Design for a change

There is always something new about each day, and this holds true for the retail world, as well. The world is rapidly changing, and the consumer is changing with it.

There’s urbanization, the movement back to the urban cores, dominated by both young professionals and the retired city dweller. There’s globalization, the vast global mixing of different ethnicities, and the many flavors that come along with it. There’s aging, of course happening to everyone, which is especially relevant to retail in the form of large demographic populations that drive consumerisms such as "want vs. need," "the thirst for knowledge," and today’s overwhelming winner "healthy lifestyle."

Today’s world is all about "right now." Shoppers want instant gratification. They want the newest, best, most trendy products they can afford, and they want to buy them from the newest, best, most trendy stores. But even the best examples of these stores have faltered over the past decade.

Why is that? Because of change. They found out the hard way you can’t rest on your laurels. You can be the hottest of the hot one day, but wake up to find that your competition has passed you by. In fact, being incredibly hot has its downside, in the form of a certain arrogance that can take hold. It’s the kind of arrogance that convinces you that you’re right no matter what the rest of the world (or your customers) think.

How should your store design respond to this huge phenomenon? Well, first of all, change doesn’t come easily to design. The very nature of design is to first understand a set of conditions, and then create a specific response. It really takes some change to respond to change.

Given the nature of the speed of change we would all do well to consider design for constant refreshing. "Remodel" may become less necessary in the future if design considers this. Remodel is the full-on change that happened periodically when competition dictated. But, that period between remodels is getting shorter and shorter. And, its being driven more directly by the consumer than it is by competition.

So, how can design address these issues? First of all, think of your store as a stage for product. Generally speaking, a stage is pretty basic if not set for a particular production. Design a stage. It can still exhibit your brand attributes, especially in terms of quality, but overall it’s a background for what’s sold. It’s not the show, itself. Design the stage to be easily updated (paint, finishes, and a flexible lighting system primarily) when the time comes. That’s the first step in designing a store that can be refreshed, as opposed to remodeled.

Next, begin to decorate the stage with meaningful pieces, again ones that add substance to your brand, and perform a function (whether orientation, soft promotion, or both). Design these pieces in such a way as to be easily, and cost effectively refreshed. For instance, the proliferation of printed digital imaging has reduced the price to commodity level, while at the same time raising the bar on quality. Design a decorative vehicle for easily changed printed graphics. Target is one of today’s best practitioners of this type of design.

Lastly, but most importantly, change your product presentation at the customer level. Most retailers understand this concept, particularly the notion of simply changing the location of an item occasionally can have significant impact on sales. But, you can go further.

Product level design is very much a convergence of a number of dynamic elements. The product itself, how it looks grouped adjacent to other products, and how the fixture compliments it is highly important. Perhaps no one does this as well as Crate & Barrel.

The product level signage is also a critical element of this dynamic. Of course, locating a product in today’s fast paced lifestyle is first and foremost. Anything we can do to make our customer find what they are looking for easily, and without frustration will endear that customer to you. Product identifiers in a variety of forms are cropping up in today’s stores.

Today’s POP media is becoming much more sophisticated than yesterday’s price tags. Shoppers want much more information about their choices, and we can give it to them. Price, as well as some basic product information, whether general to a category, or specific to an item is critical to making a sale. In some cases, a compelling story can be told about an item that will influence a sale, and at the same time support your brand. Whole Foods has turned this into an art.

So, what will it be in the future? There are many signs of what’s right around the corner. Video & interactive screens are becoming much more viable in the retail environment, but we will see if these will become not just effective sales tools, but cost effective as well. The cost of the hardware is a fraction of the cost of the content, which must be refreshed frequently.

Again, change is king.