“It is no longer enough for retailers
to provide efficient service and a
wide variety of products, they must
now also create an experience that
customers cannot buy.” – PATRICK
MÜLLER-SARMIENTO Senior Partner at Roland Berger
As I was researching, I came across an article written by Patrick Muller Sarmiento and Faris Momani, both partners at Roland Berger. The article looks at the new shopping habits that have emerged in our post-pandemic present, and how these will and are affecting the future of retail, particularly focusing on the retail space. It seems that less space is needed now, and most retailers are choosing smaller shops over bigger ones – the latter used to be a sign of a brand ‘doing well’. This tendency will therefore result in empty retail spaces scattered around Europe, as prophesised by the experts.
The main question now is: what to do with these empty spaces? The author suggests enriching already existing retail experiences, for instance by combining them with non-retail elements. Part of this strategy includes, what mostly interests me, the so-called “retailtainment“:
Despite the rise of digital shopping, physical stores remain a key pillar in the customer journey. Younger consumers – Gen Z and Millennials, in particular – greatly value physical retail and use it as a forum for both socializing and product discovery. However, as consumers become more demanding in their shopping habits, businesses need to reinvent their in-store concepts and floor division.
https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Insights/Publications/Reimagining-retail-space.html
I think that, for my project, I will look at combining that enternaiment+retail element with the idea of utilising these soon-to-be (half) empty spaces to create a community. Therefore, making shopping a more joyful experience, and helping retailers optimise these spaces and improve them through event activation.