Origins Overhauls Store Designs

Origins (New York) is overhauling many of its stores to encourage shoppers to slow down while they shop and linger within the stores. These changes are being fueled by research that shows that the longer a consumer spends in a store, the more he or she is likely to purchase during that trip.

Some of the changes the retailer is making to its stores’ design include plentiful seating and a long communal table, a 5-foot-long sink for sampling products and an in-store wall specially lit for taking selfies.

“We made a conscious decision to have fewer products and more storytelling in stores,” said Senior VP and General Manager Stephane de la Faverie. That storytelling element of the design incorporates old maps as art and a variety of bottled ingredients and botanicals that are used in the store’s products.

Sales at the stores that have incorporated the new features have increased 20 to 40 percent, reports The Wall Street Journal.