Designing The Next Generation Of Retail Spaces: Part 1 Of 4

By Alen Puaca, creative director, iQmetrix

The retail industry is in flux. Buffeted on all sides by the winds of change, retailers of all stripes are struggling to react to the challenges posed by online commerce, social review sites and “showrooming” customers.

It is this last issue that has many retailers really worried.

With the proliferation of smartphones among a wide segment of the population, retailers are observing a growing tendency of customers to visit their stores, pick up and examine a particular product, use their smartphones to look up reviews, competing prices and other information about the item online, then exit the store without purchasing the item, effectively making the store a “showroom” for an online retailer with a lower price. (see Amazon Price Check App).