New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 33/03C | Page 134

MARKET SECTOR REPORT
RETAIL DEVELOPMENT
PERSONALITY PLUS
Consumers expect customer-centric, high quality experiences, and
smart developers and retailers are creating spaces that deliver those
preferences, says Cooper and Company principal Jeremy Priddy
2017 has been called “A beautiful clash of
technology, free-flowing media, experimentalism
and relentless distraction” ... and applying this to
the retail development landscape, that’s an exciting
but challenging sentiment. Times are changing.
E-commerce continues to have a massive impact
on the physical retail store. But there’s still a place
for the latter: it just needs to look and feel different to
past incarnations. The challenge is not online shop-
ping versus physical stores, but rather how these
channels can work together and complement each
other to deliver the ultimate customer experience.
Consumers are researching extensively online
but often still want a real-life ‘experience’ when they
search | save | share at
buy. This experience has to be personalised, valu-
able, interactive. Great experiences framed within
great spaces.
Consumers don’t want a homogenous shopping
option when they venture out; they expect some-
thing customer-centric and high quality – and smart
developers and retailers are creating spaces that
deliver those preferences.
Social media, of course, plays a huge part, and
any social media strategy developed to support
such a precinct needs to be meticulously planned
and executed.
According to Deloitte, 47% of millennials (and
19% of other age groups) say their purchase
These pages:Cooper and
Company principal Jeremy
Priddy says retail developers
need to provide consumers with
vibrant physical environments
that complement e-commerce
channels. He points to
Auckland’s Britomart as an
example of this new approach
for retail precincts, pioneered by
Melbourne’s laneways and New
York’s eclectic Soho district.