Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com

(November 2011) posted on Thu Nov 03, 2011

Compelling case studies, the best of visual merchandising, and lessons on creating meaningful customer experiences – it was all there (and more) during this year’s IRDC.

By VMSD Editorial Staff

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Instead of leaving their hearts in San Francisco, attendees at this year’s International Retail Design Conference left with inspiration, ideas and connections to help fuel their creative fires. The 11th annual event covered everything from retail archetypes and airport retail to in-store technology, European retail trends and designing for millennial shoppers.

We’ve gathered some of the event’s best moments, notable quotes and inspiring take-aways. Also, visit irdconline.com to become an IRDC insider and get access to session handouts, announcements and details on next year’s event, September 5 - 7, 2012, in Chicago.

The Keynotes

Kicking off this year’s IRDC, keynote speaker Chip Conley, founder and ceo of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, shared how he was inspired by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to create his own pyramid guide to transform the guest experience at his boutique hotels. “You want customers to walk away thinking, ‘These guys get me without me even having to tell them,’ ” he explained.

Conley’s inspirational talk encouraged retailers to go beyond just providing a good or service. Discussing Apple’s foray into retail, Conley said the company approached its store environments as the best advertising they could do. “Now, it’s a club house for cool people,” he said. Another retailer that gets it, he said, is Whole Foods Market, with its store environments- turned-temples for food. “It’s like a religious experience – self-actualized at its best.”

The goal, he told attendees, is creating peak moments, or “moments when you feel like you’re in the right place.”

It was the first of several moments during IRDC when we all knew we were in the right place.

The “Designing for the Millennial Shopper” general session was full of interesting insights from Little’s Nicole Rehfuss, Marcie Merriman from Big Red Rooster and Michelle Fenstermaker from WD Partners. This hour-long discussion covered the buying habits, personality traits and core values of this powerful and influential generation, ages 18 to 29 years.

Fenstermaker shared that millennials are very careful spenders, putting 20 percent of their income into savings. Things like extreme couponing, private labels and bargain shopping at supercenters are nothing to hide. In fact, this generation is making frugality cool. In addition, “They enjoy grocery shopping more than any other generation,” she said.