Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com

Retail is re-examining what “good design” means. The new buzzword is “customer-centric,” and today’s design firm is increasingly being called on for cultural and demographic expertise as much as for designing a store.

By Steve Kaufman

In a slowly improving economic climate, retailers are looking for innovative answers. And, as strategic initiatives begin to open up again, they’re turning to an old resource for new services.

To develop our annual picture of the design firm business, we’ve brought both sides of the business to the table. Joining us this year to discuss the health of the industry, 2011-style, are four members of the VMSD Editorial Advisory Board’s design consultancy component: David Hogrefe of Fitch (Columbus, Ohio), Tara O’Neil of Perennial (Toronto), Todd Rowland of Little (Charlotte, N.C.) and Brian Shafley of Chute Gerdeman (Columbus, Ohio). And, to get the retail perspective, we were joined by representatives of two of the country’s largest organizations: Ken Pray, director of store design for The Kroger Co., and Jim Sloss, vp, design/SPACE, for Macy’s Inc.

What did they tell us? That retailers and brands are trying to zero in on the way consumers behave and how they’re motivated by their shopping environments. The buzzword of the day is “customer-centric.” And, as those habits and needs are being turned into store design elements, design firms find themselves morphing into strategic and research resources valued as much for their experience and insights as for their design capabilities.

VMSD: How has this economy changed the design firm business?

Brian Shafley: The projects are more strategic in nature, not so bricks-and-mortar-related. And we’re dealing a lot more with top retailing executives.

David Hogrefe: We’ve been working with several brands on retail activation projects. And there have been more opportunities to think about how to really, truly engage consumers in new and interesting ways.

Tara O’Neil: There does seem to be a growing appreciation for our insights about strategy. I don’t know if it’s because retailers realize there really is a return on investment for it, but we’re having to sell a little less hard on why strategy’s important.

So it seems you’re no longer being looked at strictly for your design and architecture capabilities but also for your knowledge of the retail business?

Shafley: Definitely. We not only understand the selling environment but we also have an acute understanding of shopping behavior, what motivates people to buy, how demographics affect shopping, and also how to integrate all these various tools – brand communications, digital technology, visual merchandising, etc.