21st-Century Store-Design Challenges
Retailers today must rethink how they use store design to drive traffic and boost sales in brick-and-mortars. That’s what a veteran store-design consultant emphasized on Sunday at The Power of Retail Design panel during the National Retail Federation’s 99th Annual Convention and EXPO in New York City.
“Shoppers are redefining how the game is played,” stated Joseph Bona, president of the retail division at CBX, which exhibited in the show’s DESiGN STUDiO for Store Design and Visual Merchandising. “Yes, they still go to brick-and-mortars. But they are taking full advantage of high-tech tools that are powering up and evolving at a blistering pace. This puts the onus on designers to create extraordinarily compelling in-store experiences that are fully integrated with retailers’ brand identities, operational capabilities and the fast-changing behaviors and preferences of their core customers.
“All of us in branding and design should keep in mind that shoppers today demand authentic and transparent messaging as never before,” added Bona. “It’s a bit of a backlash in the wake of the housing collapse, Wall Street bailouts and trends like greenwashing.”
Store design should be about the customer experience rather than an abstract reflection of ethereal ideas about the brand, he noted. “Pressure is being created on all fronts–from traditional online shopping to retail-focused iPhone apps to the Amazon.com Kindle and who knows what else in the future,” he said. “Today, store design is all about the end user: ‘How do we communicate from the exterior? How do people interact with and within the space? How do we communicate the point-of-difference we offer?’ Self-referential branding with an interior focus is a thing of the past.”
See you next Wednesday,
Marc
