As brands face increasing pressure to drive profitability and deliver a seamless customer experience, how are retail designers stepping up to the challenge? Shravan Suthar, Principal Designer at Shravan Design Company, Shravan shares his views in this exclusive interaction with Retail4Growth. 

Crafting Unique Design Languages

Emphasising the importance of creating unique and engaging retail environments, Shravan reveals that his firm is currently working on several exciting projects in the men’s ethnic wear category and this entails developing new design languages for their clients. “We are specially developing a new design language for these new clients,” he shares. 

Data-Driven Era of Retail Design

Shravan does admit that the expectations from retail clients have evolved significantly. He notes that brands are now more data-driven, analysing region-specific sales trends and customer preferences to optimise their product mix and store layouts. "They are obviously studying the market and also studying their own business, especially in terms of which category is doing more,” he explains. 

Balancing ROI with Brand Identity

This shift has led to a greater emphasis on ROI in retail design. "Well, ROI is an obvious expectation as everybody is eager to make margins. when a brand decides the plan for the coming year or the next 2 or 3 years, they have an idea of how many stores they want to plan and what is the per square feet expense they want to do for the interiors." But Shravan acknowledges that while ROI is a key consideration for clients, the discussion often revolves around creating the right brand identity and store concept. 

Embracing Fintech for Enhanced Experiences

The integration of front-tech solutions in retail design has also become a crucial aspect of enhancing the customer experience. Shravan believes that digital displays and other technological advancements are now standard components of retail design. "Tech means many things and for the most part, it involves the build or back-end side of things and that's a different vertical altogether. But when you are looking to enhance the overall store experience, digital displays are pretty much a must nowadays."

Navigating Growth Amidst Challenges

Despite the challenges posed by budget constraints and client expectations, Shravan remains optimistic about the growth potential of the Indian retail design industry. He estimates that his firm has been growing at approximately 20 to 30% every year, adding new clients and expanding with existing ones. “The retail business is going to be there for a long, long time and design is going to be a big part of that,” he asserts.

Well, as the retail landscape continues to evolve, Shravan emphasises the importance of adapting to the changing needs of clients and consumers. By delivering ROI-driven designs that enhance the customer experience, retail design will continue to help brands thrive in an increasingly competitive market.