Michael Clewley
Director, Sonova
Leading hearing care solutions provider Sonova is using digital technologies and interactive solutions to set a new industry standard.
Interactive retail experiences grab consumers’ attention and increase opportunities to educate them about products and services.
Sonova is a leading provider of hearing aids, cochlear implants, wireless communication products, eSolutions, and professional audiological care. It’s using interactive experiences and innovative products and services to change the retail landscape for audiology stores.
Sonova brand Schoonenberg opened the world’s first interactive audiology store, World of Hearing, in December 2018 in the Netherlands. The store demonstrates the added value of high-end hearing aids through tangible experiences, including the option to drop in for an audiological consultation without an appointment and to try out hearing aids in typical virtual situations, as well as the opportunity to immediately test them in real life. Sonova formed an Innovation Lab in partnership with Communitech almost two years ago to prototype concepts, conduct user testing, and develop solutions to create the future of assisted hearing.
“Knowing that our customers have been heavily affected by COVID-19, we’re thinking about how future retail experiences may be shaped,” says Michael Clewley, the lab’s director, adding that projects include no-touch digital solutions, such as assessing hearing problems using speech sounds delivered via mobile technologies and an app that involves family members in hearing rehabilitation.
