IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2016 - 36

When Brand
Creative
designed the
Dubai, United
Arab Emiratesbased flagship
for France's GO
Sport, it
implemented
screens and
sensors that
played video
with information
on a particular
product.

The brick-and-mortar
store is still alive and kicking-despite some killer
efforts from the likes of Amazon and China-based
online retailer Alibaba. A 2016 survey by Verdict
and British Land found 89 percent of U.K. retail
sales touch physical stores (via physical sales,
online purchases with in-store pickup or online
sales browsed in-store). But, while there are signs
these stores will be able to hold their ground-the
same study also found that people ages 16 to 34
used brick-and-mortar stores more than older age
groups-e-commerce giants are upping their game
by investing in the latest technology in an effort
to convert more foot traffic into online traffic and
garner market share.
eBay and Alibaba, for example, have each made
significant investments in virtual reality over the last
year in hopes of giving consumers a more authentic
shopping experience. And, according to the global
Total Retail 2016 survey by PwC, 34 percent of
respondents worldwide (and nearly 60 percent
of respondents in China) said they expect their
mobile phone to become the main tool by which
they make purchases.
To remain competitive in the battle for consumer
attention, brick-and-mortar retailers must use
technology to elevate the in-store experience-
bringing the physical and digital shopping worlds
into one mind-blowing omnichannel experience.
And it will be up to designers to help integrate the
two. But where should you begin-and how do you
know if you've gone too far? Three industry experts
weigh in.

Perspective: Why do physical stores
need to leverage the latest and greatest
technologies?
ANDREW BORNAND, director of digital experience,
Gensler, San Francisco, California, USA: Building a store

now-whether you want to call it the store of the future
or just the next evolution of what we do-requires a new
model that is completely different. It's an experience
model versus a sales model. The store isn't necessarily
being measured on what it sells, but it's measured on the
impact that the store has on your brand. Retailers can't
compete with Amazon on delivery or price. But [retailers]
can beat them on experience because [e-commerce sites]
don't have a place to go to experience that brand, so the
store is a chance to embrace that and exploit it. 
A good example is the Harman [audio and
electronics] store in New York [New York, USA]. They
do sell products, but they also want you to learn about
why specific technologies make for a better listening
experience. So they've created a hands-on environment
where you can leave with a better understanding of
their product.

Perspective: What technology excites you
for retail design?
CARLA CONTE, founder and creative director, Brand
Creative, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: I like the

application of augmented reality when it allows you
to try on clothes without getting undressed, or with
cosmetics where it uses face-mapping technology so you
can try on different looks without putting on a full face
of makeup. Women in the Middle East are meticulously
made up. They spend two hours getting ready at home,
and they're not going to try on a different lipstick in
the department store. Anything that eliminates those
traditional points of friction and makes the customer
experience more convenient is easier to integrate and
sell as an idea to retailers.
ALEX SHAPLEIGH, senior vice president,
CallisonRTKL, Seattle, Washington, USA: On the
inventory side, retailers are beginning to understand that
physical and online stores don't have to do the same thing.
You don't have to cram every product you offer online
into the physical store. We're finally getting traction with
the idea that commodity-based products don't require
a special in-person experience or explanation. That fact
then allows us to focus on creating a retail environment
that's tailored to the special set of products that
consumers really want to deal with.

36

perspective

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Photo by: (previous page) Yuriy Trubitsyn; (cityscape, right) Peter Nguyen

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