On holistic experience design & creative VM in a digitized environment…

In an exclusive interaction with Retail4Growth, Divya Krishna,  Head - Retail Experience Design & VM at Mia by Tanishq, New Jewellery Business, talks about how experience design has evolved into a holistic response to the customer journey, about the challenges of front-end tech integration for a category like jewellery, the unique dynamics of digitally-integrated VM, and more.   

You have recently moved to a larger role that goes beyond VM, to include retail experience design. What does that entail?

My role actually reflects the new brand approach, which is more centered around understanding the customer journey and crafting an experience around it. This means going beyond the traditional approach of simply focusing on displaying the product and planning seasonal campaigns around it. Instead, it entails looking at the entire customer experience in a more holistic manner and looking at all aspects, including but not limited to, store design and VM, packaging, staff uniform, and all other aspects of the customer experience journey.

It means having a structured process for gaining customer feedback and based on that, addressing gaps in the store experience funnel.

Jewellery as a category is a unique one, in terms of customer perceptions, apprehensions and behaviour. So much of the experience design has to consider addressing these, especially with regard to certain categories like diamond. It involves looking at aesthetic presentations that can persuade the customers to want to explore any category, even ones that they perceived as being beyond their access. 

Also, it is very important to be able to relate to customers, and for a brand like Mia by Tanshiq, that means being able to relate to a young audience. This entails the use of both digital and sensory elements and offering uniquely personalised experiences - like for example being able to curate their own accessories/products. Essentially, it is about making the customer feel happy while being in the store, through tactile and non-tactile means.

What’s the current store count for Tanishq and Mia by Tanishq? Any new retail formats you are looking at?

Tanishq’s current pan-India store count is 500 +. In quite a few of these stores, Mia products are also available, while the Mia by Tanishq standalone stores themselves number over 240. The idea is to trigger interest among the target audiences for both. And yes, we are exploring newer retail formats for a more strategic brand presence that is unique to this category. 

In the context of digital and omnichannel elements in-store, how important are these for the brand? 

Digital is very critical for a brand like Mia by Tanishq. A digital interface conveys that the brand is evolving and is open to offering a hybrid or ‘phygital’ experience. Right now we use digital screens primarily at the store entrances, but we are also looking at using them on store windows and inside at the counters.

Beyond digital screens used for communication, how do you envisage front-end tech integration for the brand, in terms of interaction and transaction?

Given the nature of this category (jewellery and precious items), the transaction part, which involves self check-out, can get complicated. Jewellery is not a functional category and customers tend to be very cautious. Also, rates vary. Therefore, the transaction dynamics are complex. We are of course trying to explore self check-out features in some of our stores, but it will take sometime. 

In terms of omnichannel integration, Swarovski is a good example, which we are studying closely. The brand has these hybrid stores that offer ease of shopping experience with a seamless integration of online and offline. Also, Jewellery is a category where visual scintillation is very important. Here, Blue Stone is a good example; but the point to note is that the impact produced by the brand’s digital screens is enhanced because of 3D renderings, and they are not just product shots. So having the right kind of content on the digital screens is very important.

Is having the right digital display/interface content also a challenge?

Yes, many brands are struggling on that front. The content on the digital screens has to be captivating enough to engage customer attention across interfaces. At Mia by Tanishq, communications are relatively easier to manage because the target audience is very clearly defined - Gen Z now - and so the content is accordingly planned. But that may not necessarily be the case for Tanishq, which targets a broader group.

As someone with a VM background, how do you see the growing thrust on digitizing store windows? Do you think that it brings a certain sameness and takes away the artistic novelty that traditional VM brought to store windows? 

Yes, I am a little old school in this, and interestingly, there are also many next-gen professionals who believe in the traditional way of doing windows, because it gives an opportunity to create something distinctive and unique. My personal design ideology is that if you create something from the scratch and get into detailing, it will definitely draw attention and appreciation. Fortunately at Tanishq, we have the creative freedom to explore new and unconventional ways of doing things. Besides, the group is also very focused on empowering artisans, sustainability, etc, so a lot of creative VM is made possible through the CSR route, and in a cost effective manner too.

Overall, do you see any change in VM budgets, especially with digitization? 

Not really, it continues to be a certain percentage of the marketing budget. But what has happened is that with the integration of digital screens, it’s being looked at as CAPEX and as a one-time investment. But the fact is that unless the digital screens are supported by something unique and creative, the store windows will not deliver results. Merely having digital screens will end up becoming monotonous and predictable.

Finally, as a VM and design professional, what keeps you going in retail?

As a creative professional, I feel retail is like a wide and white canvas on which you can paint anything; it offers that kind of flexibility. Also, what keeps me going is that consumers are constantly evolving and it’s challenging and therefore interesting to keep pace with the changes. Also, VM is also about silent selling and hence there’s the other constantly exciting challenge of ensuring creativity meets business objectives.