Brand Creative on Interior Design for Retail in the Festive Season

Working in interior design for retail, the Brand Creative team are all about the details that make the shopping experience a memorable one. With the end of the year approaching, we’ve all succumbed to the unavoidable festive tradition of excessing spending but what is it about this period that stimulates the urge to splurge?

The Brand Creative interior designers are well aware of the tactics involved in interior design for retail that encourage a successful commercial environment, such as strategic floor planning that will optimise the customer journey. When we work on a store interior design we collaborate with the client on determining a layout that will maximise sales and also make the customer feel comfortable and happy. More time in store=more potential sales.

Around Christmas time, this strategic thinking is amplified, as retailers introduce multisensory tactics to increase the amount of time consumers spend in their stores. With shorter days and longer nights, the streets and windows are filled with lights and decorations to heighten the festive experience and enrichen the experience of the shopper. In Dubai this year there are strings of illuminated stars and giant golden reindeer along Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, the street of the biggest mall in the world, Dubai Mall. 

When we look beyond the annual holiday decorations, this article from The Zoe Report explains that sound and smell can have a huge influence on shoppers year round. Background music is important in setting the right ambience, but if the music is too familiar it can actually be a distraction. When customers recognise a song they know they can become more immersed in the music than in shopping & ultimately end up spending less. 

The scent of a store also has a very strong impact in setting the right mood. A suitably Christmassy smell can ignite happy, sentimental emotions, putting shoppers in a positive mood that will make them more likely to stick around and make a purchase.

Sight, smell, sound. Looks like we’ve got some new inspiration for coming up with ideas for store concepts. Brand Creative retail interior design is about to get a whole lot more immersive in 2019.

Images:

Golden Reindeer, Dubai Tiffany & Co. Christmas Window, New York

Galleries LaFayette, Paris

"Brand Creative on Interior Design for Retail in the Festive Season" by Helen Ampen, Brand Strategist at Brand Creative.