Chapter 12: Designing Valuable Experiential Retail Environments: A Review of the Design Process

It is no revelation that our society is currently living a true ‘experiential’ revolution. People are seeking meaningful experiences in every aspect of their lives. In response, most sectors have had to review their processes to address the evolving demands associated with what is referred to as the ‘Experience economy’ [1,2]. Adding yet another level of complexity are the ongoing developments in communication technologies. As people are continuously connected to new sources of information, they also become more critical, value conscious and demanding [3].

Being a highly innovative sector, the retail market has been at the forefront of addressing this shift. Many steps have been taken in researching and generating novel ways to please customers' evolving demands. Not only have there been numerous trial and error initiatives led directly in the field, we have also witnessed a growing interest in academic research specifically on experiential retailing. Multiple renowned authors have studied the ‘experience’ construct on its own, in different contexts, but also in relation to other key concepts such as consumer value [4,5].