S.STUDIOVOLVO RETAILER / Physical meets digital
Volvo Phygital Experience
Bringing the EX30 to life through tactile material samples, responsive digital storytelling and a working RFID powered showroom experience.
Design lead, User research, Visual artist & Prototype
30 days · Sweden retail
30 days to a working proof of concept
EX30 phygital
A phygital in store Car Configurator made for playful interactions of the exterior and interior colours, material finish options of the most sustainable car from Sweden.
Phygital = Physical + digital experiences
Volvo EX30 Material Explorer
Imagine you are the customer: one theme with one interactive RFID tile sample
Customer enters the showroom and heads to the Design Studio.
Material Explorer shows EX30 samples, glowing under LEDs, with a calming Scandinavian soundscape.
A show reel on the app invites interaction.
They pick “Flax Deco”and place it on the sensor tray.
The app asks: “Mist” or “Pine”?”— the customer chooses their vibe and the story unfolds.
Budget & timeline
€100,000 estimated for the full installations in the Swedish market, including Kista, the flagship retailer for launch
30 days: ideate, design, and build a fully working proof of concept with RFID + Raspberry Pi enabled tech as a phygital solution
Success
Success criterion: 1 customer to interact with the custom tiles, curiously explore and convert to talk to a retailer or book a test drive
Problem statement
How might we simplify the experience of navigating the product Line and model offers, enhancing the current set up of the Car Configurator used in dealerships and studios to the in store environment and requirements?
The IKEA effect is a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created.
User research insights
Field observations revealed that customers naturally build excitement and confidence when they can physically interact with material samples and visualise different design combinations during the vehicle selection process. However, this momentum is often interrupted because the experience depends entirely on the staff to explain options, features, and the narrative behind each configuration. This over reliance on retail advisors creates inconsistency, reduces autonomy, and limits the customer’s ability to explore at their own pace.
Source: In store contextual inquiry and staff assisted customer journey observations.
Some customers simply want to know the price after they have made custom design choices in a quiet, simple way
Some customers feel a bit anxious when the price is revealed by an agent as they feel they need to respond immediately
Some customers don’t realise that from start to end delivery of the new car can be longer than they realise post purchase
Some retail agents worry about not being able to efficiently tend to all walk in customer groups
Concept, storyboarding, wireframing
Material Explorer is a concept that aims to replace the current upholstery and sample walls in the Volvo showrooms. We created a phygital touchpoint that includes the physical assets and digital interface to bring the EX30 to life. The storyboard narrative identified x4 core themes to delight and educate the customer and show the dimensions on the car in colour and lighting conditions.
Prototyping, high fidelity design & technical setup
High fidelity visuals, animations, and Volvo’s audio styles set the scene. Customers pick a glass effect tile, place it on the sensor, and watch the EX30 come to life—themes change, variants appear, and the experience feels instantly responsive, tactile, and immersive.
The €100,000 figure is an estimated installation budget. The customer lead figure describes the success criterion, not a measured conversion result.