The goal for any retail design is to create a space that makes your guests not just buy, but “buy in.” The design should make them buy in to your story, your brand, and your offerings. When designing a retail space, it is important to focus on the customer experience and how it relates to your story. It is not simply placing products for sale throughout the space. The experience is what will keep the customers returning to your space as loyal patrons.

20twelve is a high-end retail store in the Broad Avenue Arts District of Memphis. Without creating an environment of sophistication using sleek metals and French gold, the customer would not buy into the experience.  Wiseacre Brewery and High Cotton Brewery are two tap rooms local to Memphis TN. These two spaces are excellent storefronts that exemplify brand storytelling and customer experience. The spaces don’t sell beer, they sell a night out with friends in a great atmosphere. All of these spaces require different elements that create an experience that customers will not find elsewhere.

To accomplish a retail storytelling experience, quality design that is relevant to the brand is key. Using pictures, graphics, and art will allow the customers to feel a part of the experience as soon as they enter. Focusing on colors, materials, and flooring also adds to this.

Design is a key element of telling a brand story and drawing customers into a experience. This encourages them to be as passionate about your products as you are. We want people to buy, so we need people to buy in.