To thrive in today’s retail landscape, brands are transforming their brick-and-mortar stores. They’ve gone from purely being places of transaction to spaces for brand storytelling, learning and enjoying. Consumer behaviour is also changing – we now live in the ‘experience economy’ where people prefer to do more, not buy more. As a result, brands are finding ways to up the experience, making stores interactive, engaging, and bringing in more things to do and better ways to connect through things like cafes and workshops. Brands aiming for even greater engagement are also using their stores as community spaces for loyal customers.

Community building with experiential engagement

Certain brands accumulate dedicated followers. It can happen organically or strategically - usually it’s through a mixture of both. These communities often exist online where customers worldwide chat to each other. Brands can listen in, speak to fans and even bring them on board on certain occasions. Digital native beauty brand Glossier has long been focused on community. Launching off the back of online beauty platform Into the Gloss, the website already had a large amount of followers as potential customers. Now, its most dedicated fans are in a Slack channel where they discuss the brand and give Glossier insight into the types of products they’d like to see next.

Building communities online is a great way to create a network of fans that keep each other engaged. However, brands should also consider building and catering to communities in person where they can offer different experiences. Meet-ups, discussions and workshops are all ways to connect customers to the brand and to each other and retail spaces can be the perfect place to facilitate them.

For activewear brand Lululemon’s flagship store on Regent Street, we designed the space so it would also function as a hub for the community. The first floor houses a curated community space, with a wellness kitchen full of healthy food and drinks to hang out in and a flexi-space for yoga practise and other classes. Here, fans of the brand can meet each other and work out together – which also serves as great motivation to keep up a fitness routine.

Premium cycling apparel brand Rapha has a membership program where those signed up can take part in regular rides or training. Its retail stores are known as clubhouses and members and non-members alike can get together in the café, watch cycling events, view exhibitions or attend workshops. The clubhouses also host member-only events and are often starting points for rides, giving members reasons to visit regularly.

By Keith Ware

Director of Brand Environments, Dalziel & Pow

Keith is responsible for managing D&Ps Brand Environments Department and overseeing client service & development for a number of key clients. He’s also at the helm of key strategic development projects that contribute to the growth of D&P. Keith has exceptional experience in design and project management, working in retail and consultancy and his knowledge has helped brands develop their offers globally. He has been instrumental in helping D&P grow its business globally, with a particular interest in the Indian region.

Read the complete article on VM&RD July Edition.