In the current climate, we have to work harder to establish a conscious and subconscious emotional connection with the customer in store.
Our business director, Lisa Ronan discusses the future of retail in this months edition of A1 Retail magazine. Lisa focuses upon the potential for even more creativity in-store, due to how the changes in the way we shop has affected visual merchandising and its role within retail.
Taking a look back at some of her favourite projects, Lisa references our infamous ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ visual merchandising and retail windows for Hyundai Department Store to be the type of creative work she sees as the future for successful retailers. Read more below.
How have the changes in the way we shop affected visual merchandising and its role within retail?
I believe the changes in the retail industry have given visual merchandising a level of intefriy it might not have previously held. In the current climate, we have to work harder to establish a conscious and subconscious emotional connection with the customer in store. We must find out how the customer connects with the brand and create that in store experience that will enhance their brand attachment.
What advice would you give a retailer looking to implement visual merchandising for the first time?
Analyse your customers’ needs and interests, by entering your store, what value do you add to their lives? Retailers need to relate to their customer and give them a reason to visit their store instead of heading online. When you’re looking for an agency to do this for you, look to build a relationship, giving them insight and trust; only then can an effective multi-sensory environment be created for your brand.
Tell us about your favourite project that Prop Studios has worked on?
My favourite recent work is the Hyundai Department Store windows and installations. Our designers developed the ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ concept into a beautiful, engaging scheme that was so well received out in South Korea. My favourite ever though was the Magnum Pop Up in Selfridges, it merged our two divsions seamlessly, with FormRoom creating an interactive, immersive interior and Prop Studios creating incredible windows.
Tell us about some visual merchandising (not your own) that has caught your attention when out and about?
We’ve just worked with Charlotte Tilbury for Selfridges and de Bijenkorf in Amsterdam, but their existing visual merchandising is extremely impressive. This is a brand that knows their customer and their needs and brings this knowledge in store effectively. Their Covent Garden store is exquisite and every concession holds the same draw, the merchandising of their products is aspirational but accessible; exactly what I would want from a beauty brand, as a customer.
What can we expect from Prop Studios in the future?
We’re continuing our long-standing relationships with fantastic brands like Ted Baker and Levi’s whilst developing exciting partnerships in the retail and hospitality industries. We’ve been so successful for so long (35 years this year!) because we cultivate partnerships with our clients, who then trust us to develop their brand with them.
