Physical stores are transitioning from being mere transactional spaces to becoming the 'billboards' for a brand to attract customers. With the rise in AR and VR technology, customers now seek more engaging, immersive experiences which tell a story and help cement the relationship between the customer and the brand.
For a physical store, to drive better engagement with its target audience, its design takes explicitly into account the brand narrative and its expression within the space.
It is crucial to determine the shopping experience the brand wants to create for the customer. It is also essential to identify and improve customer touchpoints that offer an <rt-red>authentic taste of the brand identity and ethos; this helps to build recall and garner customer loyalty<rt-red>. However with the emerging emphasis on visual and experiential retail, the instore experience in the imminent future will be decidedly dictated by technology. To predict the future of retail against the backdrop of COVID-19 is challenging, and it will be based on inquiry and assumptions. With supply chain disruption on a global scale, these uncertain times have been an eye-opener for all of us. We can only hope this crisis has a lasting impact on our consciousness, whether it's social or environmental-starting from how brands position themselves to determining how we as designers contribute to their brand equity.<rt-red> We need immense ingenuity and lateral thinking, as well as solidarity and collaboration, to figure out ways towards building a sustainable and resilient future of the retail industry<rt-red>.
