership with Go Instore to connect customers from all over the world to MADE experts on the showroom floor via live-one way video combined with two-way audio.
Jonathan Howell, Chief Technology Officer at MADE, said exclusively to UKTN: “It wasn’t that long ago that we were the plucky start-up looking to disrupt the design industry, and now we’re lucky enough to be in a position to team up with some of the brightest entrepreneurial minds around.
“We know we’ve got to keep adapting so that we don’t just keep up with what our customers want -but get ahead of it – and that’s where MADE Labs comes in.
“It’s a place where people with great ideas can come to collaborate, and we plan to work together to spread those great ideas worldwide.”
The launch of MADE Labs follows the success of collaborations with a number of other technology businesses to date, such as Hullabalook, who created MADE’s Sofasizer, a popular online tool that helps customers find the perfect size of sofa for their space and won customer innovation of the year at the Retail Week Tech Awards in 2017.