Engage Customers with Experiential Retail Spaces

With headlines dominated by news of one brick-and-mortar store closing after another, a “retail apocalypse” may feel like it's looming over business owners who are taking a hit from the disruption of online shopping.

However, a new strategy is giving forward-thinking retailers a competitive edge. As brands begin to reposition themselves to respond to the changing retail landscape, those that focus on the customer experience will stand out among ones that just sell product. Stores like Lululemon, Nike, Canada Goose, and more have embraced the “experiential retail” trend, revolving stores around customer engagement to draw in shoppers and boost sales.

“With the popularity of online shopping and social media trends, architecture firms are helping owners and developers rethink their existing properties to rethink common areas to make them more inviting and multifunctional, to become more supportive of fast-changing technologies, and create interest for their retail tenants,” says Craig Chinn, Principal at Architecture Design Collaborative.

The Laguna Hills, Calif.-based firm has completed over 450 projects across the country, specializing in designing and repositioning retail spaces with experiential elements—from coffee shops to shopping malls.

Here, Chinn talks with LoopNet about how to design stores to engage customers in an interactive, original, and unexpected way.

LoopNet: What is experiential design in retail?

Chinn: Experiential design is the art and science of shaping the customer experience by understanding the customer’s needs and expectations. Modern architectural design practice is innovating the built environment and incorporating new ideas to better the user experience and connection. In the retail environment, owners and developers are striving to create a more human-centric design and interactivity to shape the customer experience, engage the user to create a connection, and leave them feeling good about their brand.

When designing a retail space, we ask questions like: How can spaces function for the retail environment while being stimulating and engaging to the user? What is the user interaction with the environment? How do we build and reinforce the engagement of the design with the user? How do we provide experiential space to increase dwell time and interaction?

LoopNet: What are some strategies for implementing experiential design elements in a retail space?

Chinn: ADC is incorporating hospitality elements in retail settings to activate underutilized spaces. Though social media culture is driving the creation of picture-worthy responses, experiential architecture spaces are not based on common trends but created as thought-provoking responses to evolving cultural interests.

Implementing experiential design requires empathy, intuition, and the realization that personal interaction is key to a meaningful experience. The goal is delivering research-based design that stimulates all the senses and triggers the user’s spatial memory and connection to the space. With new products, processes, and technological advances surfacing every day, there is plenty of room in this field to push the envelope and be creative.

LoopNet: What are some examples of successful projects where you have implemented this design strategy, and why?

Chinn: ADC helps owners rethink their existing properties to make common areas more inviting and multifunctional by combining interactive storytelling with environmental design to engage an audience, increase dwell time, and cater to the entrepreneurial mindset. We are creating prototypes to deliver blurred boundaries with layer spaces to ultimately increase the involvement of the user with the retail environment.

Baybrook Mall in Friendswood, Texas, is an excellent example of experiential design in action. Our retail team worked to come up with solutions to activate the 12,365-square-foot outdoor space that connected to the expansion of retail shops. The team created a welcoming gathering area including a children’s play area with a Luckey Climber sculpture, musical instruments, and seating to allow parents to watch over their children at play. A shade structure was incorporated to enhance the area for maximum use throughout the day during a customer’s shopping trip.

The art and science of shaping the customer experience in collaboration with occupants allows designers to understand users' needs and expectations—this translates to more returning customers and more brand ambassadors.

LoopNet: How is social media influencing the retail environment and the kinds of spaces consumers want to interact with?

Chinn: With the rise of social media, shoppers have grown to desire experiences, and retailers are looking for ways to engage customers with interactive and physical spaces and create a culture around themselves. Retailers also want that “Wow!” factor that calls attention to their spaces.

We’re calling this ‘Purely Grammable’, a concept derived from the current social media trend encompassing beautiful places and spaces as a destination within the retail environment. A moment in space where individuals can express themselves and capture ‘the shot.’ The artistic installations and retail environment itself can provide the perfect backdrop for a photo while also creating opportunity for advertisements and sales.

*This interview has been edited for clarity.