1. Creating a Bespoke Store Experience
2. The Importance of Retail Experience Design
3. Designing a Valuable Retail Experience
4. Delivering an Impactful Retail Experience
5. Summary of Tactics
6. Real life examples QA

Creating a Bespoke Store Experience

Customers expect a memorable experience when shopping in stores. A retail store experience brings a brand’s story and values to life.

But retailers can’t rely on Instagrammable moments and digital screens alone to make their stores stand out. While these can be vital tools, brands must consider how they use technology to enhance the customer’s experience without it taking away from the human elements of the store.

How do you build a lasting connection with your customer? To create a store experience that resonates, brands must evaluate every step of the customer journey. Because Retail For The People collects information on shopper behavior across many in-store data points, we’re able to fine-tune the in-store experience based on insights we’ve collected from dozens of stores and hundreds of brands. With that foundation, we’re able to offer some essential perspective on how to create and optimize the shopping experience.

Something as simple as a handwritten note, can set you apart from everyone else. 

The Importance of Retail Experience Design

The store experience is critical for driving customer loyalty. A valuable store experience will increase traffic, conversion, and lifetime customer value.

• Build Brand Awareness: Retail stores are a vital customer acquisition tool. An engaging store experience will attract new customers and encourage repeat purchases. Brands often report an online “halo effect” once they open a retail store in a specific location.

• Meet New Consumer Habits: Customers want convenience, speed, and personalization. 58% of consumers will stop buying from a brand that doesn’t provide a distinct experience. A store is an essential tool for adapting to changing consumer habits.

• Drive Engagement and Loyalty: The role of the store has shifted. Physical retail is no longer the final step in the customer journey. 90% of purchases are researched online before being made in-store. Stores encourage customers to form a connection with their favorite brands.

Designing a Valuable Retail Experience

Brands can’t rely on one blueprint to create an authentic experience. When designing your store experience, you should consider how you communicate your brand’s story across every touchpoint.

Here are six strategies to think about when designing your retail store experience:

1. Use Store Design to Bring the Brand to Life

Customers expect a different experience when shopping in-store. Effective store design immerses the customer in the brand’s story.

Esprit: Esprit’s stores are designed to reflect the brand’s commitment to casual, comfortable, and stylish fashion. The store features warm lighting, wooden fixtures, and open spaces that make customers feel at home. The brand’s ethos of “feel good fashion” is evident in every detail, from the cozy seating areas to the inviting bold color palette they're known for.

2. Encourage Customers to Interact with Your Product

An immersive store experience inspires customers to connect with your products. How do you encourage customers to touch and feel your merchandise?

Nanushka: Nanushka’s stores provide a tactile experience with their use of natural materials and soft textures. The Budapest flagship store, for example, has interactive displays where customers can feel the different fabrics used in their collections. Additionally, educational screens provide information about the sustainable practices behind each piece, enhancing the connection between the customer and the product.

3. Create Opportunities for Engagement

Make your store a destination with events, exclusive rewards, and Instagrammable moments.

Summer Fridays: Summer Fridays engages customers through exclusive in-store events and beauty workshops. The brand’s pop-up stores often feature interactive skincare stations where customers can try products and receive personalized skincare advice. Instagrammable backdrops and themed photo areas also make the experience shareable on social media, driving brand engagement. Likes, clicks, follows, all that good stuff.

4. Focus on Personalized Customer Service

To provide personalized service, retailers must understand the individual shopper and uncover new needs.

Esprit: Esprit enhances customer service by equipping associates with tablets to access customer profiles and purchase histories. This allows staff to offer personalized recommendations and style advice. Additionally, more than just equipping the staff with tech, teaching new associates product knowledge and diving into the product not only helps them sell it better, but also empowers them.

5. Reimagine the Fitting Room

The fitting room is an opportunity to enhance the store experience.

Nanushka: Nanushka’s fitting rooms are designed with comfort and privacy in mind. Each room features soft lighting, plush seating, and full-length mirrors. Digital screens in the fitting rooms allow customers to request different sizes or colors without leaving the room, ensuring a seamless and comfortable try-on experience.

6. Use Technology to Enhance the Customer Journey

Customers expect to be in control of their shopping experience. Digital tools allow shoppers to design their own shopping journeys.

Summer Fridays: Summer Fridays integrates technology with beauty by offering digital skin consultations via in-store tablets. Customers can scan QR codes to learn more about each product’s ingredients and benefits. The brand also utilizes an omnichannel approach, allowing customers to order online and pick up in-store, enhancing convenience and flexibility.

Delivering an Impactful Retail Experience

Retail For The People expertise lies in building brands in the physical space. Whether it's a pop-up, a permanent store, an event, our model gives retailers “the power to manifest their brand in a physical environment.” Retail For The People firmly believes in store design strategies that maximize flow, customer engagement, and product discovery. Customers can connect with retailers through unique brand moments. Building those lasting connections.

Retail For The People’s approach to first class customer experience creates an environment that focuses on consultative and personal service. Associates not only need to be able to see a shopper’s buyer history across brands and provide recommendations, but offer above and beyond service that makes a lasting impact on the customer. 

With Retail For The People, brands trust and partner with us because they know we will provide a personal and engaging retail experience.

Summary of Tactics

1. Use Store Design to Bring the Brand to Life:
   • Immerse customers in the brand’s story through effective store design.
   • Example: Esprit uses warm lighting, wooden fixtures, and open spaces to reflect its commitment to casual, comfortable, and stylish fashion.
2. Encourage Customers to Interact with Your Product:
   • Inspire customers to connect with your products by creating a tactile experience.
   • Example: Nanushka’s stores feature natural materials and interactive displays for customers to feel fabrics and learn about sustainable practices.
3. Create Opportunities for Engagement:
   • Make your store a destination with events, exclusive rewards, and Instagrammable moments.
   • Example: Summer Fridays hosts in-store events, beauty workshops, and offers interactive skincare stations and themed photo areas.
4. Focus on Personalized Customer Service:
   • Provide personalized service by understanding individual shopper needs and preferences.
   • Example: Esprit equips associates with tablets to access customer profiles and purchase histories, offering personalized recommendations and appointment shopping.
5. Reimagine the Fitting Room:
   • Enhance the fitting room experience to make it more comfortable and convenient.
   • Example: Nanushka’s fitting rooms feature soft lighting, plush seating, and digital screens for requesting different sizes or colors.
6. Use Technology to Enhance the Customer Journey:
   • Empower customers to control their shopping experience using digital tools.
   • Example: Summer Fridays offers digital skin consultations, QR codes for product information, and an omnichannel approach for online ordering and in-store pickup.

Real life examples QA

1. Use Store Design to Bring the Brand to Life:
   • Esprit:
     • Stores reflect the brand’s commitment to casual, comfortable, and stylish fashion.
     • Features include warm lighting, wooden fixtures, and open spaces.
     • Details like cozy seating areas and inviting color palettes emphasize the brand’s ethos of “feel good fashion.”
2. Encourage Customers to Interact with Your Product:
   • Nanushka:
     • Stores provide a tactile experience using natural materials and soft textures.
     • The Budapest flagship store includes interactive displays for customers to feel different fabrics.
     • Educational screens provide information about sustainable practices behind each piece.
3. Create Opportunities for Engagement:
   • Summer Fridays:
     • Engages customers through exclusive in-store events and beauty workshops.
     • Pop-up stores feature interactive skincare stations and personalized skincare advice.
     • Instagrammable backdrops and themed photo areas make the experience shareable on social media.
4. Focus on Personalized Customer Service:
   • Esprit:
     • Enhances customer service by equipping associates with tablets to access customer profiles and purchase histories.
     • Staff can offer personalized recommendations and style advice.
     • Offers appointment shopping for a tailored shopping experience.
5. Reimagine the Fitting Room:
   • Nanushka:
     • Fitting rooms are designed with comfort and privacy in mind.
     • Features include soft lighting, plush seating, and full-length mirrors.
     • Digital screens in the fitting rooms allow customers to request different sizes or colors seamlessly.
6. Use Technology to Enhance the Customer Journey:
   • Summer Fridays:
     • Integrates technology with beauty by offering digital skin consultations via in-store tablets.
     • Customers can scan QR codes to learn more about each product’s ingredients and benefits.
     • Utilizes an omnichannel approach, allowing customers to order online and pick up in-store for convenience.