Broadened Horizons

In the world of retail, creating a customer experience that balances the familiar and the new is the ultimate in consumer-engagement exercises. Perhaps not surprisingly, the 2015 International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) struck a similar balance: It offered its usual mix of great programming, great attendees and great examples of knowledge sharing, yet it kept things fresh by offering new perspectives.

Closing keynote speaker Christian Davies of Fitch, for example, challenged the industry to follow the lead of “generous brands” – those that give back without considering what they’ll receive in return. (Marks & Spencer is a retailer that truly stands out in this arena. I encourage you to do a little research on them and their Plan A program (there is no Plan B). Not only do generous brands aspire to a greater purpose, they also garner the trust and loyalty of consumers – namely, socially responsible youth – in remarkable ways.

These kinds of insights and experiences are why I keep returning to IRDC. But this year, I viewed the conference in an entirely new way. Thanks to a new job, I looked at the events through the lens of a retail practice-area leader at a design firm, as opposed to a representative of a retail brand. In previous years, I’d glean nuggets of inspiration from my peers to help inform my decisions for the brand I represented in a more singularly focused point-of-view.

This year, I had a broader perspective. I thought about my clients and how what I was hearing, seeing and experiencing would impact their brand or project. It was absolutely invigorating. That’s the beauty of IRDC: No matter where your career takes you, the conference offers new ways to help you grow as a professional.

It also offers the opportunity be surrounded by other creative professionals who understand that good design is an act of problem solving. Successful design stores shared balanced business objectives and consumer expectations to create one-of-a-kind customer experiences and an uptick in business. It reminded me that, although design is not rocket science, it is creatively scientific in that it’s about – inquiry, reasoning and testing hypotheses. (And, let’s face it, it’s fun, as well.)

IRDC 2015 was truly one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended. And this year, it was attended by just over 400 people – half of which were returning attendees, and half were new. There must be something in the programing keeping ‘em coming back.

Until we meet again in Montréal – au revoir!

Sharon Lessard is retail practice area leader for Gensler (San Francisco) in its Atlanta office. Sharon is also a longtime member of VMSD magazine’s editorial advisory board. At the 2015 International Retail Design Conference, in Austin, Texas, she presented on evolving digital payment and shopping methods, and what these changes mean for retailers and designers.