Retail design
Designs stores and sales spaces: their layout, path, lighting, sound and atmosphere, so that people find their way, discover the product and want to come back.
What problem it addresses
In a store, the space also sells or drives people away: the path, the light or the noise change what people see and buy.
Principles
Path
What the person sees on entering and where the space leads them.
Atmosphere
Light, sound, smell and touch create a mood.
Brand
The space tells who the company is.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Walk through the store as someone entering for the first time.
Avoid
Filling the space with product until no one can walk.
Don’t fall for it
The atmosphere also affects those who work there all day.
Connections
Builds on
Authors and works
- 1973
Philip Kotler
Called atmospherics the conscious design of the sales space to produce effects on shoppers.
- 1992
Mary Jo Bitner
Showed that the physical setting of a service influences customers and employees.
Sources
Original sources
- Kotler, P. (1973). Atmospherics as a marketing tool. Journal of Retailing, 49(4), 48–64.
- Bitner, M. J. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56(2), 57–71. View source: Bitner, M. J. (1992)
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