LEISURE & RETAIL


THE FUTURE OF THE HIGH STREET


Whether it’s overhauling a traditional liner retail store layout or re-evaluating a close-quarters café culture – the design of places where people cross paths is now under constant review in the retail sector. Kirsty Shearer, Development Director at Agilité Solutions, explores further.


Although there is an underlying eagerness to get back to some form of normality, the question remains as to whether city centre hotspots will see the same level of demand – or if consumers will instead choose to browse and buy from the comfort of their own homes.


As the media continues to report on the struggles – and closures – of many household names, for those looking to entice buyers back through the door, it’s important to make sure all your ducks are in a row, as the saying goes.


This time last year, for example, shoppers wouldn’t have given a second thought to strolling through the aisles of a department store and rifling through rails of clothes, or sitting down at a coffee shop table just seconds after it had been vacated. However, the past six months have changed all that.


“There are opportunities for bricks and mortar buildings to encourage buyers


to return to the shop floor – and that is where sensible architecture, design and layout can play their part.”


What has been interesting to note thus far, are the disparities between countries in their reactions to the pandemic. Europe has not been uniformed in its approach, and as a pan-European company, one of the biggest challenges Agilité has encountered relates to the differing guidance and regulations imposed by each country – particularly around social distancing and PPE.


No matter the size, nature or ambition of retailers though, there are opportunities for bricks and mortar buildings to encourage buyers to return to the shop floor – and that is where sensible architecture, design and layout can play their part.


Let the light in Eye-catching window displays are synonymous with any modern high street and, as the first visual port-of-call, can provide crucial insight as to what’s beyond the exterior.


46 | TOMORROW’S FM


Glazed storefronts offer the perfect shop window – quite literally – to showcase your COVID-combatting commitments. For now, it’s sensible to forgo oversized ‘sale’ signs for window graphics which clearly communicate any social distancing directions.


For the post-pandemic shopper, it’s important to remember too that the decision to enter a store or café may be based purely on a quick health and safety assessment from beyond the glass. Therefore, structural glazing may be an option to consider.


Infographics which clearly pledge to keep buyers safe will pay dividends, but be mindful not to block the view from the street though, as peering through the window from the safety of the pavement – and seeing a secure environment in which to shop – could be the deciding factor for those unsure about crossing the threshold.


Sensible stock layouts Once inside, any regular shopper would ordinarily be used to seeing shelves, rails and product displays piled high with different variants of, essentially, the same product. While this might have provided a wealth of choice in the past, now it’s in danger of offering more surfaces for people to touch – and putting off buyers from the moment they step foot inside.


Investing in a suitable, post-pandemic fit out needn’t be costly either. Simple reorganisation of existing infrastructure, clever construction of display units, as well as a considered route throughout the building will all help.


If anything, the reconfiguration of stores can offer an opportunity to develop a more experiential retail environment for customers too. A move from a store- equals-stockroom mentality, and a ‘less is more’


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