Following the business disruptions triggered by the pandemic for nearly three years, the retail industry is finally starting to look up in 2023. With the rapid growth of e-commerce during this period, brick-and-mortar retail stores have to pay more attention to the physical retail store design and ambiance in order to attract customers to visit and spend maximum in-store time.
Consumers will always enjoy the feeling of going out and shopping in a physical store, but retail stores must provide them with a compelling reason to choose in-store shopping over online purchasing even if they use digital technology to explore their buying options. What does all that mean for retail construction and design? Let’s look at the 2023 retail design trends for some answers.
New pickup options were an innovation introduced a couple of years ago by restaurants and retail businesses to serve customers in a more convenient way. They perfectly blend the convenience of placing orders online with the ability to pick up the items on your own time, instead of depending on delivery.
Also called “BOPIS” (Buy Online, Pickup In-Store), these pickup options are much faster than heading inside the store and choosing things personally from the aisles, then having to wait to pay for them. If there is one thing all shoppers hate, it is standing in lines to check out.
With in-store and curbside pickup, waiting in lines is a thing of the past. To provide these services to customers, retailers have to make some changes to their layouts and store planning. There are several factors to consider – they include:
Starting from the bottom, let’s consider inventory management. With less foot traffic bringing customers inside the store, retailers may consider cutting down on the front-end shopping space and converting that into a storage and packing area for in-store and curbside pickup orders.
Another big change in retail construction is bound to happen in the parking lot – many brands are opting for either a drive-through station or a dedicated fulfillment station in the parking lot where an employee will verify orders and hand them over to shoppers as they arrive in their cars.
These days, customers have a multitude of platforms where they can connect with their preferred brands. Desktop PC browsers, dedicated smartphone and tablet apps, mobile browsers, social media platforms, and even smart refrigerators can all connect a buyer to a modern retail ecosystem.
The omnichannel development here means delivering a seamless sales experience to your customers, regardless of the channel used. This involves creating a unique brand identity and maintaining it across all your channels.
At the same time, you also have to enforce the same when building or remodeling your brick-and-mortar store. Click and collect or BOPIS is considered to be a part of the omnichannel experience. Consistency is key here – you want the buyer to have a similar experience no matter which channel they use.
It’s vital to maintain an instantly recognizable brand identity and personality across both offline and online spaces. In retail construction design terms, this means making strategic use of logos and branding, along with specific color palettes and themes that buyers can link to your overall brand identity.
In today’s highly visual world, retail design trends are becoming even more important with regard to developing a successful business presence. As social media sites like Instagram and Facebook become saturated with images of businesses showcasing their product offerings and services, it is vital that retailers’ designs stand out and remain on brand in order to attract potential customers and build a loyal following.
Furthermore, in addition to an eye-catching aesthetic, retail store designs need to be able to look great when photographed for social media use as well as when viewed in person. Highly creative and thoughtfully made designs will make customers feel good about purchasing from a company’s website or physical store location. Ultimately, apart from staying on top of the latest trends in design, businesses should also focus on emphasizing personalized touches within their brand identity so that they manage to successfully engage with clients who have grown increasingly conscious of what is being sold.
As online shopping continues to be the preferred method of shopping for many consumers, retail stores are shifting away from their traditional design trends towards creating a comfortable home-like feeling. Employing subtle lighting, plenty of furniture, and soft color palettes that evoke warmth and familiarity, retailers can create an atmosphere of comfort while still marketing their products.
Retailers are focusing on creating inviting experiences that encourage customers to spend time in their stores with cozy seating areas, gorgeous views, and other features that introduce a respite from the hustle of modern life. By introducing a more comfortable environment into their stores, retailers have a better chance of making shoppers feel relaxed and welcomed, and more likely to stay longer and purchase more items.
With the rise of “pop-up” outlets, retail has come full circle. The pop-up store is not a permanent structure – it’s a temporary location out in areas where crowds can gather. The aim is to generate hype and introduce brand-new products to your target customers.
Pop-ups are important for the future of retail because they tie into the whole concept of providing a unique experience to your customers. While it’s different from an in-store experience, buyers still get a chance to directly interact with the product, something that is not at all possible online.
Pop-ups can be installed anywhere – city centers, parking lots, event venues, and busy streets. From a retail design perspective, the maximum impact will be felt in malls and other commercial properties with a lot of foot traffic.
When designing new build-outs, architects will now have to consider leaving additional space outdoors (or in open spaces indoors), where brands can set up pop-ups from time to time. With the dwindling popularity of malls, such innovations are essential to keep the crowds coming.
The retail industry is constantly evolving, and staying ahead of the latest trends requires thoughtful design solutions. Buyers are no longer impressed with the traditional shopping experience. They can get a far more convenient and faster experience online. If you want to draw customers to a brick-and-mortar store, you have to offer something that online shopping simply cannot match.
Fortunately, we now have more options than ever before to create flexible retail environments able to be adapted to changes in consumer behavior. One of the most important elements when designing a retail space is a wide-open floor plan that allows stores to rearrange, shift, or move certain elements of the store quickly and efficiently without having to undergo costly remodeling or renovations as customer behaviors are constantly changing.
This is a new trend that is taking over smaller stores, big box retailers, and other commercial real estate buildings like malls. The flexibility of wide-open floor space helps stores continually stay relevant in an ever-changing environment while providing exciting experiences that encourage customers back to the store time and time again.
Continuing with the focus on “experiences,” retailers are branching out into other services like dining, entertainment, and more.
Likewise, other businesses will also try to renovate their commercial spaces to include smaller retail locations. The concept of an “exclusively for retail” design will be replaced by these hybrid or mixed-use spaces.
We can already see this trend happening in malls and big box retailers. Shopping is just one activity – by adding many different choices for consumers, real estate developers can now look forward to maximizing the returns from their properties.
Basically, a customer in these mixed-use spaces can look forward to finding everything they would find in a larger area. It might include residential, office, retail, dining, entertainment, health and wellness, and other services within a single environment.
Considering all of this, the trend is not restricted to indoor buildings. Instead, the design will incorporate both indoor and outdoor locations. The very idea of retail space as we know it is being revolutionized by the mixed-use concept, which will gather steam in 2023 among retail store contractors.
According to reports, commercial buildings use 18% of primary energy and 36% of electricity in the US.
Energy is a huge business expense for retailers at a time when margins are low and revenues face an uncertain future due to inflation.
From lighting to cooling, heating, refrigeration, and electronics, there are plenty of ways in which retail spaces consume large quantities of energy. The inclusion of energy management planning from the outset is a common practice in any form of commercial construction these days.
We can expect this trend to accelerate further in the coming years as more and more retailers embrace designs that focus on improved LEED ratings. There are many possibilities in retail design that can help brands achieve this:
Industry 4.0 refers to the fourth industrial revolution, powered by information technology and wireless connectivity through 5G networks. Through the expanded use of smart sensors and other embedded devices, businesses can unlock new insights and unprecedented levels of efficiency.
From a retail perspective, the 4.0 paradigm will help fuel the following things via the use of strategically placed smart sensor technology:
To power the retail 4.0 experience, commercial contractors will have to focus on incorporating the embedded devices and other networking equipment within the premises. For retail store contractors, proper planning is essential, as the strategic placement of a sensor can make all the difference in the world!
Corporeal Visions is a leading provider of healthcare and retail/commercial construction services in Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. greater metropolitan area. We have a stellar reputation for designing and developing modern retail spaces on demand for clients across the region. Here are a few reasons why you should consider Corporeal Visions for your next retail construction project:
Corporeal Visions has been active in the full-service construction industry for more than 8 years. We have an excellent track record in designing and building dental offices and a wide array of retail and restaurant spaces. Be it building a new project, or renovating/remodeling an existing structure, we have the experience and expertise you seek.
While Corporeal Visions is a full-service company that offers both building design, pre-construction project management, and general contractor services, we do not insist that our clients utilize all our services. If you wish, you can rely on us to deliver highly customized design blueprints for your retail project.
With our design-bid-build approach, you don’t have to use our in-house construction managers and commercial contractor. Instead, we will submit our own bid as part of the process and you are free to invite bids from other general contractors. Select the best bid for your project. We aim for maximum customer satisfaction, even if that means you choose a different general contractor.
If you prefer the faster design-build approach, the in-house retail contractors at Corporeal Visions will handle the construction based on the designs developed by our architects. Since all teams are part of the same firm, you can expect improved efficiency and collaboration.
We also offer access to an online log service for our clients. This service allows you to keep constant tabs on the progress of your retail construction project, without the hassle of having to call our construction managers.
Corporeal Visions is one of the first firms in the full-service commercial construction field to provide augmented reality previews to our clients. Using digital technology, our design team will create a virtual 3D model of the proposed building.
Clients can then view the 3D holographic version of the design and explore every inch of it, both inside and outside. This innovative feature allows you to spot any flaws in the design and get them corrected before the actual construction begins!
Our client service experts are always ready to answer any further queries you may have about Corporeal Visions in general, or our specific services for healthcare, retail, and commercial construction projects. For more information about our commercial contractor services or to see our full retail portfolio give us a call at 703-909-419, or fill out our contact form. We’d love to book a consultation for your next project!
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