By Krish Kapoor The Why of the Buy Transforming Retail Experiences by Sakshi Jain
Thesis Statement:
To design an experiential & technologically advanced retail store; given the risk
of the disruption caused by e-commerce for the retail environment. It is an attempt to reshape physical stores in a way wherein both offline and online could co-exist as well as provide customers with memorable and convenient shopping experiences.
The way that consumers make purchasing decisions has dramatically altered over the past few years: they stand in stores, using their smartphones to compare prices and product reviews; family and friends instantly weigh in on shopping decisions via social media; and when they’re ready to buy, an ever-growing list of online retailers deliver products directly to them, sometimes on the same day.
These shifts have led a number of industry observers to forecast the end of brick-and-mortar retail stores in its existence as one knows it. Furthermore, shoppers have started to demand for new experiences. As technology gains a central role in how people experience the world around them, consumers are increasingly in the driver’s seat. For retailers, a critical part of their competitive differentiation must be to cater to shoppers’ preferred ways of researching, browsing and buying. The battleground in retail is quickly moving beyond ‘omnichannel’ strategies.
This capstone therefore aims to research on the impact of the physical environment on shopper’s perceptions, preferences and behaviours. It seeks to understand the complex nature of physical retail stores and its new enhancements to the shopping experience, brand image initiatives and shifts in channel strategy. As technology continues to grow in the retail industry, it has become increasingly important for physical stores to place a greater emphasis on the in store experience in order to capture adequate market share. This will in-turn will help, retailers and brands to connect with their customers on a one-on- one level, provide customers with complete transparency and deliver enhanced shopping experiences whenever and wherever they decide to engage with them.
