How can physical retail remain relevant in the digital age?

What makes pop-up retail so powerful, and how can you harness this power to connect with consumers on an emotional level, make a lasting impression, and drive brand loyalty?

In this series of insight reports, StudioXAG’s Gemma Ruse sheds light on how industry leading brands are creating retail moments that live a lot longer in the memory than on the shop floor.

As we begin to imagine life in a post-COVID world, we’ll explore how experiences that trigger emotions will be more important than ever, not only to reconnect with our community but also with our senses.

Physical retail has to undergo a dramatic transformation to maintain its relevance in the digital age.

Forward-thinking retailers are selling softly, emphasising the experience rather than pushing for sales. The reason to visit is not ‘what I am going to buy’ but ‘what am I going to experience’. Brands need to give people a reason to visit their store, far beyond the products for sale.

This extends beyond creating Instagrammable moments or offering a cool VR installation, the emphasis for these multi-layered spaces is to create an emotional connection between customer and brand. To surprise, inspire, excite and educate in order to build brand loyalty.

Anya Hindmarch – Labelled

To launch the Anya Hindmarch’s Labelled Collection, StudioXAG worked in collaboration with their team to create a 4-day festival of organisation at the Labelled Concept Store.

Anya wanted to bring her customer into her compulsively organised world and offer a unique retail experience, which popped up within their luxurious Sloane Street store.

The space hosted a series of talks and workshops from industry experts on how to manage to-do lists and emails, de-cluttering, organising your wardrobe and improving time efficiency to help her community find order in their busy lives.

For this nineties inspired office scene, we installed a monotonous expanse of carpet tiles followed by wrapping interior walls in a unifying matt finish, transforming over 300 square metres into a gradient of grey.

Each item, from the plinth to snacks and stationary was meticulously labelled, echoing the message of the collection in painstaking detail. An on-site embossing service allowed visitors to label their pieces in real time.

The pop-up acted as a tool for customer education, but also for personal enrichment. Anya said “I challenge anyone to leave without having learnt at least one thing that could be a game changer at improving their productivity.”

Explore the project here.

Fortnum & Mason’s Chapel of Love

Is there a more memorable experience than your wedding day? Maximising on this emotion, Fortnum & Mason created the Chapel of Love, a pale green church which towered through the store featuring a fully functioning wedding bell.

Couples could tie the knot, renew their wedding vows or celebrate an anniversary, creating a truly unique experience which would solidify a salient memory in the consumers brain, associating Fortnum & Mason with happiness, love and their better half.

As stores with outdated value propositions continue to decline, the role of the brand is being challenged. In order to stay relevant in the current landscape, to compete with and complement the rise of online shopping, retailers must reevaluate their offering. Brands need to create spaces and enriching experiences that bring people together.

Stores must diversify to become a:

• Host of events – such as providing the space for a launch event, brand collaboration, music event, lecture or wellness area

• Service Provider – offer something unique, such as personalisation and customisation or a repair service

• Educator – facilitate workshops and learning activities to create a hands-on experience between the customer and the product

Brands need to create spaces and enriching experiences that bring people together. As society begins to recover from the COVID-19 outbreak, shopping as a leisure activity will evolve to reflect our new mindset and requirements. Consumers may also seek out spaces offering a sense of tranquility, an escape from the busy high street. Retailers will need to adapt to incorporate chances to decompress and relax.

Browns Nomad – Berlin

London-based fashion boutique Browns transformed an abandoned supermarket in Berlin’s Mitte district into a high concept luxury store. Working closely with the local community, the multi-sensory shopping experience took inspiration from Berlin’s idiosyncratic and experimental spirit.

For the exclusive 4-day takeover, an impressive line-up of performances included DJ Juliana Huxtable, No Shade collective, palm readings by Truth And/Or Consequences, tattooing by Louis Loveless and panel talks with GmbH and Vogue Germany.

Alongside a curated selection of key products to shop in store, there were also specially created capsule collections created for the Nomad space, with a focus on sustainable and German-based brands.

Retailers are evolving their spaces to create experiences that cannot be replicated online, adding a level of play which is rooted in community and culture, to build connections with the local area and to drive footfall and sales through relevant and meaningful cultural programming.

In the future of retail, brands are no longer confined to the flagship or the mall. Transient retail allows a brand to reach outside the store, becoming more active in the community and bringing its brand story to the source.

The COVID pandemic is forcing us to change our behaviour and take pause. We are re-evaluating what is important, our sense of community is strengthening. Brands that understand the power of local will succeed in the new retail landscape.

Glossier – London Pop-up

Cult beauty brand Glossier landed in London’s Covent Garden with impact, attracting around 50,000 visitors a month to it’s first major pop-up experience in the UK.

Understanding the importance of creating a space which speaks to its local consumer, the store design team brought the eccentricity of British style within the store. Inspired by traditional British architecture and interiors, every surface was coated in Glossier’s unique take on William Morris wallpaper and carpets. The store also featured a limited-edition umbrella to brave London’s infamous weather, and a Glossier-pink rooftop installation which paid homage to London’s skyline.

The millennial brand placed fostering a community in-store and online at the forefront of the store’s design, creating areas to encourage conversation between customers, such as mirrors facing one another and positive affirmations exclaiming “You Look Good”.

In the future of retail, we need to redefine the success of a space. With a focus on brand loyalty rather than how much product is sold per square foot, success is determined by community engagement, meaningful relationships.

Although product sales can seem to take a back seat in these experience-led environments, in the long run this strategy will increase overall sales figures, as studies show that 54% of UK residents feel more loyal to brands that show a deep understanding of their preferences and priorities.