Retail Branding & Shop Design
From traditional ways to the complex ways used nowadays in Retail Branding. As the decades progressed, retail experiences have also stridden from physical stores to e/m-commerce to phygital stores. Although branding was essential ever since in the industry. But in the digital age, it has become so necessary with the emergence of new startups that focus mainly on retail branding in order to establish their brand. “Positioning” is used across various platforms in the Retail Industry in form of different synonyms.
As discussed above the complexity in retail branding nowadays, occurs because of: -
1. Building up a separate positioning of the retailer & its own line of merchandise.
2. Making positioning alluring enough for effective off-take of other manufacturer brands.
3.
On account of luxury retail, the test is more grave as the physical stores keep on being the essential buyer touchpoint with the luxury brand.
Key Challenges, Retail Branding is facing: -
1. Online v/s Offline Brand Expectations
2. Technology & Sensory Driven Expectation
Not to go into the deep brief about the challenges, let’s have an overview of them, like:
Online & Offline brand expectations are totally different when a consumer engages with a brand. While online, purchasing patterns are influenced by research, reviews, feedbacks, seller ratings, wide brand varieties but the offline purchase, the boon comes from the first-hand experience which the consumer gets with the brand in its physical stores. Also, the technology-driven experience is a whole lot different from the sensory experience. Technologies can only provide extravagant visual treats but stores like Apple, Samsung, and many other brands provide an attractive touchpoint experience. Retail Branding goes hand-in-hand with shop designs as the physical experience of the customer starts from the very point of the entrance. Not like the traditional ways, brands today crave shop designs which excellent human experience. Technology is fused within while delivering like AR, VR, AI, UI&UX, LED Walls, futuristic kiosks.
