STORE DESIGN: Retail by design - Designed to boost business

There is a distinct global move towards sustainability, energy efficiency and a more environmentally mindful way of doing business. This affects design, from conception and new builds through to retrofits, revamps and refreshes. Along with this is the integration of technology from backofhouse right through to customer interactions instore and, of course, online shopping.

And store design has also been impacted by a revitalised customercentric approach – smart businesses are taking note of what shoppers want and they’re providing that. Sustainable design is as much about the materials you use as it is about energyefficient technologies, reduced energy consumption and zerowaste models. Part of this is flexible, multiuse design that allows stores to be adaptable, agile, and more efficient. The idea is to make shopping easy and to keep shoppers engaged and interested. Adaptable design is important for longevity as flexibility is key when it comes to seasonal produce, changing displays, new promotions and evolving consumer behaviour. As certain products become more popular, they can easily be moved further into the store, drawing shoppers deeper into the retail space and even guiding them down aisles they might not otherwise have visited. Carefully managing the flow of customers can help boost sales, encourage browsing and impulse buys, and also prevent crowding and shopper traffic snarls.

Creating experiences: Change is in the air

Local retail powerhouse Pick n Pay has faced some tough times recently. Big changes have been implemented, with most focused on streamlining the retailer’s offerings and better aligning with customer demographics and buyer behaviour. According to BusinessTech, the retail giant has also refreshed its store format, using key design changes to elevate the shopping experience and appeal to upmarket shoppers. In the article, Luke Fraser writes that this is most obvious in the group’s newly opened store in the 50 000m2 Westown Square in Shongweni between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

The new Pick n Pay store is the anchor tenant and it sports several key features, including an expanded fresh produce section and a stronger focus on convenience. A full service butchery, an improved instore bakery, an expanded farmfresh produce section and an enhanced deli are complemented by a sushi counter and The Roasty sitdown coffee bar. The focus is on creating an experience and letting shoppers enjoy their time instore, as well as emphasising convenience and ease.

Sean Summers, Pick n Pay CEO, says, “We’ve implemented several improvements in the Westown store that we are already rolling out as part of our targeted store revitalisation programme, which is underway.” He adds, “These features are designed particularly around freshness and our fresh produce areas, the variety offered to customers and with customer convenience at its core.” Pick n Pay says these stores have shown remarkable success, with some seeing sales growth of up to 100% and a positive trend in overall customer feedback.

Bad designs happen to good spaces

When a design goes wrong, the impact can be immediately obvious or more insidious – slowly leaching away consumer confidence as footfall decreases and businesses start to flounder. Just ask Fourways Mall, one of Johannesburg’s leading shopping destinations and the biggest mall in South Africa at 178 202m2. The mall underwent an eyewateringly expensive and extensive revamp. The result was not good. In an article for Daily Investor, Kirsten Minnaar writes, “Fourways became the biggest shopping mall in the country after an expansion in 2019, which cost over R1 billion, increasing its size to a gross lettable area (GLA) of over 178 000m2.”

Minaar adds, “However, this move was not successful in stemming the property’s decline. Vacancies went up and foot traffic went down. At the same time, the Covid pandemic meant that consumers significantly reduced their time spent shopping in malls. In 2023, the mall’s vacancy rate increased to 8%, compared to only 3% in 2021, and rent per square metre declined from R298 to R262. Its fair value shrank from R9.6 billion in 2020 to R8.04 billion three years later, and its performance continued to deteriorate.” Decidedly disgruntled shoppers complained – about the dark and disorienting lighting which also made the mall feel unsafe, the bizarre parking, the treacherously slippery floors and even the sheer size of the mall.

Navigating from one side to the other was a challenge, and the layout made no sense, with big names hidden away on the nearly empty second floor and stores within the same category located nowhere near each other. And then came the rains ... the fact that the mall was not watertight or weatherproof, and in fact leaked like a sieve, was inescapable. Soggy ceilings, watermarks on the tiles, and piles of damp cardboard and makeshift watercatchers were everywhere. The iconic mall became something of a ghost town. The design was certainly to blame, but so too was the execution. So it was with pleased surprise that loyal shoppers noted the return of ambient music, a sudden brightening of the lights, and a much more sensible and easier to navigate parking situation.

Stores began to relocate, creating small areas of localised specialities to make shopping easier and more methodical. Accelerate Property Fund, which co owns Fourways Mall with Azrapart, had realised they needed to take drastic action. Bringing on board Flanagan & Gerard as asset managers and Moolman Group as the property managers, renovations began once again, but this time with remedial design and clear goals in mind. And slowly, footfall increased. New stores opened their doors, old stores pumped fresh life into their offerings, and someone started patching the leaky roof.

Minnaar writes, “In a recent media briefing, they revealed the steps they had taken to address the mall’s negative perception and turn it into South Africa’s premier shopping destination. There were several major issues they had to solve. Many of these are related to compliance and behind the scenes challenges that weren’t necessarily visible to customers. The roof leakages were a big issue. They had to resurface the entire roof and fix watermarks. They are also working on installing a 50 000m2 roof structure on the upper level parking deck. Once completed, it will house a 6.3 MW AC/8 MW DC solar plant, the largest retail solar installation in South Africa.”

And what does this story of near failure followed by tentative recovery tell us? Ignore the principles of good design at your peril. Cutting corners costs money. Not engaging with accredited, professional and reliable partners is bad for business. And never underestimate the power of good lighting.

Read the full article here - STORE DESIGN: Retail by design - Designed to boost business

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