Primark Concept Store - New inspiration

Before we did the interview, some of our ideas are not really work well and it was hard to prove, such as what is consumer really want rather than what we just trying to give to the consumer. The previous concept of Primark Blue Ice, is too strong for Primark's brand image, Primark's image is more young and friendly. Also, due to high-street planning restrictions, we have to change our exterior innovation to inside.

It was helpful that we went to do the interview last week, (See the primary research post for more detail.)and after collect all the answers together, we found out that most consumer cares more about the price and wide range selection, they are not really consider the in-store 5 senses or sustainability.

Therefore, according to the answers, we discussed about how we can keep what consumer thinks about the price and meanwhile provide them a comfort and enjoyable atmosphere. Then we decided to consider on three words: friendly, comfortable and straight-forward.

"Wonderland" is the new theme for our concept store. This is because, as you can see for the last post, families and friends are the main consumers for the sub-urban Primark stores. Therefore, we want provide a place that everyone in this store feels relax and enjoyable, and make it a good place for hangout and social. Also, make the in-store environment more immersive and attractive to keep consumer coming back.

Primark Concept Store - Store Layout

Product density: It's a shop not an exhibition. Think of financially success. 
Payment: mobile payment. Primark app - topup via mobile. Scan(barcode) & pay. (Alarm??) 
Customer journey: immersive, inspiring, uplifting, unique and on-brand. 

Primark Concept Store - In-store Technology Development

In-store technology: Integrative digital screen.
Primania: Move online section to offline. Share consumer's outfits on the touch screen. People can explore the whole section, they can click like the look or order the look. (Click and collect.) Also, People can upload their own look right inside the store by the camera on the touch screen.

Primark Concept Store - Lighting Development

In-store lighting: General lighting at the top and floor corner. Spotlights on core product, mini spotlight on floor and stairs. 

Lighting highlight: on the ceiling. floral or character shape shadow. (paper-cutting cover on the spotlight.)

Primark Concept Store - Design Development

Design element: Paper-cutting lighting to make a character or floral shape shadow on the ceiling to create a feeling of inside the fairytale.
Keyword: fairytale, wonderland, mysterious.

Primark Concept Store - Material Development

In-store textures: Wood dominant. 

In-store ceiling: White wooden ceiling. (Suitable for paper-cutting lighting shadow idea.)

In-store floor: White/creamy/grey wooden. (achromatic colours)

In-store wall: Mixed blue painted wooden boards. 

Fixtures: Wood: Skybule wardrobes, white racks, white tables, white or blue shelf. Ropes: hammock for guest to rest, the material of fitting room entrance curtain and stairs rail.  

Keywords: fairytale, wonderland, mysterious, shangri-la, ease, peaceful, good for family and friends. 

Primark Concept Store - Colour Development

Inspiration: Inspired by the logo colour. Skyblue. Summer colour theme. 

Concept store name: Primark Blue Wonderland

Concept store colour theme: Deep summer blue (Source: WGSN)

Keywords: Real - unreal nature to the blues and greens. Chemical colours: bright aqua, soft indigo. Bleached blue.  (Source: WGSN)

Primark Concept Store - Interview (Primary research)

After the tutorial with tutors last week, we found out that our idea should be improved by provide more researches and evidences. Therefore, we've been divided as three groups to interview Primark's consumer in different sub-urban branches.  The table below is some observations figures that we found out:

Table 1: Observation of Primark's footprint.

We also interviewed 10 people with these questions: 

1. Customer Profile

Age- 15-18/ 19-25/ 26-30 /31-35 /36-40/40+    Occupation. ( Lifestyle in Suburban) What is your hobby in leisure time?

2.  What do you expect to shop in Primark?

        

3.  How often do you go shopping in Primark?

   

4. Which retailer do you prefer to go among competitors:

    

5. Do you think you have better experience in Primark compare to (Competitors)?

    

6. Instore shopping of visual, sound, smell, taste, touch experience? If we open a concept store, what do you expect? improve? for example, store layout? fitting room? visual display,window display? or other thing?

7. Does sustainable fashion concepts (recycle material/ethical ) impact your chioce when you shop in-store?

Every team member complete the interview very well with quality answers. This is good, that every one in this team is contribute to this project with passions.

Technology tour--FLUX

1. Technology in Real Time

Projection

• Bring the digital and physical world closer together
• Visual showcasing in a more eye-catching way

RFID (Radio Identification)

• Example: Burberry, garments are fitted with RFID tags that will trigger interactive videos
• Show how the product was made or what other idems compliment it

QR code & APP

• Scan QR codes to buy products
• Get the information of products and store.
• Share on social media

Touch Screen

• Consumer interaction with brand
• Enforce consumer loyalty through engagement

3D fitting room

• Try on garments without the need of taking off clothes
• Create an experiece similar to vitual world computer game
• Size recommendation services can offer shoppers a suggested size
• Enable differernt items to be tried on at same time

3D Augmented Reality

• Simulate 3D products and projects in consumer’s environment, in real size and real time
• Create interactive print content

Lighting Technology

• LED lighting: energy efficient and 90% less power consuming
• Digital decoration: various colours

2. Technological innovations and future trends

Make It Mine (Source: Mintel, 2014)

• Using social media to better fulfil individual needs. (Using Facebook likes to decide what goes on shelves and targeting Instagram users with personalised outfit recommendations based on the pics they post)

• Technical systems being put into stores which can read shoppers’ emotions and provide deals based on real-time feelings.
• Consumers have come to see ‘have it my way’ as more than just a fun, frivolous way to express their personality, but as a recognition that no two people, and no two people’s needs, are the same.

Nike customization system in store

Sense of The Intense (Source: Mintel, 2014)

• Increasingly urbanized and automated existence is reinforcing our desire to de-stress through physical activity and also to reconnect with nature, and with our physical and organic selves.
• In regard to sensory stimulation, the dominance of screen culture has led to a cacophony of ‘visual noise.' As a result marketers are increasingly seeking to stimulate the senses of touch, taste, and smell to deliver more memorable products, services and even advertising campaigns.

Selfridge Fragrance Lab

Augmented Reality (AR)

• A live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics.

• From virtual fitting rooms to interactive window displays, merchants are continuously finding ways to use augmented reality to draw attention and improve experiences.

American Apparel, with help from the Vuforia app, has been used augmented reality at the point of sale to unlock a range of options.

3D Printing

• Any of various processes used to make a three-dimensional object.n 3D printing, additive processes are used, in which successive layers of material are laid down under computer control.
• Companies such as Hot Pop Factory are printing jewelry. Retailers such as New Balance are printing shoes. Designers such as Ron Arab are printing sunglasses.

Brilliance is using 3D mock-ups to help customers try on different rings so they can determine the right size, shape, carat, and diamond arrangement for their hands.

Wearable Technology

• Wearable technology share the vision of interweaving technology into the everyday life, of making technology pervasive and interaction friction less.
• Research by Acquity Group has shown that about seven percent of consumers currently own wearable gadgets such as smart watches, glasses, and fitness monitors. However, this figure is expected to double in 2015.

Rebecca Minkoff: Wearable tech bracelet lights up when you receive a text or call from certain people, so you can put your phone away but stay in touch.

POS Technology

• Point of Sales: the place where a retail transaction is completed. It is the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or services.

Kate Spade (NYC) – Real Window Shopping.  Kate Spade (using eBay’s shoppable windows technology) created high visibility ‘fake’ stores with real windows featuring a real giant POS ‘tablet’ that consumers can shop from.  Offers 1 hour local delivery.

 PARCO fashion (Tokyo) connected Vanquish brand hangers (from teamlab) show promotional wall video when garment is removed.

3. Insparition

INSPIRATION ON PRIMARK BOUTIQUE:

• Hype-personalised
  Customization tech could be utilised in-store to create unique piece. (e.g. Modiface’s Beautiful Me App) Shopper expect to see products/services that align with their preferences.

• Co-creation
  Engage consumer in-store through social media. (e.g. #Topshopwindow campaign, Sephora social shopping experience which consumers post their look with Sephora cosmetics on their website.

• Enhance visual intensity in boutique through touching screen or in-store LED.

• Showcase product detail via high definition screen to increase shopping desire.
• In-store entertainment. Establish interesting digital game or interactive wall. (e.g. Dalziel and Pow: self-initiated piece.)

• Contactless Payment in store to provide convinience payment process.

4. Reference

Charlton G (2013) 11 great ways to use digital technology in retail stores.Avaliable at:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/63087-11-great-ways-to-use-digital-technology-in-retail-stores/

[Access date: 24/03/2015]

Marsden R (2013) 10 new digital POS innovation to save the retail store. [Online] Avaliable at:

http://digitalintelligencetoday.com/10-new-digital-pos-innovations-to-save-the-retail-store/

[Access date: 24/03/2015]

Mintel Oxygen (2014) ‘Sense of intense’. Available at: www.mintel.com (Access date: 23/03/2015).

Mintel Oxygen (2014) ‘Make it mine’. Available at: www.mintel.com (Access date: 23/03/2015).

Vend (2015) 12 Retail Trends and prediction for 2015[Online] Avaliable at: https://www.vendhq.com/university/retail-trends-and-predictions-2015

[Access date: 24/03/2015]

Inspiration of Pop-up store's theme

With the inspiration of the blue ice, the theme we want to illustrated is to provide a cool, fresh and blue world to customers. Represents the logo, the colour we selected is blue, as the mood board shown above, it could be like a bottle of cocktail, as well as a cup of water which filled with blue ices. this is a preliminary idea, however, as 5 of us would like to explore this idea in depth, further researches will be done. We would also like to employ the them to in-store and window displays.

[13/03/2015]Primark Store Visit @East Ham London

13 March 2015 @London East Ham Primark

Window display in East Ham Primark. 2015 Spring/Summer campaign (only display seasonal childrenswear and menswear, no womenswear). Appropriate styling and mannequins. Spacious closed-back window with emphatic lighting. (daytime observation)

Clear navigator at the store entrance with abundant shopping bag. Clean and spacious. In-store segments are shown in the graph here: full-assortment, appropriate stocks (size,colour). 

Womenswear:

Strengths:

•