rpa:group Archives

value and values…

The speed at which retail theory evolves has meant that the language and terms we use quickly become overused, obsolete and obfusticated. This means goodbye to ‘experiences’, ‘omnichannel’ and ‘phygital’ and our associations with them. This also reduces our ability to clearly define our brief and brand expectations. However, there is some enduring retail language worth investigating further, to gain a more insightful view of how we might approach this evolution.

Let’s consider ‘value / values’ as a persistent term, associated with retail…

A brand’s value could be said to refer to its customer’s relationship to the product or service and the financial worth attributed to it. As this is calculated on investment in marketing versus uplift, and is exclusive of cost and margin it is sufficient to measure Return on Investment. However it begs the question: Where is the longevity in the relationship? In this sense, Value is subjective and reliant wholly on a brand’s marketing skills to establish and maintain this. The ‘storytelling’ is unilateral, non-interactive and lacks true engagement. We experience this historically in the cosmetics industry, witnessing a pot of cold-cream, increasingly miniaturized, slathered with impenetrable pseudo-scientific jargon and afforded an exorbitant price tag related to perception, but not necessarily performance. Brand loyalty in this case is garnered only by the psychology of limitation and the need for ‘the latest’, not necessarily ‘the best’.

A brand’s Values however, when carefully considered and delivered, can significantly alter this dynamic. Values are inherent components of the human individual that govern selection in most things. They are subconscious and can be subjective, but share commonality that is regardless of gender, race and social background. If you are able to appeal to the fundamental psychological level of shared human values, empathy is generated, inclusivity prevails and lasting engagement is the result. Let’s not forget that humans process their relationships with brands, with the same part of the brain that they use to generate and evaluate friendships and social bonds. If brands and designers engage with and stimulate this process in the same way, through generating genuine empathy and understanding, a lasting retention of the brand experience is created. It results in authentic engagement, and trust – friendship in other words.

So, the ultimate question no doubt is how do designers appeal to these values? Reflecting on the time-poor nature of many consumers, the brand message needs to be focused both on individual relevance and wider cultural inclusion. Generosity, inclusivity and wellbeing are just three arenas in which we to battle for the hearts and minds of customers. We see brand generosity increasingly reflected in conversion of prime retail space, into complimentary service areas. L’Occitane and Lululemon, both on London’s premium Regent Street estate, dedicate their first floors to a focused extension of the main brand. Make no mistake, these are conceptually indulgent, committed, beautifully designed environments, devoid of direct sales and suggesting a wider world beyond the brand. Inclusivity and empathy with alternative social and cultural sectors generates that fundamental feel-good factor, especially alongside the feelings of indulgence during purchasing. US online retailer Zappos understands this and parallel with their retail website has a compelling, but most importantly, easily realised methodology of donating used goods. The customer simply prints and attaches their own label to a box of donations and drops them in the post. Domestic and foreign charities benefit, and allow selection of specific destinations. Physical ease and altruism are a winning formula

Wellbeing and social conscience continue to be enduringly historic on the high street. Arguably, Anita Roddick began to extol the virtues of brand Values with the first UK Body Shops in the late ‘seventies, infusing the brand with ethical sourcing and moral leadership. That trend extended to physical health over a decade ago with Innocent Smoothies 5 for 5 cafes, aiming to serve 5,000 people their 5-a-day for a fiver. We now see slowly increasing focus on mental wellbeing, with active wear brand Ivy Park consulting mental health charity MIND, to help positively empower women by increasing self-esteem. Similarly Boots is focusing on positive engagement with teens regarding their mental and physical wellbeing.

How do designers initiate this process with clients? It all leads back to Values. We need to remember that our clients are human too. Engagement and empathy with their brand aspirations is just as important as translating it for their customer. Understanding the traditional ‘goods-for-money’ transaction is dead. We need to embrace the fact that information is the new currency and investing in understanding any customer or client, taking time to listen and empathise is going to give us a return on experience.

essential retail design trends for 2019 that can’t be ignored

01. UNDERSTANDING THE FREQUENCY OF CHANGE

The speed at which things change visually with shopping websites and the constant advancements in technology, mean that customers have come to expect the same frequency of change in physical stores. This means that with the exception of grocery stores, (where customers want and expect familiarity), “Bricks and mortar” retailers need to allow for the customer journey and experience to be refreshed regularly. Because, when it comes to retail environments, flexibility drives engagement so there is a very real need to create environments that are easily adaptable. This means that the displays, the spaces around them and how these are used, is more important than ever.

02. ENCOMPASSING THE RETAILER HIERARCHY

It is during the design process that the need for flexibility first needs to be considered, and it is both the designers and the manufactures who need to fully understand what the retailer motivations are. There is essentially a hierarchy of needs to be taken into account. These are: delivering engagement, experience, flexibility, convenience and using quality materials that are fit for purpose, all of which when implemented collaboratively, will generate well designed, flexible and engaging retail environments.

03. CREATING BOTH EXPERIENTIAL AND SENSORY ENVIRONMENTS

Store design must support experiential and personal environments, that resonate with each consumer on an individual level. We are sensory creatures and sight, sound, touch, taste and smell when utilised synchronistically, deliver an engaging sensory experience that naturally leads to empathy. This in turn creates longevity of a relationship with a brand. In other words, stores need to be created to “sell from the inside, as well as the outside”.

04. ADAPTING TO SHRINKING SELLING SPACES

With many physical retailers continuing to pay premium rents, stores need to be designed to allow for the maximum use of space and purpose. With customer perspectives of physical space in stores also changing, selling space is morphing into experiential space – and the proportions of purely sales versus engagement space, needs to be adapted as such.

05. ENABLING THE CHANGING FUNCTIONALITY OF STORES

We are seeing stores becoming show-rooms and distribution centres, as well as conventional purchasing platforms. Offering fulfilment services such as “click and collect” is increasingly important and innovative physical retailers are merging online and offline experiences with the offer of convenience and ease of access. Here, customers can choose how much they wish to engage with the store. They can obtain product information directly from knowledgeable staff members face-to-face, (something online shopping cannot provide), or simply pick up a pre-ordered online purchase from a locker, while passing by.

06. TRANSITIONING THE ONLINE TO PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

An increasing number of online retailers are opening physical stores. The function of these are not necessarily to buy product, but to provide an all important physical interaction with the brand, offer customers product trials and the opportunity to acquire product knowledge from informed brand representatives. This strengthens the customer relationship with the brand but for this to truly work, the design and fixtures need to bridge the gap between the online and physical stores – creating an easily identifiable synchronicity of themes and colours that are inherently recognisable within both the online and the physical stores.

07. EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY TO DELIVER ENGAGEMENT

Technology used accurately, will continue to go a long way to deliver engagement. The use of touch screens, in-store tablets, virtual reality and devices such as smart mirrors, are all helping to deliver this. Mobile usage continues to grow and retailers are increasingly seeking to capture the attention of customers in-store by utilising tools such as iBeacon technology, to “push” information specific to them. Some brands are opting for portable tech, which continues to create opportunities for brand interaction, even when the customer is no longer in the store. Tommy Hilfiger, for example, is using smart tags in their clothing, that the customer chooses to activate. These then track how often and where the item is being worn, rewarding the wearer accordingly.

08. RECOGNISING THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE DESIGN

If anything, good service interactions are as critical as well-designed environments and also need to be “designed” to form part of the entire store experience. Training and support is becoming increasingly essential, to ensure that staff have the brand and product knowledge that allows them to be a key part of the delivery of the full sensory experience to shoppers.

evolving retail: why retail brands are moving from traditional retail spaces

We will see physical shopping undergo a dramatic transformation and in the next few years, it could morph into an activity that is driven almost entirely by experiences and interactive technology. Stores will become places where customers get to try things on, or test and interact with products in person but don’t actually buy anything at the time, opting instead for the convenience of delivery of their purchases at a time and place that suits them. So, if shopping is becoming all about the experience, then for some retailers, there is a need to adapt their stores, in some instances even extending their presence beyond them, in order to deliver a truly immersive and flexible experience to their customers.

Pop-ups have been around for a while now and won’t be going anywhere fast, because how better to offer flexible and immediate engagement with prospective customers? We see pop-ups within larger “host” stores and within shopping malls, but what about within transport hubs, gallery spaces, markets and at events? The beauty of the pop-up is that intrinsically the essence of it is temporary, providing intrigue and a sense of urgency that will entice customers, who by the very nature of being human, do not want to “miss out”. Benefit Cosmetics recently devised a novel way to boost brand experience, by opening the world’s first “Beauty and Brows Popup Shop” close to the Glastonbury festival. The drive-thru format enticed festival-goers stuck in crowds and traffic, to meet beauticians and shop assistants, who provided them with advice and goodie bags.

A step beyond a pop-up, is offering mobile shops, that actually take the brand to customers – something we think we will be seeing more of. An excellent example of this is Casper, a USA mattress firm, who has rolled out “napmobiles”, where potential customers can road-test foam mattresses inside a refurbished camper van, before electing to purchase online. However, retailers don’t all need to be mobile or have a pop-up to offer immersive retail experiences to their customers. As long as they can delight and engage and leave a lasting resonance, then brand loyalty will be formed and retained.

The Museum of Ice Cream is a great example of this. Being neither a museum nor a shop, it sells tickets to a series of garishly coloured installations in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Once inside, the very essence of the joy associated with ice-cream is morphed into an experiential interaction, as visitors find themselves immersed in a theme-park type of experience, with engaging things to do rather than buy – such as a giant pool of sugar sprinkles to jump into, an ice-cream themed climbing wall and a giant banana swing.

In the UK, a pioneering social enterprise called Meanwhile Space has forged a series of ground breaking partnerships with local authorities, public bodies and companies to utilise vacant and unconventional spaces, such as disused office blocks and vacant railway arches, turning them into retail and hospitality spaces. Similar to Box Park, Blue House Yard is one such example, and is a redevelopment and re-imagining of an empty and underused site near Wood Green station, that today offers the local community a bustling mix of retail, hospitality and social spaces, creating local interest and breathing new life into a dying area.

The House of Vans in London is another thriving location and one where art, music, BMX, street culture and fashion converge. The 30,000 square feet building encompasses a cinema, café, live music venue and art gallery, while the bottom floor holds a concrete ramp, mini ramp and street course. Designed by skaters, the park is free to use and customers are encouraged to walk in on the day. What The House of Vans has very cleverly done, is create a space that epitomises its brand identity, by creating a fully interactive and experiential space where young people can shop and socialise.

Whatever the space, retailers need to ensure that they offer quality, as well as originality, creating a point of difference from competitors. In the same way, customers have also come to expect the unexpected, and providing this will help deliver a key point of difference and form an all important lasting impression.

educational environments: 5 key drivers of change

“Form follows function” a principle associated with 20th-century architecture, denotes that the shape of a building should relate to its intended function. Problems arise when the function no longer fits the form for which it was intended. Previous teaching methods involved a teacher needing to be seen and heard, demonstrating what was being taught via a two dimensional surface. The best way to accommodate this was rows of desks in a rectangular room, all facing the front. However, numerous factors have influenced and changed the way we teach and learn; and trying to squeeze these into traditional teaching spaces is like forcing a square peg into a round hole…

New breed of hotels & restaurants want to be one of the locals…

Airbnb’s rallying cry, “live like a local,” is now being applied by hospitality brands to both hotel and restaurant chains, with owners happily embracing the idea by developing localised design that has extra Millennial appeal. All this is changing the face of hospitality, not just in the UK but across the globe. Millennials, with their desire for something new and authentic, are demanding a new style of venue that offers homely, comfortable and interesting looks, often with a retro or vintage twist.

It may all be artfully designed, choreographed and perhaps even ‘curated’ but it certainly has the gravitational pull to attract the right audience and keep them coming back for more. The evidence is certainly there for all to see with successful ventures like the Hoxton group expanding each year.

Hoxton now has two hotels in London and one each in Amsterdam and Paris. Actually inspired by a neighbourhood, closely associated with graffiti artist Banksy and the original White Cube Gallery, the Hoxton ‘brand’ majors on the looks and ambience that intellectually, emotionally and physically engages both the laptop and latte hotel guest and locals who come to enjoy the restaurant and bar. Hoxton and other brands like Ace are taking design to a hyper-local level by using themes that closely mesh with the locality of each site.

Firmly in the vanguard of hospitality’s new radical chic they both challenge their designers to create a venue for guests and locals and above all to create something that enriches the neighbourhood itself. Like others in the new hospitality vanguard, the brand realises that it needs to imprint a strong brand on each of its venues and this is done largely through typography and a ‘look’ that is rendered, albeit with a twist, in every venue. LEON has even dedicated a page on its website to its changing faces which beautifully illustrates the point.

In conclusion, by tapping into the ‘zeitgeist’, with good interior design and excellent service, hospitality brands will be able to deliver the surprise, standout and authenticity that Millennials want, creating a unifying brand that will fit both the times and the audience.

Seismic changes can help secure retail’s future…

With so much happening, so quickly, in the world of retail we thought it was high time to delve deeper into the seismic changes affecting our industry, what they really mean for bricks and mortar retailers and how they can be leveraged to improve the future of retail, both for brands and customers. So, in October we held our first ‘Retail Indaba’, staged in Amsterdam, which met with a very positive response from some of the world’s leading retail brands.

Based on a Zulu word, literally describing a gathering for discussion, our ‘Indaba’ was designed to provide an opportunity for brand owners to put some tough questions to both rpa:group and its partners. To this end we selected an expert panel that included a retail psychologist, our own head of design James Breaks and a technology specialist, all under the watchfull eye of Matthew Valentine, the Editor of Retail Design World, who acted as Chairman.

Our overall aim for the Indaba was to stimulate discussion that could be taken back to boardrooms to inform strategies that would drive positive real life applications. It soon became clear that attendees were grappling with some big issues, ranging from ‘omnichannel’ to AI, and that for some these represented untold opportunities whilst for others they represented challenges that must be met head on. We were delighted not only with the willingness of attendees to share experiences and talk frankly about their business challenges, but also with the challenging questions this led to such as, ”How do we ACTUALLY make fundamental changes within big business?” I think we all agreed that change now typifies retail. In the last ten years the humble high street store, still the preferred destination for 85% of shoppers, has gone through more changes than in the past one hundred.

Now a union of online and bricks and mortar, the once simple store is now an immersive brand theatre, incorporating a glorious cocktail of showrooming, digital entertainment and ‘sharable’ experiences. To deal with this change however requires not just a new mind set from retailers but also a new skill set, one that goes far beyond the old transactional paradigm. There was a general feeling from attendees that the Indaba broke new ground for them and that working collaboratively with our expert panel provided the strategy and insight to help them come to terms with some of the tricky issues that can affect all aspects of their brand identity.

“Knowing the unknowns” has become a constituent part of 21st Century problem solving and our Indaba addressed plenty of unknowns presented by the audience. For many attendees, it signposted a way to investigate complex areas such as brand development, retail design and store function. Above all the event illustrated how a team of experts, all from different disciplines, can address retail challenges in real time, delivering insight and strategy into how brands can interface with their customers.

If you would like our help with your next project, please contact us on 01784 256 579 or send an email to s.cuff@therpagroup.com

retailers need to be more “chameleon”

The answer appears to be no. Many retailers are embracing omni-channel in a token way. All too often the mindset is bricks and mortar + online + the brand, frequently the missing ingredient of ‘us’ the consumer. Retailers should act more like one of nature’s triumphs: the Chameleon. This fascinating animal is seamlessly and constantly responsive to its local environment and adapts to external factors in an incredibly agile way. It is one of nature’s most flexible and responsive creatures. Omni-channel requires a more flexible and Chameleon-like response to the consumer and the crucible for this interaction is the store space itself. The physical shop should be every bit as flexible as its digital counterpart and both should be mutually relevant to the consumer. Brands need to understand the relationship between physicaland digital experience better and allow themselves time to experiment, innovate and find what is right retailers need to be more “chameleon” In a world obsessed with separation it’s refreshing that retail at least supports an ecosystem fuelled by inclusivity and interaction.

I am of course referring to omni-channel. Here, borders cannot be closed, evolution cannot be halted and output should signpost the desires of future generations. But I have to ask, do retailers really understand how to fully exploit this dynamic ecosystem? within their own ecosystem so they can be flexible and responsive. Apple demonstrated this in 2001. The brand introduced collaborative side-by-side selling with passionate, knowledgeable staff who could respond to customers’ needs, demands and preferences. In essence the brand had created its own customer laboratory, a test bed where customer experience could be placed under the microscope. Since then we’ve seen most other retail sectors adopt the same key concepts. In a word, to be more Chameleon-like. But how many retailers have a store that allows for speedy reconfiguration in response to what shoppers actually want in that particular country, city or specific locality? Some have used a kit of parts approach whereby a new look store can ‘pop up’ through clever used of graphics and modular elements.

Foot Locker’s Sidestep brand, for example, is agile, collaborative, and happy to bury its ego. At the same time, it is able to reflect its core message, react with authenticity and evolve naturally within a unique brand ecosystem. Sidestep has created an engaging environment using storytelling, an ancient and universal form of immersion, as a base concept. The ‘style editor’ staff form an integral part of the experience by garnering feedback. This has allowed Foot Locker to experiment with content, adding and subtracting collateral and gaining feedback from the fiercely loyal customer base before committing to permanent stores. True brand immersion relies on authentic storytelling, skillful editing and the sharing of brand essence. It can be used both to reinforce the brand and to evolve it.

If you get the formula right it can be just as powerful in a Pop-up as a flagship. The only caveat is that the message has to be genuine. Some are getting it right and have understood the Chameleon concept totally, while others’ lack of adaptability and customer sensitivity makes them stick out like a sore thumb. Wherever you find yourself, the end goal should be to use your store as a learning environment, to reflect your customer’s thinking and desires and, most importantly, to be flexible and responsive with the knowledge you have gained. Being a Chameleon doesn’t mean losing sight of your brand truths. It means being able to reflect the thinking of your customers in the appearance and functionality of your store.

the mutual benefits of taking on interns…

Not only do they enhance their practical applications such as Revit/Drawing and how the industry works, they gain more psychological and no less important skills such as time management, communication and confidence building. Says Emma Sharp, HR Director at rpa:goup, “During their placement with us, our interns are able to put their skills and theories into practice and we support them in gaining invaluable, hands-on experience in the field of Architecture”.

Nicola Szczepaniak, studying at the University of Portsmouth and coming to the end of her one year placement with us agrees. “In my time here, I have gained more knowledge about the industry than I could ever have hoped for.” She adds, “The wide range of expertise amongst my colleagues has helped me develop many skills, from learning how to use the software more efficiently, to managing myself to complete various tasks professionally, on time and to a high standard” Nicola was also able to gain practical knowledge by visiting construction sites, in order to experience how the work produced in our offices is applied on site.

Michael Pearce, studying at the University of Brighton, and also nearing the end of his one year internship says, “My time here has been extremely important in terms of progression for my career. I was urged to begin working on live projects from my second day so I could get a feel for these kinds of projects. In only a few months this allowed me to become an integral part of the team producing work to a high standard”. He emphasises that his responsibility has been no less than any other person in the team, which has been hugely important to his development and learning. As a company, we will continue to give interns the opportunity to work with us for many years to come. It is without doubt a mutually beneficial exercise. Mark Cherrett, Director of Architecture elaborates. “Interns bring with them new perspectives, fresh ideas, and skill sets. We in turn benefit from the “injection” of fresh thinking and it can ultimately help us gain valuable future employees.”

Our interns can certainly face their future with confidence, after their time with us. Says Michael “This internship has taken me to a new level and it has allowed me to feel confident about going back to finish my degree. I have no doubt that it will improve my work efficiency and my final product. Also, as I have experienced full time working life, it has prepared me for the future before I have even graduated, which feels like a head start.” Nicola agrees. “I think that working here has given me a great advantage when it comes to completing my degree and hopefully achieving the highest grade possible. I believe that it will also make me more employable after I graduate, as not many other graduates will have had a whole year of real experience in the workplace.”

We are currently recruiting replacements to continue this process. If you are an architecture student seeking an internship, please visit our contact us page for further details and contact information.