ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers - (Page 36) Designed to BY KERRY O’LEARY Retail environments aim to prove they are after buyers’ hearts, and that the words “buy” and “sell” apply to more than just real estate. At the forefront of the retail rebirth is consumer engagement, where stores incorporate interactive, fantastic elements such as simulated climates, architectural pieces that invoke certain eras or locales—think Rainforest Cafe—and subtle fixture placements to facilitate staff interaction with customers. The move toward emotional experiences in shopping began with the Disney-esque type of environment, filled with frivolity and cuteness, but has since grown into its sophisticated intent. Drawing from residential and hospitality design, retail environments have transitioned into more poignant and less superficial experiences. Stores are becoming unique, as they are individual by nature, and are striving to leave their mark in the vast, muddled productsphere. Many brands even have tiers to hit target guests in target markets. Department stores, which grapple with incorporating several brands into one environment, have evolved into friendlier spaces as well, a mirror of residential design. “The whole world of design is elevating,” says Bruce Brigham, FASID, founder of Retail Clarity Consulting. “People are living in nicer environments and demanding the same thing from retail.” In a world where one product looks and feels just like all the rest, retailers are tapping into customers’ emotions to add new depth and meaning to the shopping process. Now more than ever, stores strive to be experiential spaces, where shopping is no longer simply a task. Brand perception and recognition aims to appeal to the emotional senses of the buyer—and emotion drives profit. Effective store design highlights that emotional trigger and builds upon an existing brand identity of a product or label. Designers of retail spaces are now tasked with mirroring a brand’s identity and cueing it to strike a personal chord with buyers, as the nearly four-trillion dollar industry of retail has moved from a product-centric business to a customer-centric business. As shopping becomes a meaningful experience centered around the buyer, services and product must be built around individual customers. Creating an Experience Store exteriors are taking the same approach, in even more noticeable ways. Doug Hope, publisher of Display and Design Ideas and vice presi d e n t o f t h e G l o b a l S h o p re t a i l marketing show, notes that “Not one single shopping mall is being built right now, but that does not mean retail has died; a new kind of shopping experience is alive.” Hope is referring to the “Main Street” look of new retail construction and renovation. Outdoor shopping centers, of which a whopping 50 million square feet are being built this year, centered around an avenue for strolling and window shopping that give the entire facility a neighborhood-like, welcoming feel—are another clear example of tapping into the emotional experience of shopping. Exteriors need to be just as brand-identifiable as interiors, and can be best achieved through window displays and signage. Hope continues, “before you even walk in [the store], you become engaged right away.” Creating experience starts with two things—merchandising and pricing. “If you don’t have that, forget about the whole experience,” says Brigham. Competitive retailers can fit in the marketplace alongside one another if they put merchandising 36 ASID ICON | THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS
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