Get Out Your Pumpkins, Fall is Here!

Traditional pumpkins

 

Classy pumpkins

 

Funky pumpkins
 

Shabby Chic Pumpkins

 

Gold Pumpkins

 

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August Retail Party Discussion - Rewind - Topic: Retail Design

On August 17th, 2012 a group of retail industry specialists gathered in an open Twitter discussion regarding retail design and visual merchandising.

Attendees:
King Retail Solutions / Twitter
One Step Retail Solutions / Twitter
APG Cash Drawer / Twitter
Smart Retail / Twitter
Retail Tim / Twitter
Retail Net Group / Twitter 
Sean Deale / Twitter.

Here are some of the helpful tips presented by the attendees -

What about trends and remodels?
- An interesting concept was to implement digital signage, making it much easier to change up the look and feel without frequently.
- Avoid being too "on trend" requiring frequent redesigns unless you are financially able to commit. Trends can later date your store.

Consumer experience, what is the consumer looking for?
- King Retail Solutions and Retail Tim recommend research, including a good old fashioned focus group to really hone in on what your customers are looking for in terms of a retail experience.
- It is noted that it is important to know what the customer is looking for and how they will want to interact with the retailer.
- Do a walk through of competitors stores. Consider ways to differentiate yourself from the competition.

How to avoid a brand disconnect?
- Make sure your brand (logo, mantra, voice, aesthetic) shines through in your store design, no disconnect.
- Consider your online or magazine branding and style, ensure each point a customer will come into contact with you will be cohesive. Including: color, emotion, style and target public.

About store layout?
- Avoid cluttering the walk ways and do not put anything that could be perceived as an obstacle in the entry way.
- Facing items outward in a welcoming way towards the entrance.
- Place items that go well together is recommended.
- Creating an experience within your store can be tricky but will keep your customers in store and they may purchase more than what they initially intended on buying.

General design tips: - Colors create varied emotions and should be researched.
- Ensure you have proper lighting, lighting can set a mood and should be considered a part of the experience.
- Consider music to create the illusion of movement and motion for the quiet hours of the day. Choose a mix appropriate to your target customers.

How does mobile tie in with retail design?
- APG Cash Drawer recommends retailers take advantage of the new mobile technologies & give the end users more sufficient ways to close a sale. Thus enhancing the customers experience by creating a seamless experience.
- Many retailers are looking for a way to differential themselves from the crowd and with a variety of ways mobile can be implemented, it gives a retailer the freedom to express their brand and vision.
- Point of sale is where you want your customers to land, making your point of sale mobile removes a previous hurdle the customer had to overcome. Stationary POS can cause a customer to be dissuaded by lines or second guessing their immediate impulse on their way to checkout.



Our next Retail Twitter Party will be held on September 20th, 2012 at 11am PST discussing "Preparing for the holidays".
Sign in with your Twitter account at TWebEvent or follow the #retailparty from your Twitter account.

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[Feature] Introducing Christopher Studach of King Retail Solutions

We are excited in introduce you to Christopher Studach, Creative Director of King Retail Solutions. Thank you Christopher for taking the time to speak with us and to also share some fantastic retail design tips for success!

KRS offers cutting edge retail design and manfacturing services with the convenience of one reliable vendor relationship. Retail design,
Manufacturing, Program Management and Installation.

What is your favorite thing about working with retailers?
The creative interplay that results from having well developed common goals.  Working with retailers that understand the importance of design to their business, willingness & trust to take risks makes the jobs more rewarding, and typically more successful.

What would you say is the most helpful thing about your product or services for a retailer? Good design = Great results (sales).  Period.

If you could offer any advice to retailers out there, what would you say? Economic pressures on business are more intense than ever.  In the retail world this means getting more for less, and compressing timelines to extreme conditions.  The old adage “Price, speed, quality – pick two” is certainly true to a point, yet conditions are such that this “truth” is being stretched and twisted to such a degree that something has to give.  We know that time is money, but for the sake of the job please allow enough time for the job to be done properly.  Everyone wins.

How did you get into the industry you are in?

Equal measures of skill and luck.

In you could live anywhere in the world, where would you and why? Every so often I think about all the places that would be really cool to live in – then why I don’t.  I like it here.

Do you have any retail design favorites? I don’t play favorites.

What do you think are retailers worst design habits? Turning their backs on the power of design for the sake of other factors.

What do you think are retailers best design habits? Those that get it really do.  They devote time, energy and (obviously) resources to maintain, or even better educated evolution of their best work.  Be happy, but never satisfied.

When looking to redesign a retail space, what would you suggest a retailers first steps be? Let a professional assess their your situation.

Designs evolve rather rapidly (especially now a ‘days) how do you suggest a retailer cost effectively go about remaining fresh? Avoid trends unless you can afford to remodel every 2-3 years.  Rather use solid design principles to arrive at an effective, “timeless” design.

King Retail Solutions is part of One Step Retail Solution's Retail Professional Association. For more information on our association resources go to http://onestepretail.com/retail/recommended/ 

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The Secrets to Effective Window Displays

One Step Retail Solutions Associate member, Linda Cahan of Cahan&
Company was featured in this recent MSNBC segment on store window
design.

This segment is informative and we hope that our retailers will take a
few minutes to get some helpful tips and continued education on this topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MNc13I25XI8#!

Linda Cahan consults retailers regarding New Store Design, Visual
Merchandising, Branding and Renovations. An expert in the retail design
industry since 1971, Linda is well experienced in visual merchandising for
traditional department stores and specialty stores.

www.lindacahan.com

We are proud to have such fantastic resources made available

to our retailers through our associate program.
http://onestepretail.com/retail/recommended/listing/?c=cmV0YWlsLWRlc2lnbi0,

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Global Shop 2012 Rewind - Judge a Shop by it's Cover?

We just returned from Global Shop, a leading store design and at-store marketing convention in Las Vegas. The sheer creativity and resources available to retailers really got my creative juices going.

Retail is a sensory industry, you are selling products that can either be touched, worn, viewed, used, held, smelt, eaten or in some cases… all of the above. Somewhere between the operation and budget, the overall FEEL and IMPRESSION being created IN store can get lost. This is especially true for small to medium sized retail shops that sometimes do not have the wherewithal to pull off something “spectacular”. Regardless, a look and feeling that
represents and welcomes is highly important. MANY retailers nail this but some have a hard time with this.

Pretend like you have never walked into your store before and with fresh eyes start out a few yards away and start observing the space.
Walk in, take in the feel, the smell, do you feel comfortable? Do you feel like the arrangement of the displays is welcoming (slanted towards you), can you comfortably see (not too bright, not too dark), do the basic colors of the room attract you or detract you? Ask some of your frequent shoppers what they like most about the shop experience and find out if they feel physically welcome.

If you think of your shop like an outfit, putting together the right elements to pull everything together, with some strategic (and cost effective) upgrades you can revamp your whole store.

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