An introduction to retail design
Retail design involves more than just creating the physical space in which the goods are sold; it requires an understanding of what makes the retail experience unique. For brands in particular, the retail forum is perhaps one of the most testing encounters they will have with their consumers. It’s where the myths and promises become reality, relationships and brand advocates are won and lost. It’s the final challenge at the end of a sometimes long and expensive route of consumer seduction.
The term ‘retail design’ encompasses all aspects of the design of a store: ranging from store frontage, fascia and signage, through to the internal elements of furniture, merchandising, display, lighting, graphics, point of sale and decoration. Retail design also involves an understanding not only of what will work aesthetically within the space, but how it will perform functionally and commercially, and how it can be built to budget and meet all of the regulations governing the use of a public space.
Today consumers expect and demand more than just the product itself, and their wants have a bigger appetite than their needs. Acting on both a conscious and subconscious level, it’s accepted that the design of a physical retail space can have as much effect upon the consumer’s perceptions of a brand or retailer as the quality of the goods themselves.
This is particularly relevant in a world where products have become homogenised and the difference between one product and a competitor’s can be negligible. Retailers and manufacturers alike are constantly searching for ways in which to differentiate their offer and retail design offers a powerful way of delivering a unique point of view.
And as these consumers become ever more design literate, retailers in every sector realise that they must invest in design, not only to exceed consumers’ expectations, but in some cases simply to meet them.
Within clothing retailing, for example it is apparent that even value retailers have made significant investment in retail design in recent years, adopting the visual language and signatures of middle and even high-end retailers, having the effect of raising the bar even higher.
Similarly, sectors such as financial services have also found that they need to follow suit. Banks have realised that selling intangible products such as investments and loans needs to be made more tangible by designing environments which are more closely related to stores than banking halls, making the selling process from beginning to end more familiar, and in turn adding perceived value in the way they communicate and act.
The fast-moving world of the consumer means that retailers are having to think more and more about how the design of their stores will cope with the short and long-term future demands of their business, and the wants of their consumers. ‘Flexibility’ and ‘evolution’ are two words which appear frequently in new store design briefs.
Flexibility means stores work harder to be relevant and current throughout the entire retail calendar, and evolution involves creating designs based on strong ideas which are ‘ownable’ and capable of being evolved to ensure relevance in the market.
Ensuring that the retail offer is absolutely relevant requires a mix of skills and talents. Research can play an important role in judging the direction of a design. And in some cases pre-design research can be a more powerful tool in creating a lasting solution than post-design research. This approach forms opinions not solutions, which help to drive the design to a unique and ‘ownable’ point of view for the retailer.
Despite the need for high investment within retail design, it has become a commercial imperative for any retailer. Iinvestment in retail design carries with it many advantages: on a macro level, retail design is helping to reshape and regenerate our city centres, while on a micro level it is helping individual retailers achieve increasing returns on investment, and stay ahead in a competitive market.