The pandemic has undeniably had a huge impact on the landscape of retail spaces. The establishment of safety protocols as well as limitations brought by social distancing has changed the overall experience for the customer. As a result, we have heard speculations of shopping online being the only medium for customers moving forward. However, with the increased vaccination rates we can clearly see increased customer traffic in stores and shops.
As the country recovers and restrictions gradually ease-out, the future of retail is neither solely physical or digital-it is the marriage of both worlds, with the customer at its center. Keeping this in mind, our challenge is to prepare and transform our spaces with the goal of creating a unique and safe shopping experience for the customer.
Selling the experience
Coffee shops are one of the fast-growing businesses in the industry today. They are an external outlet for people looking for relaxation and socialization. A big part of why people are visiting coffee shops is because of the aesthetics. The majority of the customer demographics of coffee shops are in the bracket of millennials and Gen-Z who are very active in social media, which are demographics that retailers must take into consideration when designing their space. Retail owners must offer their customers the full aesthetic experience of the café and space planning and design plays a huge role in this, the focal point of the space should be strategically designed to a spot where customers can see it and also experience it. As most people like to take photos for their social media, the design of the space should also provide them a place or a good backdrop for their photos, this could also be beneficial to the retail owners as it could serve as a free social media advertisement for their establishment.
Design with a purpose
Aside from aesthetics, safety must also be considered in retail design. Although restrictions in public places had lessened, retail owners must continue to make their customers feel safe. The design of the space could also make safety purpose, for example; an aesthetic partition could also serve as a barrier between two tables to still impose social distancing between the groups or couple of people going inside the space. Material selection should also be kept in mind, for a busy store that provides food and beverages like coffee shops, the materials especially the fabric selection for seats must be stain proof and easy to clean. The table finish should also be non-porous and can be easily cleaned using cleaning sprays and cloths.
Amenable to changes and alternatives
Al fresco dining or outdoor dining has also been a bright spot for dining places. Because of the safety restrictions and indoor dining regulations from pandemic, dining places are required to downsize the density of their indoor spaces. Currently, most of the cities allowed restaurants on other dining places to create seating on the sidewalks and streets in front of Just about every city has allowed restaurants to create seating on the sidewalks and streets in front of their establishments, with some cities and organizations even providing funding to help them with the transition.
We’re seeing this trend to stay and still be in trend post-pandemic however, with the varying weather conditions in the Philippines, the design for outdoor dining must be carefully planned, especially the materials selections. For outdoor dining, materials selections for the finishing must be non-porous to withstand rains and sunlight, flooring must also be non-slip for the safety of the space users. Selection for the furniture must also be according to the weather considerations and regulations of the city or the land-owner, the furniture fabric must be waterproof and outdoor furniture must be easy to put away or kept when it’s heavily raining. The partitions and fences are also advised to be modular. We should also consider the integration with smart technologies and e-commerce. Since most of the food-service stores are extending to online deliveries, the design of the shop must also consider the placement of smart technologies like screens to flash the order queue, they should also consider the delivery riders and give a place for them where they can wait for their orders, so they don’t necessarily have to wait in front of the counter.
Hybrid layouts for co-related business models
Seeing as how other businesses downsize their shops, we might take consideration of having shared spaces with other businesses. This is the concept of hybrid retail space; the intent of this concept is mutualism to both business models. Mutualism in terms of sharing rent for a singular space and sharing customers for both businesses. Retail space sharing helps small business owners pool their resources and support each other for shared success however, the business models should consider if their products co-relate to each other, for example, a coffee shop and a lifestyle shop could co-exist in a retail space because both have the same target demographics and aesthetics plays a huge factor in both their businesses.
Attracting customers at first glance
For retail design, every detail of the shop’s interior is significant to the business’ sales. Shop windows are the eyes of a retail shop, window displays are the first point of visual contact for the customers and passersby.
The shop window should tell a narrative of the business that entices them to go inside the physical space. Even while placing products at the center of the display, the design must have creative interpretations that should grab the attention of customers while communicating and telling the story of the business model.
Guiding the customers’ pathway
Retailers must know the path they want customers to take around their shops. The idea of which products should lead to and how they want their customers to end up should be established. The shopping journey must be clear to the customers.
Floor markers integrated into the floor design could help establish the pathway retail owners want for their customers, it could also help in imposing social distancing and help the customers understand the traffic flow of the whole space, on which way they should turn first, and which way would lead to the last part of their whole journey in the retail shop.
Slowing down the customer’s journey in the retail space
During these times, people are busier and could be in a rush when going outside. This is influenced by activities on their smartphones, personal engagements, and other kinds of tasks. With that said, the design of the retail interior must help them slow down their journey In the shop and prolong their stay to browse more and potentially find what they can buy from the shop. The store layout plays a very important role in slowing down customers' shopping journey, this defines where you are leading the customers to your store creating an enticing experience for them to shop.
In a lifestyle shop, for example, one of the fitting layout techniques could be the free-flow layout. This type of layout allows customers to browse at leisure making them stay longer in the shop. Although with this type of layout, the whole design and presentation of the products should be harmonious together.
Cashier counter doesn’t mean it’s the end of the shopping journey, encourage impulse buying.
Many customers think that going to the counter would be the end of their whole shopping journey in a retail space, retail owners must create a mini shopping experience for customers at the end, hence encouraging impulse buying. Reaching the cashier counter doesn’t mean that the customers had reached the end of their shopping journey and reaching the counter doesn’t mean their shopping has to stop. Having affordable products and easy-to-grab merchandise near the cashier encourages them to add items on top of their purchases from the main display cabinets. This maximizes the probability of sales from the customers even at the last place of their shopping journey.
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