Retail Design Trends: How to Design an In-store Retail Experience in 2022
While the COVID 19 pandemic saw a sharp increase in the world of online shopping, people missed the in-person experience. This is what caused in-person shopping to beat online shopping in 2021.
What brings people back to in-person shopping isn’t the product itself but retail design. Now that there are so many things we can get online, people are starting to realize that the joy of doing things in person is the experience.
But, how do you work the magic of retail interior design and retail store displays to create wonderful retail shopping experiences for your customers?
This article will walk you through everything you know.
Get the Image in Line
Before you even think about optimizing traffic and directing customers correctly, you’re going to need to make sure that your store has a wonderful image to it.
Take tips from popular retail stores like Trader Joe’s. Joe’s makes use of a nautical antiquated theme, even giving their employees ship rankings. This creates an atmosphere that people enjoy spending time in.
Your image doesn’t need to be quite as involved as this — but at the very least you should make sure you have colours that go together. Study the basics of colour theory to figure out what sort of colour palette works best for you.
An analogous colour scheme makes use of colours that are close together on the colour wheel. Often the separate colours blend together, creating a warm and friendly look.
A complementary colour scheme, on the other hand, makes use of colours on the opposite end of the colour wheel. This creates a deeply contrasting look that makes both colours stand out. If you want to look in-your-face, futuristic, and cutting edge, we recommend going with a complementary colour scheme.
Figure out how you want to distribute your colours. You could have your store designed in one colour, with your employees wearing another. Or, you can have all colours blended together on all branding.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you — and what the customers prefer.
Think About the Whole Experience
It’s important to consider your customer’s whole experience, whether they’re getting a delivery or stepping into your store. They’re not just in your store to buy a product, they’re in your store because they like your store. Give them more to like.
Make sure your layout is clear and consistent. If your customers have any questions about where they’re supposed to check out, who works there, and where they can go for help, you need to reconsider your design. Everything should be intuitive, and your customers should be able to figure this out on their own.
One form of design is to design your store so that your customer travels through it in one direction. This means they’re sure to not miss anything, going through every aisle. It also means they never have to turn around.
If you offer a wide variety of products, it might be best to create an open-concept store, that makes it easy for your customers to traverse.
You don’t want to design your store so that your customer feel like they’re being attracted to one particular area. Make sure that they have the option to explore wherever they want.
Instruct Your Employees
At the end of the day, your employees are the final step in making sure that your retail experience is a positive one. A rude, inattentive, or ill-informed employee can ruin an otherwise wonderful experience.
It’s impossible to “design” people’s manners and demeanour. However, you can make sure that the people you hire have wonderful people skills. You can also make sure they’re trained in the relevant information.
If your employees are experts at navigating your layouts and shelves — and can even clue your customers in to certain deals that you’re running — your customers are far more likely to enjoy themselves. People might even come back to you because of certain employees of yours that they enjoy.
At the end of the day, no one obeys the instructions of an employee because they like to obey. Your employees will treat your customer well if you treat them well; consider upping their pay or providing more benefits/hours/days off — whatever they want — if they’re not living up to your standards.
Get Flexible
In the 2020s, change is king. People need to feel as though they can make over their lives at a moment’s notice. More people are spending money on experiences as opposed to possessions and choosing to rent rather than buy.
This means our society loves to pack it up and change.
So, why should your retail store be any different?
Even better than one particular design experience is the option to make several different design experiences at a moment’s notice. Implement flexible and easily changeable design styles to set up new displays whenever the option presents itself.
Rather than simply decorating your store for the holidays, why not completely upend your shopper’s experience? Nothing immerses your customers in the holiday experience like discovering that their favourite familiar retail store has been designed anew.
When you design flexibly, you make it easy to set up props, decorations, characters, and colours you might introduce when it comes to the season. You also allow your customer to have several experiences at once, being charmed by your store’s normal incredible experience as well as whatever you add on.
Understand Retail Design
As you can see, retail design in 2022 is going to be all about the experience you can create. Optimize your retail design by creating an image that your customers can attach to, designing your store so that it’s easy to navigate, and training your employees to be absolute experts, and you’re far more likely to succeed in the world of retail.
For more information on retail expertise, contact us today.
