As the end of the year approaches and while we face the start of a new one, the discussion of the ‘new retail landscape’ flares up again. How did the retail industry change this year? How are shoppers’ expectations and behaviours evolving? How is technology impacting the design industry? What should retailers be doing differently to continue capturing consumers’ attention? What can we do better next year, and which trends should we kick to the curb?For retailers and retail designers, a second topic that always enters into the discussion here is the relationship between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar in an age where people can find almost anything they want at the click of a button without even leaving their homes. As a result, many people have expressed their concerns in recent years that brick-and-mortar is threatened by the rapid growth of online retail. At Greater Group, however, we have a different philosophy about the ever-changing retail world. Why are digitally native brands opening physical stores?Despite the convenience of e-commerce, the unique engagement that accompanies in-store shopping cannot be replicated online. For this reason, many native online brands are expanding their retail networks to physical channels to serve the demand for immersive, sensory-driven customer experience. Further to this, digitally native brands have also been prompted to reconsider their online-only focus due to rising customer acquisition costs, increased competition across digital channels, and customer satisfaction concerns.As a solution to these issues, many direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that are migrating to physical channels are putting customer experience at the forefront of their store design objectives. The physical store is therefore transforming into an experiential product discovery hub that places experience and long-term customer relations over once-off transactions. This is an exciting retail design development that combines the benefits of online and offline channels to deliver premium experiences with lasting impact. Let’s take a look at some of the most innovative and inspiring physical retail case studies from new and upcoming brands.AwayThe luggage and travel accessories retailer, Away, was founded in New York in 2015 as an exclusively online brand. After testing the physical retail market via a pop-up store in NoHo in 2016, the brand took its storefront strategy one step further by opening its first-ever brick-and-mortar location in Toronto, Canada at the end of 2020. Since the launch of the first standalone Away store of nearly 3,000 sqm, the brand has expanded its retail network to 13 stores across the US, the UK and Canada. All of these stores are driven by experience to elevate the customer journey and offer meaningful product engagement beyond the transactional aspect.Warby ParkerThe glasses retailer, Warby Parker, is a well-known success story in the online-to-offline retail movement. Established in 2010, the retailer opened its first physical store in 2013, marking a significant moment in the transition from transaction-based to experience-based retail among digitally native brands. With more than 100 stores across its physical retail network today, the risk paid off and has paved the way for other DTC brands to follow suit. The value added by the brand’s in-store platforms has motivated the decision to double down on physical store rollouts, even amid the coronavirus pandemic. By combining the convenience and cost-benefits of its online offering with the sensory experience of shopping for glasses in-store, Warby Parker has perfected the balance between e-commerce and physical retail while demonstrating the potential of the marriage between the two channels.StepsIn Hangzhou, China, the beauty collection brand, Steps, opened its first physical retail space to offer an immersive and relaxing environment for shoppers to dwell and engage with their products. The store fosters a tranquil shopping experience inspired by stillness and a slow, unrushed way of life. By embracing the elegance and luxurious comfort associated with the brand’s lifestyle and beauty products, this flagship functions as an extension of the Steps brand image. The conscious store design aims to attract and retain customers through sensory interaction and premium customer experience — two goals that cannot be equally met online.AllbirdsAnother leading brand in the omnichannel online-to-offline transition is the apparel retailer, Allbirds, which evolved from a digital-only sales platform to a brick-and-mortar network of more than 30 stores across the world in a matter of years. Amid the rapid growth of e-commerce, Allbirds saw a gap in the market for in-person shopping and responded by launching its first retail store in San Francisco a few years ago. The brand’s retail store designs mirror its sustainable focus by using natural materials instead of synthetic fibres and displaying the carbon footprint of each product. The Allbirds stores add a valuable dimension to the brand’s established online presence while expanding its customer reach through a hybrid retail channel strategy. new cambridge storenew cambridge storeFor retailers that want to maximise their customer reach and cater to a spectrum of functional and experience-focused shopping needs, the answer lies in the marriage between brick-and-mortar and e-commerce. Instead of competing, online and offline retail formats need to be integrated into a cohesive strategy to attract and retain a more diverse shopper demographic.Learn more about this retail design approach in The Future of Retail, a recent report by Greater Group and Watch This Space that investigates the intersection between online and offline formats within the context of seven pivotal trends shaping the retail industry in 2022. These trends include the changing role of brick-and-mortar and the positioning of the physical store as an engaging experience, the growth of experiential retail and the omnichannel model, sustainability and green design, social shopping, and technological advances in the customer journey.Greater Group is a multi-disciplinary global retail design agency. We have been creating award-winning retail spaces, customer experiences and workplaces since 1989, utilising our combined expertise to deliver high-impact, high-return design, fit-out and manufacturing solutions and provide clients with one point of contact throughout. Learn more about our design and build services, shopfitting design and retail design today!Share :
As the end of the year approaches and while we face the start of a new one, the discussion of the ‘new retail landscape’ flares up again. How did the retail industry change this year? How are shoppers’ expectations and behaviours evolving? How is technology impacting the design industry? What should retailers be doing differently to continue capturing consumers’ attention? What can we do better next year, and which trends should we kick to the curb?For retailers and retail designers, a second topic that always enters into the discussion here is the relationship between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar in an age where people can find almost anything they want at the click of a button without even leaving their homes. As a result, many people have expressed their concerns in recent years that brick-and-mortar is threatened by the rapid growth of online retail. At Greater Group, however, we have a different philosophy about the ever-changing retail world. Why are digitally native brands opening physical stores?Despite the convenience of e-commerce, the unique engagement that accompanies in-store shopping cannot be replicated online. For this reason, many native online brands are expanding their retail networks to physical channels to serve the demand for immersive, sensory-driven customer experience. Further to this, digitally native brands have also been prompted to reconsider their online-only focus due to rising customer acquisition costs, increased competition across digital channels, and customer satisfaction concerns.As a solution to these issues, many direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that are migrating to physical channels are putting customer experience at the forefront of their store design objectives. The physical store is therefore transforming into an experiential product discovery hub that places experience and long-term customer relations over once-off transactions. This is an exciting retail design development that combines the benefits of online and offline channels to deliver premium experiences with lasting impact. Let’s take a look at some of the most innovative and inspiring physical retail case studies from new and upcoming brands.AwayThe luggage and travel accessories retailer, Away, was founded in New York in 2015 as an exclusively online brand. After testing the physical retail market via a pop-up store in NoHo in 2016, the brand took its storefront strategy one step further by opening its first-ever brick-and-mortar location in Toronto, Canada at the end of 2020. Since the launch of the first standalone Away store of nearly 3,000 sqm, the brand has expanded its retail network to 13 stores across the US, the UK and Canada. All of these stores are driven by experience to elevate the customer journey and offer meaningful product engagement beyond the transactional aspect.Warby ParkerThe glasses retailer, Warby Parker, is a well-known success story in the online-to-offline retail movement. Established in 2010, the retailer opened its first physical store in 2013, marking a significant moment in the transition from transaction-based to experience-based retail among digitally native brands. With more than 100 stores across its physical retail network today, the risk paid off and has paved the way for other DTC brands to follow suit. The value added by the brand’s in-store platforms has motivated the decision to double down on physical store rollouts, even amid the coronavirus pandemic. By combining the convenience and cost-benefits of its online offering with the sensory experience of shopping for glasses in-store, Warby Parker has perfected the balance between e-commerce and physical retail while demonstrating the potential of the marriage between the two channels.StepsIn Hangzhou, China, the beauty collection brand, Steps, opened its first physical retail space to offer an immersive and relaxing environment for shoppers to dwell and engage with their products. The store fosters a tranquil shopping experience inspired by stillness and a slow, unrushed way of life. By embracing the elegance and luxurious comfort associated with the brand’s lifestyle and beauty products, this flagship functions as an extension of the Steps brand image. The conscious store design aims to attract and retain customers through sensory interaction and premium customer experience — two goals that cannot be equally met online.AllbirdsAnother leading brand in the omnichannel online-to-offline transition is the apparel retailer, Allbirds, which evolved from a digital-only sales platform to a brick-and-mortar network of more than 30 stores across the world in a matter of years. Amid the rapid growth of e-commerce, Allbirds saw a gap in the market for in-person shopping and responded by launching its first retail store in San Francisco a few years ago. The brand’s retail store designs mirror its sustainable focus by using natural materials instead of synthetic fibres and displaying the carbon footprint of each product. The Allbirds stores add a valuable dimension to the brand’s established online presence while expanding its customer reach through a hybrid retail channel strategy. new cambridge storenew cambridge storeFor retailers that want to maximise their customer reach and cater to a spectrum of functional and experience-focused shopping needs, the answer lies in the marriage between brick-and-mortar and e-commerce. Instead of competing, online and offline retail formats need to be integrated into a cohesive strategy to attract and retain a more diverse shopper demographic.Learn more about this retail design approach in The Future of Retail, a recent report by Greater Group and Watch This Space that investigates the intersection between online and offline formats within the context of seven pivotal trends shaping the retail industry in 2022. These trends include the changing role of brick-and-mortar and the positioning of the physical store as an engaging experience, the growth of experiential retail and the omnichannel model, sustainability and green design, social shopping, and technological advances in the customer journey.Greater Group is a multi-disciplinary global retail design agency. We have been creating award-winning retail spaces, customer experiences and workplaces since 1989, utilising our combined expertise to deliver high-impact, high-return design, fit-out and manufacturing solutions and provide clients with one point of contact throughout. Learn more about our design and build services, shopfitting design and retail design today!Share :