Over the last fifteen years or so, the Internet has brought us many new ideas around brand expression and customer engagement, from real-time data to social networking to consumer-generated media. As we move into the next phase of the digital revolution, consumers will begin to demand an equivalent level of information and multi-layered brand expression from retail stores as they do from the Web.
In all retail design, brand and product communication must resonate with customers by respecting and trusting their wants, needs, and aspirations. A brand must communicate effectively and consistently across all points of consumer interaction. With the introduction of digital media to a traditional retail setting, the quality of design and level of brand expression should not suffer; on the contrary, the use of digital and interactive elements should feel like a natural extension of a retailer’s brand. Used judiciously, interactivity and digital design will become simply part of the set of tools from which designers select as they create rich retail environments, as well as a means to move the customer through those environments, leading them through discovery, consideration, comparison, and ultimately purchase.
Every element selected for a retail store design should reflect the nature of that brand and contribute to the intended experience. Just as consumers may find that banner ads distract from the experience on a retail Web site, care must be taken that advertising or digital information in the retail space doesn’t work against the intention of the space design. All of the digital elements should be selected based on their ability to support the goals of the brand, as well as to work in fluid motion with interior design, display design, and store layout. The goal should be to take the customer ever closer to purchase, not to distract or be an entirely disparate experience.
Digital design has moved far beyond simple, static information delivery. Integration of video with technologies such as Flash and Silverlight is commonplace, allowing for rich visual and aural brand expressions. The availability of centrally managed database systems that integrate key operational data such as inventory, commerce, and sales allows for quick analysis of trends and forecasting, and ultimately a faster response to trending. All of this, coupled with the ubiquity of fast Internet connections, has opened the door for interactive to be considered as part of a full-scale retail solution.
Just as consumers have different expectations for different brand experiences, some types of digital design will be more appropriate for certain retailers than others. Digital solutions must work to pay off the consumer expectations for that brand. For example, brands such as cell-phone providers or sports equipment manufacturers may feature an element of entertainment as part of their brand experience. For these companies, the use of digital to add a level of ambience and “cool” to their retail space may be well justified.
Other types of retailers, such as pharmacies and other health-service providers, must be more information-focused with their product delivery to meet consumer expectations.
Interactivity for these brands in retail might include the delivery of the latest, most relevant data about the products available for sale. Ultimately, the key for all brands is that the use of interactive in the retail space should not change how these brands are represented but should provide a stronger brand expression than could be attained through traditional design.
Interactivity and digital design can allow a retail brand to:
Be More Engaging:
Use of video, motion design, sound, and lighting can add ambience and energy, and can draw attention to key elements of the retail offering. Digital displays can be used to assist with wayfinding or may cross-promote related merchandise.
Some elements of interactivity, such as touch screens, video cameras with greenscreen effects, or the ability to build and order customized products, can also engage customers, allowing them to contribute to or participate in the store experience. Bringing these and similar elements of Web design and online shopping into the retail space may be incredibly effective for some brands to communicate with their wired customers.
Maintain Consistency:
Retailers with many outlets in multiple regions or with franchise partners often face challenges in controlling their brand and how it is represented, store by store. Digital design and content can be centrally managed, with updates deployed from a global or regional hub, ensuring that all consumers have a consistent experience with the brand, no matter when or where they visit a store.
Gather Data:
Interactive kiosks and other interface points allow brands to have a two-way conversation with customers, even if that customer never talks to a salesperson. Retailers can learn about customers’ behaviors and interests through anonymous data gathering, or may gather customer info as lead generation and a means to engage customers in future communications online, via a mobile device or through more traditional channels. Additionally, by gathering real-time opinions from shoppers in-store as well as online, retailers can be in a better position to respond to trends, rather than waiting until the end of a season to determine which products will be most popular, and can thereby save time and money.
Be Targeted, Relevant, and Responsive:
Just as with online advertising, messaging within digital retail design can be quickly\ updated to reflect the latest offers, promotions, and messaging. Rather than communicate broad messages to the masses, digital affords the opportunity to present timely, customized messages by region or store, while maintaining a consistent tone and manner. Additionally, content can be updated in real time to react to variables such as consumer demand and inventory levels.
As technology continues to become more and more commonplace in all aspects of our lives, consumers’ expectations around the use of interactive in the retail space will continue to evolve. Brands will be most successful when they apply the lessons learned from online retailing back into the traditional retail environment at appropriate levels. As designers, we must begin to align our service offerings now to support this need.
