Whether you’re a new parent, expectant parent, or a grandparent, shopping for toys and baby gear can be stressful. How do you choose the right stroller or the best building blocks? Preparing to expand into more locations, the children’s products chain Magic Beans turned to Continuum to develop a new service design experience showcasing their unique dual offering of baby gear and toys, promoting their expert customer service and delivering a fun, stress-free environment for parents shopping with their children.

Continuum’s new design offers a more rewarding and manageable shopping experience.

By segmenting the store based on parenting stage rather than merchandise type, Continuum separated what had been previously conflicting groups of customers.

To keep children entertained and out of the way of others, the design integrated a variety of “Magic Moments” to make store visits appealing and memorable for kids and relaxing for everyone else. At the same time, innovative displays – artificial grass testing tracks for strollers, recreated car interiors to test car seats – help shoppers feel confident in their selections. By the checkout counter, a “This or That” machine gives parents a fun way to help their kids choose one new toy out of a selection of favorites.

In addition to helping visitors decide on purchases more easily, Continuum’s new design also offers a more rewarding and manageable shopping experience. The service design innovations helped Magic Beans win three consecutive Best of Boston retail awards, as well as a Wicked Local Reader’s Choice Award and a Nickelodeon Parent’s Pick award.