Lately the design world has been discussing the use of branding to create an experience. Many companies use branding to create a uniform experience in their stores. How does branding affect behavior? Branding is a company's way of telling you how to interact with the product, space, etc. Branding can be found everywhere from packaging of products, retail design, to what we as humans wear.
Aesop is an up and coming skincare line based in Australia. Besides having great products, part of their appeal is the store design. Each store has its own design. This keeps customers coming because they want to see what a new store will be like. The modern design of the retail spaces gives the products a high end feel. Customers are more likely to pay extra money because of the surroundings. This was in the forefront of the design, to create a space that makes the product stand out and give the product more value.
Though Aesop has a different design for each of its stores, the company has some commonalities in each of its designs. Those commonalities are the use of water, modern design and streamlining the space. Another driving principle is Aesop design is sustainability. Each of the stores is designed in relation to its location, which adds to the ambiance. Another idea that is translated throughout all the stores is the idea of customer interaction. The spaces are designed so that customers can browse, pick up products and therefore be more likely to purchase.
Do you think that Aesop's brand influence behavior in their stores. Does the idea of each store having its own design work or is it to hard to connect back to the brand? Would you be more likely to purchase something from this type of store or the cookie-cutter stores like Sephora?
All images come from The Cool Hunter:http://www.thecoolhunter.net/stores/
Personally, i would be much more likely to purchase something from one of these stores as opposed to a so called "cookie cutter" store. When choosing what items and products to purchase myself, I think about how they will create my own personal image. Therefore, when a retail environment hasd its own personal image, I am more likelly to create a connection with it and purchase something there, even if not right away, I will most likelly come back. On this "comming back" note. I am more likely to return to a place like this because it has made a strong impression on me. It has left a footprint of its image within my mind, one that I will continue to think of. This is all in opposition to a "cookie cutter" store, which I will most likely forget because they give me no reason to remember them. They have left me with nothing to remember them by so I will inevitably forget about them. Also, when purchasing items to establish my own personal image, what progress am I making by purchasing from an establishiment which appears to have no sense of it.
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