At the start of November, we launched a pioneering pedestrian Fast Lane outside Argos in the Liverpool ONE shopping precinct. The lane was laid on the ground for one week only to continue to raise awareness of the companys new Fast Track services, offering same day delivery and 60-second in store collection for items ordered online.
To support the Fast Lane trial we conducted research to determine shoppers’ biggest bugbears and enlisted UCL researcher and retail expert, Dr Alastair Moore, to provide third party commentary around the story and participate in the broadcast outreach discussing the findings alongside Argos store manager Mustapha Ali.
The Fast Lane story dominated Sky News channels from the early morning on day of launch and was also revisited throughout the morning on the TV channel – with Sky also producing a short preview feature for the story which was used on channels including Yahoo and Huffington Post amongst dozens of others. London’s biggest breakfast show, Kiss 100, interviewed our studio guest and the story was also the lead discussion point on BBC England (40 regional stations), Loose Women and Channel 5 News across the day.
Video content captured of the lane in action and the people of Liverpool giving their opinions has subsequently appeared on major sites including The Mirror, Metro, UniLad and The Independent, where it was the top trending story throughout the week. The video has since been viewed in excess of 30,000 times. There has also been an international reaction to the lane including The New York Times, Nigeria Information, Huffington Post Canada and Australian news shows CBC News and A Current Affair to name but a few all debating it for their own high streets.
The idea has also captured the imagination of consumers and journalists alike who have shared it in their tens of thousands, with many calling for one to be installed in their area via social media. London City Hall even released a statement to answer the calls for pedestrian fast lanes to be introduced in London, alongside numerous regional papers independently running opinion polls to canvas for public support of similar lanes in their area. In the week following the launch numerous opinion pieces, including half a page in The Times and Telegraph have proved how a simple, cost effective idea can have a huge impact.