How to create a meaningful in-store experience

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – for an experience to work, it has to mean something. It has to be memorable (in a good way) and matter, otherwise you risk losing your customers as all they’ll remember is a bad experience.
So what can you do? How can you ensure that your customer’s experience remains positive and meaningful?

The first step is to focus on meeting their needs and desires whilst ensuring that you remain relevant, consistent and connected. By being customer centric and tailoring your products, services and store designs to your customers’ needs; you can give them a reason to keep on visiting your store time and time again. More importantly, by heightening their experience and delivering on your promises, you can earn their loyalty and trust, ensuring they remain a customer for life.

Other steps you can take:

1. Remove/eliminate all distractions so that the focus stays on your brand – a prime example of this in action is Bombay Sapphire Gift Shop. This company is proud of its heritage and as such wanted to focus on the history of their business. Resolution Interiors achieved this by using materials that complemented the heritage of the distillery, whilst: removing existing display fixtures and desks; upgrading the lighting scheme; replacing the flooring with engineered oak, and using the shelving units to act as an interpretation of the brand. Combined, this helped customers to experience the same seamless journey in the shop as they do in the distillery itself.2. Provide value, not novelty – taking the time to adapt your message and offer real-life events that are relevant to your audience, can prevent your business from being labelled as ‘novel’ and instead give your customers real value. The yoga studio found inside super food bar Acai Sisters is a perfect example of this in action, as they have cleverly used this studio to physically remind their customers of their brand, identity and ethos on healthy living.
This suggests that by taking the time to adapt your message and offer real-life events, you can bring customers together and take their shopping experience to the next level – one where they recognise and resonate with the real value of your business.3. Consider what the customer actually needs – customers need more than your products and services. When they are in your store they also want: a place to try on clothes; ease of access and manoeuvrability, and somewhere to rest/relax whilst waiting for their friends/loved ones to try things on.

A clever tactic Trotter’s uses in their shop design is to offer activities to keep children occupied while their parents shop. By providing this service, it instantly makes their customers lives easier, as they are able to focus on what they came into the store for, instead of being distracted by the antics of their children.

4. Make the experience informative – customers love any opportunity to try before they buy, as this hands-on experience/ information makes it easier for them to come to a final decision. Virgin Holidays take this concept further by giving their customers a taste of what they’ll actually receive/enjoy on a flight.They have harnessed light, scent, sound, AR, VR and AI technology to create experience pods (in their stores) where customers can embrace the holiday spirit and witness what Upper and Premium Economy is like on Virgin Atlantic planes.

5. Merge with the surrounding environment so customers feel comfortable – with Zero Waste stores, the experience is the shopping. For instance, instead of grabbing pre-packaged/weighed products; zero waste stores are much more immersive as they encourage shoppers to recycle containers and pick, weigh and pack their own products. By boosting consumer engagement inside of the store, customers will feel a stronger sense of attachment and achievement as they’ll have taken charge of their own experience.

Any one of these points can be used to transform your store and offer your customers a more meaningful experience, and at Resolution Interiors we can help. Whether you want to explore the idea of zero waste shopping, or you wish to redesign your store so there are no distractions; our team can identify the needs and desires of your customers, and ensure that your store offers them a truly informative, valuable experience.

For more information, contact us today.