Creating Customer Engagement through Window Design

Creating Customer Engagement through Window Design

Written By 5 Star Plus Retail Design

Introduction

Window displays are a crucial part of a retail store. They are the first opportunity to show the customer your brand story. They also serve as an attention getter, grabbing the customer in and drawing them into the store to see more, experience the brand story for themselves, and purchase products.

A good window display will feature key elements that answer the following three questions from the perspective of the passerby:

•  What do you want me to look at?
• Where do you want me to look first?
• How can you draw me closer?

In the ever growing digital age, the main competitor of window displays are smartphones. It can be challenging for a window display to grasp the attention of a potential customer who is walking by paying close attention to their digital device. It is for this reason that window display design has shifted towards the integration of LED screens and audio sound. An eye catching movement from the corner of the eye, paired with a catchy tune are the exact formula to draw the attention away from a customer’s smartphone for just enough time to show them a brief moment of your brand’s story. Close to 25% of a retail store’s customers stem from an enticing window design display.  Apart from showing loyal and potential customers your brand story, LED screens also provide the opportunity to communicate how a product works.

 LED Screens

Source: 5 Star Plus Retail Design

The window display above for the Adidas flagship store in Beijing features videos of runners putting on shoes and using them to train for an upcoming race. Beside the LED screen is the countdown clock for the race. The marketing within the store was also meant to excite customers about an upcoming race in Beijing. The neighboring window display design featured dynamic LED mini screens in which arrows moved from left to right in a fluid motion drawing attention to the featured trainers.

Dynamic ceiling-to-floor LED screens are another way to draw attention to the retail store and its products. This Gucci store in Milan uses a ceiling-to-floor LED column that features a video of models wearing their clothes. The columns are used in the window display design as well as the main entrance to create a dynamic and immersive experience for customers.

Source: https://thecurrentdaily.com/2011/09/26/gucci-pushes-retail-engagement-with-immersive-video-displays/

Dynamic Lighting

Keeping window display design to a minimal by limiting the number of products within the display, paired with dynamic lighting to pinpoint these products can also serve as an eye-catching way to draw the consumer’s attention to a window display. This Saint Laurent store located in Shanghai uses dynamic ceiling-to-floor lighting behind their products to highlight and draw attention to their latest coat selection in their window display design.

Source: http://www.chinafashionbloggers.com/shanghais-best-new-store-facades/img_2565-640×480/

Combining Features

Many stores utilize a combination of the above examples, combining dynamic lighting, LED screens and other features into the window display design. This eye-catching window display design for GAP features mannequins in a dynamic box framed lighting to draw attention to the products being displayed within the box. Another unique feature about this window display design is the incorporation of ‘whispering speakers’ that project an attention grabbing sound to the street, turning the heads of the passersby to see where the sound came from.

 Source: https://www.avinteractive.com/news/gap-11-10-2012/

This Victoria Secret store in Hangzhou features an LED screen that plays their yearly fashion show. Dynamic lighting in the company’s branding draws the passerby’s eye towards the LED screen, creating excitement for them to enter the store to explore the products in person.

Source: 5 Star Plus Retail Design

Creating Interaction

Creating customer interaction is another way to engage potential customers before entering the store. Kiosks are placed nearby the window display that can capture a picture of the customer and allow them to mix and match different products on a virtual mannequin of themselves. This window display design for the Ralph Lauren flagship store in New York, featured an LED screen in which customers could mix and match different tie patterns on a shirt color of their choosing. Once they found the tie they wanted, they were sent a link on their mobile device which allowed them to purchase the product immediately.  

Source: http://time.com/3938488/retail-displays/

Overall window display design is evolving into an interactive, and technological displays to grasp the attention of the passerby and draw them into the retail stores. The use of LED screens helps to show a customer a glimpse of the brand story, as well as, products in motion. Moving images and video have shown to increase the retention of the individual and peak their interest. Dynamic lighting is another way to draw the eye to the featured objects in a window display, and also add to the brand story of the retail store. Creating an interactive aspect in the window display allow the individual to interact and learn about products before entering into the store making them more likely to actually purchase a product. Overall, the advancement of window display design has led to more creative ways of achieving customer interaction.