Retail Design & Trends in 2021

In addition to the fact that COVID-19 touched the retail sector in an unprecedented way, we continue to look ahead and reflect. What are the starting points for retail design and what trends do we see coming in 2021? Get insight into how to design a meeting place for brand and consumer.

How do you stay relevant and contemporary as a retail formula in our rapidly changing world? It has now become clear that, as a store, you need a good 'omni-channel' approach so that you can reach and inform the customer through various channels - website, social media, chat, sms, etc. - can reach and inform the customer. The existence cycle of retail design is getting shorter. More and more flexible design solutions are needed to keep the store up-to-date without too much investment. Think of durable multifunctional furniture, contemporary colors and quality (innovative) materials.

Design your store

"Stores are not going to disappear, but they will certainly get a different function," says Jochen Cornelissen - interior designer at Interior Group. A store will become more than just a place of transaction where you buy or sell products. In combination with all the online tools and personal 'tailored advice' shopping will become easier on the one hand. On the other hand, an interior - and also the digital shopping experiences - ensures that shopping remains a (relaxing) experience and more or less challenges everyone to think outside their own pattern. Purely by showing the infinite range of possibilities through the synergy with the online platform. Not a copy of each other but complementary.

What other services can a store offer and what is the new role of the store staff?

They inspire, help and contribute to the ultimate customer journey. With the power of Design & Build you express and shape the routing, layout, furniture, communication, visual merchandising, lighting and associated technology. In this way you create the 'spatial identity' of a retail brand.You can even link all kinds of underlying research to it. Think for example of measuring behavior, interests and willingness to buy.

Retail Trends 2021

Personalization, buying locally, convenience and shopping experience are words that have become trends and that have gained ground in the past year. The shopping experience is something we haven't really gotten around to in the past year! The habit of doing things differently will continue for some time. What trends will take center stage in 2021? Our trendwatchers identify a number of them:

1. Refinement, personalization and exclusivity in retail spaces. With digital sales rapidly gaining ground, established brands increasingly need to provide a credible reason to make a physical purchase. No more large inventories but more finesse and refinement in offerings.
2. Shift from transaction-oriented to more engaging and experiential stores. This is how retail and retail becomes more personal and inspiring and personalized. Think of restyling barber stores with the addition of more entertaining elements such as interactive screens with hair care and styling tips and how you can virtually change yourself with a different haircut.
3. (Real) experience is getting more and more an important role in the retail segment. Here the senses also play a role. What is the impact of temperature, the influence of color and texture of materials on the feeling of the customer and the visual power of the offer.
4. The use of Big Data is certainly a spearhead in the retail design of 2021-2025. Retailers are increasingly deploying the use of Big Data and Augmented Reality to showcase the experience of their products "in the customer's life.
5. Retailers in some sectors such as bicycles, electronics,- and furniture and kitchen, are turning some of their stores into showrooms and experience centers - by stocking a few key items that consumers can try out before buying online. This reduces costs but people still keep a physical connection. Also consider developing pop-up stores and flagship stores.
6. Retail spaces are becoming even more informal - both in terms of décor, in-store communication as well as customer service. While offering small incentives such as free coffee and lounge corners is becoming more the norm. The power of storytelling remains more important than ever in bringing attention to a brand's values.
7. Overall, there will be more people and less space! Retail spaces will become smaller - every square foot of space will be used to the fullest. Physical interaction with a product will continue to be necessary. Service is the new gold!
8. We are also going to see more of click & collect. It's been around for a while, but since the pandemic, stores that previously wanted nothing to do with it are now embracing the technology. Order from one and pick up from another.
9. More attention is being paid to the optimal digital shopping experience. In the past decade, the focus was on smooth, fast and easy transactions. Now that we have mastered that, we are also going to make the online shopping experience more colorful and fun. For example, some clothing stores already present their assortment in a virtual showroom. Eyewear stores invite you to try on the glasses of your choice virtually.

Interior Group

Interior Group develops with its co-creators Keijsers Interiors and De Projectgroep any retail design from concept to final design including the supervision of its realization and implementation. We call that: Design & Build. With our years of experience in interior design and knowledge of the market and consumers, you can call on us for your new store formula or an innovative interior design concept.

Together with our creative partners in the field of media solutions, personalization of furniture and wall and floor coverings and the customized solutions from our own factory, we ensure the creation of added value for retailers and the translation of these trends. You can also come to us for keeping your store up-to-date. Design in combination with our acquired knowledge and know-how makes us a reliable and efficient partner.