Posted in: Board Games, Card Games, eSports, Figures, Games, Miniatures, Retro Games, Role Playing Games, Tabletop, Video Games | Tagged: board games, card games, figures, games, gamestop, Gamestop 2.0, miniatures, retro games, Role Playing Games, rpgs, Tabletop, video games

"Gamestop 2.0": A Retail Renaissance! Pt. 3

Hey there! By now, I hope you've seen my earlier article concerning an overview of Gamestop's experimental revitalization and rebranding project in Tulsa, Oklahoma, known there as "Gamestop 2.0". If not, this can be found here. I'd highly recommend you give it a look if you want an overview of what marvelous things await the gaming and game merchandise company, and through their unveiling, the consumers. Additionally, check out my latest article prior to this for detailed information about my trip to the larger Gamestop 2.0 store.

On two occasions during my adventure to Tulsa, I visited a specific Gamestop 2.0 that wasn't on the itinerary. This second location was unique to the others in that it was mostly based in selling collectibles and prided itself, above other things, on Funko Pop! figurines. This article will give a look at this second location.

This store has all of the typical Gamestop amenities like video games and helpful, knowledgable staff who can assist on any of the things you need to inquire about as a Gamestop customer, but as mentioned above, they are a Gamestop 2.0 store, and so they have a particular focus. In addition to the one Co-op Couch they have towards the front end of the store, this Gamestop 2.0 has:

• A lot of Funko Pop! figurines
• Collectibles that aren't necessarily Pop!-related
• Trading cards

The store really mostly markets all of the above, just magnified beyond what a typical Gamestop already has. Zach Shor, Head of Innovation with Gamestop and one of the big-name team members on the Gamestop 2.0 project in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said that this store is the model that's likely to be reworked the most.

Now, you may be wondering what that little display doo-dad is doing there centrally in the panoramic shot above. This is another feature that Gamestop 2.0's all possess – it's basically their version of an online kiosk. Dubbed "The Endless Aisle", it is designed to help customers find what they need at a certain store. I tried it out at the Retro model, and I'll get more into my thoughts on it when I discuss that.

Here's the biggest problem with this location: Location itself is everything, and most malls have at least one-to-two of these three things:

• Hot Topic
• BoxLunch
• ThinkGeek

This store in the Woodland Hills Mall is competing against all three. And, when you factor exactly what kind of merchandise these stores sell, you're talking about Funko Pop!s, gaming apparel, and neat game-related merchandise besides. And that's true for all three of these locations. Being that this Gamestop 2.0 is the "Collectibles" store model, this doesn't bode very well, even considering how ThinkGeek is part of Gamestop now.

Ultimately, this store could be a thriving one, if it were located somewhere with less competition. I'd be inclined, if it were up to me, to switch the "Collectibles" store model with the "Retro" model that I keep talking about, but that's just my opinion.

At any rate, it was still a pretty cool location and was quite fun to marvel at. But what do you think of this store model? Is it a tough sell for you, or could you see yourself buying exclusive collectibles here? Let us know!

If you'd like to visit Gamestop 2.0 at the Woodland Hills Mall, the address is: 7021 S Memorial Dr, Tulsa, OK 74133

You can also find Part Four of this feature here.

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