We were thrilled to discuss our Sorel pop-up with Matthew Hall for VMSD’s “2024 Retail Forecast.”
“Saturated inside and out with the brand’s signature orange, the space’s interior walls also feature a collage of vintage ads combined with new campaign imagery to celebrate the breadth of the brand’s heritage. An augmented reality ‘Magic Mirror,’ with branded filters and experiences at the store entry, invites consumers to fully immerse themselves in the brand story and interact in a unique way. ‘The product features were a key inspiration,’ says Melissa Gonzalez, MG2 Principal and The Lionesque Group founder, ‘and New York’s energy and characteristics was the muse.'”
MG2 Named a Finalist in This Year’s Glossy Beauty Awards
We’re excited to be named a finalist in this year’s Glossy Beauty Awards for our partnership with Victoria’s Secret on VS Bombshell Gardens pop-up on New York City’s High Line. The award spotlights the competitive beauty industry and today’s consumers’ desire for new and innovative products and experiences from the brands they love.
“In Gen Alpha’s mind, there are no boundaries in terms of how they’re able to access information…And the information and resources they have access to are more far-reaching than what we’ve ever had access to. In their mind, they can figure out anything.”
‘Elevating Voices’ Exhibit Features Black Northwest Artists
Bellevue joins partners to present Black History Month exhibit at City Hall
In celebration of Black History Month, the City of Bellevue, in partnership with Seattle architecture firm MG2 and Onyx Fine Arts Collective, is presenting the exhibit “Elevating Voices,” featuring the work of 17 Pacific Northwest Black artists.
Holistic Health: Consumers Are Seeking Wellness in Everything They Do – How Are You Showing Up For Them?
Retailers are beginning to think differently in response to their audience’s changing desires for “healthier” shopping experiences. By evaluating traditional store design elements through the lens of wellness, brands have the opportunity to create environments that are more holistic, rather than simply physical, and inclusive of cognitive, emotional and spiritual health attributes.
In this report, we look to demystify what well-being means to consumers and the in-store design features that support a state of mindfulness and deliver a sense of value in retail today.
Our full deck is available for download at the bottom of this preview. Take me there now!
CONSUMERS WANT AN EXPERIENCE THAT SUPPORTS THEIR WELL-BEING, NOT JUST A PRODUCT THAT DELIVERS WELLNESS
Consumers are more aware of their health and what contributes to their holistic well-being than ever before. This awareness, however, is not just limited to mental, emotional, and physical wellness, as it also accounts for our communal health and how we engage with wellness practices and experiences beyond our home. More and more, consumers are seeking out alternative care solutions and services. Many retailers have the ability and the real estate to test these alternatives as a way of not only contributing to their audience’s well-being, but as a way to drive greater traffic and loyalty. By offering spaces for a moment of calm or reflection, engaging water features or biophilia throughout or facilitating workshops to fuel connection, retailers and brands can go from experiential retail, to transformative retail.
For many consumers, retail therapy is transformative and delivers endorphins similar to exercise, resulting in a positive behavioral change in mindset. For many others however, the retail environment can prove taxing and stressful, allowing them to become overwhelmed and distracted from their original objective. By thinking intentionally and strategically, retailers can connect with consumers of all walks of life and deliver a comprehensive experience in-store that is good for both the body and the mind.
Key Takeaway
Since the pandemic, the desire to prioritize one’s health and holistic well-being has increased significantly. Consumers are now making lifestyle choices with wellness in mind, which has ignited a feeling of purpose and a new sense of motivation. As individuals navigate the endless sources of stress and anxiety they face both in life and work, it is only natural that they gravitate towards environments that ease these burdens rather than contributing to them. With so many retailers to choose from, consumers are feeling a pull towards those that recognize the hardship of mental clutter and are committed to alleviating some of that tension in authentic and meaningful ways. This can be achieved in a variety of ways in store, such as thoughtful lighting design integrations, biophilia focal walls, water features, calming music or meditative spaces, all of which give the consumer the opportunity to decompress. Through this, retailers and brands can demonstrate their commitment to their consumer’s priorities and values, resulting in repeat visitation and long term loyalty as consumers will find these brand experiences enjoyable and transformative. By investing in store design features with human centric needs at the heart, brands will see a return on their investment both financially and in their audience’s social capital.
“Bars should also ideally be visible from the entrance, says Joy Dayaw, associate, MG2 Design, Seattle, to create an immediate impression and to attract early arrivals over from the hostess stand. “
Evergreens Updates Design Palette for New Factoria Store
We’re excited to see Evergreens, located in Bellevue, WA, featured in the Daily Journal of Commerce.
The location’s mix of cool green tones with light wood is designed to reflect the brand’s commitment to serving local, organic produce. Alongside a mural by local artist Jen Vickers, the new space is light, bright, and welcoming to all customers.
Learn more about this new location in the DJC article below. Password protected.
Casper tests a new store design as it rethinks its retail strategy
Melissa Gonzalez, principal of MG2 said in an email it is common for startups like Casper to evolve their retail store design as they mature. “With a company like Casper they’ve evolved much as a brand but also, it’s important to stay on top of evolving consumer trends, behaviors and needs and ensure that you are factoring that in to your in-store experience,” she said.
From Shein to Chanel: Why we’re in the age of pop-ups
“Pop-ups are also a great way for retailers to lean into the preferences of the Gen Z shopper. Driscoll cited data from MG2 Advisory, a leading creator of pop-ups, which showed that nearly half of Gen Z shoppers who primarily shop online prefer to engage with brands through experiential pop-up activations when shopping in person.”
Glam Seamless opens its first store in Los Angeles.
Goal
Glam Seamless is a prominent hair extension brand with a strong online presence and a New York salon and flagship store. Looking to expand their reach, the brand came to MG2 with plans to open a second location in West Hollywood. Our goal was to build a salon and retail space that remains true to the Glam Seamless aesthetic, allows them to offer in-person services to their LA clientele, and supports content creation for their social media channels and e-commerce platforms.
MG2
Glam Seamless hired MG2 to collaborate on concept development, store design & project management of build out for its second salon location. Deliverables included creative ideation and design direction as well as all production sourcing and build-out management including but not limited to: signage, custom fabrication, and sourced FF&E and decor. MG2 worked closely with the Glam Seamless team to understand the merchandising and operational needs to be considered in all custom designs.
Outcome
The MG2 team’s design delivered a luxurious and intimate 2,000-square-foot West Hollywood salon-cum-retail location with key zones, including a retail and reception room, a four-station salon and beauty bar, and a private salon. These spaces have been designed to facilitate a wide spectrum of interactions, including self-guided shopping, hair extension consultations and treatments – all with an Instagrammable backdrop for live streams. Glam Seamless’ founder, Alexandra Cristin, aims for the space to provide guests with a full beauty care solution all in one location by offering a culmination of beauty services, products, and partnering with other women-owned beauty brands.
The Los Angeles salon (as featured in Beauty Independent) was designed with unique qualities to the space while keeping a level of cohesion aligning with the New York space. A locally-inspired color palette of soft pinks and warm peaches provides a light and luxurious consistency throughout the space, while an arch motif was carried over from the original salon and serves as a brand identifier. These light and mellow elements felt true to Los Angeles while maintaining an authentic brand aesthetic.
Creating an immersive and engaging brick-and-mortar store takes strategy and a deep understanding of your customers. Cross-team expertise ensures that branded experiences are executed to their fullest potential.
“‘You really need that trifecta — the store design team, the business development and marketing team, and then the IT team to an extent, depending on what kind of technology integration is happening,’ said Melissa Gonzalez, Principal at MG2 and past speaker at the Retail Innovation Conference & Expo. ‘Having all these people together allows you to bring together the art, the science and the business.'”
What to Watch: Retailers Guarded, Prudent and Primed
There are a lot of expectations about what 2024 could bring, and at the top of many people’s minds is technology and AI integration into retail.
“There’s the continuous impact of AI, from pre-purchase to post-purchase. This will evolve how brands and retailers understand and interact with consumers,” Melissa Gonzalez said to David Moin of WWD.
Discover more strategies that retailers are taking this year in Yahoo News.
After years of lockdowns and digital-driven behaviors, consumers’ actions have shown how crucial the store experience is to how they shop and interact with brands.
But underneath this positive blanket statement are a lot of nuances. Consumers’ standards of what makes a “superior” brick-and-mortar experience have changed, and to make things even more complicated, these standards vary based on shoppers’ unique preferences, their needs at a specific point and time, the role that technology plays in their daily lives and, of course, how they live, work and interact in their everyday lives.
Retail TouchPoints asked experts across the store design, experience and technology realms to share the trends they believe will drive brick-and-mortar innovation.
Melissa Gonzalez named one of 2023 Women of Excellence, Industry Impact
Gonzalez continually pushes the boundaries of experiential retail and has pioneered the integration of physical environments and cutting-edge technologies, helping established brands such as Nordstrom and Victoria’s Secret, and digital-first natives such as Burrow and Kizik.
Melissa Gonzalez Joins Crave Retail’s Advisory Board, Spearheading Digital Transformation in Physical Retail
Amid the bustling holiday season, Crave Retail, a global customer experience and insights platform, today proudly announced the appointment of Melissa Gonzalez to its advisory board.
Mitch Smith’s Philosophy of Transparency and Authenticity
“It’s incredibly important to our organization that we are very open about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, what our strategy is, our finances, how we’re performing, and really promoting a mindset of radical transparency. What I’ve found is that it builds a tremendous amount of trust with our employees in the organization. It’s when they don’t know that there are issues.” Mitch Smith said to John Stearns of 425 Business.
Melissa Gonzalez describes herself as “an intellectually curious, innovator, strategist and storyteller at heart.” Prior to becoming a principal at MG2 and founding The Lionesque Group, which was acquired by MG2, she worked in Institutional Equities where she ferociously studied company business models and stories to advise on investment ideas
Joe Schafran, Senior Project Manager and Studio Lead at architecture and design firm MG2, was honored with the Retail TouchPoints 40 Under 40 Award at a reception during the 2023 Retail Innovation Conference that took place in Chicago in May.
In-store Tech: Delivering Value or Falling Flat? Consumers Have Thoughts on What Drives Impact
Today’s customers want everything, everywhere, and all the time. And, while they still desire a balanced mix of traditional, remote, and self-service channels, they are becoming channel agnostic and increasingly tech savvy. In this report, we examine how brands and retailers can benefit from understanding their consumers’ technology needs and preferences, giving them the opportunity to serve their audience through phygital experiences that deliver value.
Our full deck is available for download at the bottom of this preview. Take me there now!
Consumer Adoption of Technology Has Evolved and So Has Their Baseline Expectation
Over the years we have investigated consumers’ awareness and appetite for in-store technology and have witnessed adoption trends rise with both operational and experiential technologies. As consumer engagement across various technologies in store has become more habitual, consumer perception has evolved. An augmented reality experience in store may appear incredibly fun and immersive, but is it easy to use and navigate? A self check out offering may appear to save time, but was it seamless as promised? Consumers are looking to brands and retailers to apply technology in store that is rooted in intentionality and purpose, delivering something new while meeting baseline needs and expectations.
In our comprehensive investigation, we take a deeper dive into understanding what technology can solve for and we examine consumer perception as it relates to the value technology delivers, as well as the opportunities these findings illuminate for creating experiences in store that both attract new consumers and maintain the loyalty of existing ones.
Key Takeaway
In order for retailers and brands to engage in a successful in store digital experience, they must first understand what matters most to their audience. Consumer expectations are at an all time high and they do not understand, nor do they care about a technology’s limitations. If something is implemented that promises to enhance the experience and it under performs, retailers run the risk of losing consumer trust and loyalty. Prior to implementation, brands need to strategically assess where to lean in and how best to make good on delivering value.
By making strategic and purposeful technology integration decisions, retailers can deliver a transformative experience. But without purpose behind it, these integrations will fall flat.
SOREL, a renowned brand, opened a pop-up shop in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood in 2023 as part of its strategy to expand its brand presence. To achieve this, the company partnered with MG2 to create a pop-up shop that will help drive awareness, customer engagement, sales, and marketing integration data for future strategies. This pop-up shop also marks the brand’s 50th anniversary of the iconic Caribou silhouette.
The bold storefront features full saturation of the brand’s signature color – “Optimized Orange” – a life-size polar bear featuring local art, and illuminated custom signage that provides a peek into the pop-up experience. The team leveraged augmented reality tech to enhance the in-store experience, including a full-body mirror-sized screen that customers can stand in front of to interact with various weather effects. This innovative approach to retail design showcases SOREL’s commitment to providing customers with an immersive and memorable shopping experience.
The AR Mirror with various branded filters and experiences is also visible from the street.
The boot customization charm bar allows shoppers to add charms, chains, and bands to their shoes.
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