Szocs and colleagues evaluated design options for stores yet to be built. They determined that “retailers must leverage the [physical] store environment to curate a captivating experience that cannot be emulated online. . . . . First, managers can increase their focus on sensory elements (e.g., visuals, scents, sounds, haptics, taste) and use these elements to curate pleasurable, multisensory in-store experiences. Second, managers should . . . [offer] environments that are personalized and customizable. . . . . Retailers of the future should adopt inclusive tactics to meet the needs of consumers with varying levels of optimal stimulation. Some retailers [currently] have . . . sensory-friendly shopping hours when noise is minimized, and lighting is dimmed . . . . [some] offer a sensory map so that shoppers with varying sensory sensitivities can identify areas to approach and avoid. . . . [one] provides consumers with varying sensory sensitivities a lanyard to display to employees to alert them to offer specialized service.”
Courtney Szocs, Yeseul Kim, Mikyoung Lim, Christian Mera, and Dipayan Biswas. 2023. “The Store of the Future: Engaging Customers Through Sensory Elements, Personalized Atmospherics, and Interpersonal Interaction.” Journal of Retailing, vol. 99, no. 4, pp. 605-620, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2023.11.005