Exhibition proposal_Fashion retail 2.0 (Research project)
Author: Paula Munárriz Academic Advisor: Javier Antón ABSTRACT This thesis deals with the future of retail design and visual merchandising within the fashion realm. The future of shops is already here. The way in which the customers relate to the fashion industry is constantly evolving. Due to the development of new technologies, the ways of consumption are shifting, and the function of retail spaces and storefronts is starting to become obsolete. (Habría que apoyar esto con una cita... How can physical stores compete with the increasingly online commerce? There is already a trend of making the purchase online so, future stores will not be selling points as we know them now. If I can buy online, why should we go to the store? With this new mentality, physical shops must offer some added value and give customers a reason to go there. In stores, brands are able to offer the client a more complete brand experience. The goal is to live a more pleasant shopping experience rather than going somewhere just to buy. Society is changing and the fashion industry should not fall behind. FROM BRAND TO USER This thesis is based on the research in some emerging ideas in retail design that are being developed and implemented in current forefront stores. Society is changing due to the development of the new technologies and to the mindset of new generations . As a consequence, retail spaces are becoming obsolete. The experience in the store should be more than a trading experience. In this context we have two main points of view. On the one hand from the subject, as the user, an on the other hand from the object as the brand. This thesis will be focused on the user experience from three different and complementary perspectives: Fashion as identity, fashion as interaction, and fashion as a process. To follow the future in retail design, we must understand the mindset of the future consumer, the Generation Z. This social group has lived the most profound changes in the century with the creation of internet, smartphones, laptops, freely available networks and digital media. The retail sector is in a period of renewal and reinvention. Millennials, Generation Z and other digital native generations that will follow, bring with them a high-degree of technological savvy, as well as a host of new expectations for retailers. This new breed of shopper is more connected to devices and data, more comfortable moving across multiple media channels, and generally more informed than ever before. These generations, uses different mobile devices and they manifest their opinions and attitudes using Twitter, blogs, internet forums, and they share photos (Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat) and films (YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat). They not only uses the content of the Internet, but they also create and control it. These new connected shoppers will be focused on experience and expect shopping to be like other facets of their lives: personalized and tailored to them. More and more, shoppers will demand one-to-one connections and interactions with brands. The retail sector is in a period of renewal and reinvention. Millennials, Generation Z and other digital native generations that will follow, bring with them a high-degree of technological savvy, as well as a host of new expectations for retailers. This new breed of shopper is more connected to devices and data, more comfortable moving across multiple media channels, and generally more informed than ever before.