SARA ISLIM TOMCZAK 

STAKEHOLDERS

 

In retail there isn't one type of stakeholder but there are three.  Essentially there is the professional, the analyst and the consumer.

 

Professionals in this case relate to the designers, the people in industry.  Retail professionals strive to design environments that evoke unquestionable behaviours by the consumer, such as; consumer journey, approach, excitement, expenditure, time spent in a specific retail store, and the likely-hood of revisiting.  Design professionals look at the mechanical processes of the layout within the space, how to best use the space, colour, lighting, interior design, and materials to produce environments that are engaging and aesthetically attractive to the consumer.  The Retail professional will also acknowlege the growing use of e-commerce, on a global scale, and inturn create retail interiors that provide a notably physical shopping environment which a virtual shopping experience cannot replicate. 

 

The anaysts are the psychologists, the scientists and the behaviourists.  Analysts hold a certain level of curiosity in the world of retail and retail design in a more figurative way. They like to from theories and test them based on athmospherics and lighting and the affects on the consumers. They look into the built environment and behaviours, to see if we influence the growing environment or if the environment infuences us and how emotions are derived by what we see on a daily basis. Research conducted by the analysts and their theories are used in a tactical way by the designers to create these encapsulating spaces, that work on 'stimuli' to persuade buying and a associative response.  

 

The most important group and one that is most affected by the changeing course of retail design is the consumer. They are constantly creating new associations with retailers based on the design in-store. this is important as, if a consumer forms an association with the store this could lead to an association with the brand and finally mean that they would be more willing to re-visit. Consumers want to navigate their way through a store effortlessly and want to be able to locate merchandise with ease. The end product of their experience strives to be delight and the likely-hood  to return in the future.  Additionally where a consumer shops creates a retail self-identity for them a certain style personality and individuality, leading to phrases and consumer trends such as the 'Cosmopolitan Woman', 'The Expose', 'Urban Man' and many more.