Latin America. For 2019, consumer behaviors will show a clear difference compared to previous years, taking into account that the role of stores has been transformed thanks to new information technologies that allow shopping much faster.
So, will the stores disappear? No, stores transform the way they sell, they start thinking about their consumers by offering them an experience, which focuses on the interaction with the product, but also with the technology. This gives way to several trends coming to commercial spaces.
The first of these is pro-sustainability designs, a key issue as consumers become increasingly aware of their environmental footprint and brand responsibility in this regard. We find examples with companies like "The Body Shop" that has set goals so that in 2020 it meets measurable sustainability criteria and from now on begins to include in its stores elements alluding to nature.
Another trend relates to colors and materials. The color palette can be in similar tones to each other, which resemble a positive mood. Textured materials also encourage customers to interact with the products on display and contribute to the visual spectacle. In addition, details such as hiding technological devices such as speakers through ornamental appearance systems that merge with the context, gives a better look to the space.
"Understanding the market and the ways it is being consumed today is crucial for the design of stores, we think about the customer journey so that it is simple, but at the same time manages to travel throughout the store, thus creating a dynamic and integral commercial space. We asked ourselves from the initial moment how to satisfy our customers and what is the purpose of their consumers? This is how we know the market and make functional designs. From this we design an experience, from the very design of the store." says Marta Gallo founding partner of AEI Architecture and Interiors.
This 2019 will be full of changes at the level of architectural design, with much more creative and functional proposals for commercial spaces and companies.
Success story:
The Mary Kay store in Lima, designed and built by AEI Arquitectura e Interiores, was the first in Latin America designed as an experiential store, to only exhibit products of the brand, where beauty consultants can take their customers and interact directly with the products, making this a great example of one of the trends that will begin to gain strength in the coming years.
