UX Design In Retail, How Retail Experience Design Has Changed

Retail experience design in the context of shopping typically refers to the digital sphere, where UX Designers assist in developing, testing, and tuning each component of a website, mobile applications, and other products to ensure users have the best end-to-end eCommerce experience possible.

However, the same guiding principles that have made UX Design such a vital component of online retail are also having a transformative impact on retail strategy and UX.

Putting an emphasis on a personal relationship with the customer will lead to brand recognition. For retail shop owners, the expanding eCommerce sector offers a variety of opportunities. Those who value user experience and adhere to best practices for the user journey in eCommerce can maintain their competitiveness.

In fact, the best businesses in the world are becoming increasingly innovative in how they utilize UX strategy principles to enhance customer experience entering their establishments. Here are a few ways that UX has influenced retail.

Automation In UX Design For The Retail Industry

Due to the growth of the internet and the dynamic nature of technology, e-commerce has completely taken over the retail sector, making process automation, not just innovative but also essential. Customers are more used than ever to a seamless, simple, and user-friendly purchasing experience thanks to the pandemic that has caused the globe to exist virtually for almost everything and the global population spending a bulk of their time online. The worldwide population began shopping online in a hassle-free manner in order to avoid public spaces, and in this way, effective UX design became crucial for firms in fashion, lifestyle, accessories, service-based items, and much more.’

Components Of Developing A Brand’s Experience

In the words of Steve Jobs, design is not only what it looks like and feels like, but the design is also what it does — which leads us to intuitive thinking and design — vital components in developing a brand’s experience in the minds of a customer.

• Smart mirrors or digital mirrors

Smart displays and digital mirrors are other experiences. When there are too many fashion items to put on at once, this AR technology-powered mirror enables users to virtually try on the clothing and see how it fits their body type.

• AR navigation in-store

Every store is built, fashioned, and designed differently, so occasionally we get lost looking for what we need and hunt for a person to assist us in the correct route. AR navigation is now the answer to this inconvenience. It gives you detailed directions that are helpful for your shopping trip while making your in-store experience more interactive and entertaining. Without spending time, you can find what you’re looking for.

• Digital / Self checkout counters

Customers will inevitably flock to other counters that provide a more intuitive shopping experience if a store’s checkout lines are lengthy. The introduction of automatic digital self-checkout counters at retail outlets that avoid human touch, which was a huge win during the epidemic, helped close the gap in this situation.

Online/E-Commerce

Today, AR & VR are a crucial part of any UX design agency. Without incorporating a component that uses AR or VR to improve the user experience, no e-commerce site or application can provide distinctive experiences.

• Gaming Experiences

With the metaverse growing, gaming is currently one of the most sought-after industries for brands looking to interact virtually with their customers. Building augmented reality (AR) gaming experiences is now a wonderful power move by a company that helps it provide its customers with a distinctive method of engaging and interacting with the company while having fun and enjoying themselves. In-store customer assistants and chatbots are both examples of how brands are utilizing artificial intelligence. It’s like having your own personal Siri or Google Assistant.

• Virtual try-on

By creating a convenient virtual try-on for customers, the AR experience has magically transformed the need to always try on things before buying. Before making a purchase, you can try a product on in the convenience of your own home to get a sense of how it would appear on you.

• AR shopping applications

Brands came to the rescue by creating a full-scale shopping experience virtually. Brands used augmented reality technology and virtual reality headsets in their customers’ hands at home to give them the experience of being in a store, adding items to a cart, and shopping comfortably from home. These experiences ranged from expansive supermarkets to exclusive luxury retail experiences.

Zara’s Brand Retail Design

Zara’s fast fashion has created a trend in a very short period of time, with its affordable and stylish collection of wardrobes, in turn, creating a rise in passion for fashion among women and children. Amancio Ortega and Rosala Mera established Zara as a family-owned business in the Spanish city of Galicia in 1975.

Zara’s marketing strategy includes 4Ps.

• Products

As an “instant fashion” company, Zara picks up on emerging trends quickly and at competitive prices, bringing them to its retail locations. The reason for the brand’s rapid expansion and good name is due to this.

• Place

Even more amazing than Zara’s approximately 3000 locations throughout the world is the fact that it is an integrated retailer.

• Price

The average consumer who wants the newest fashion goods at reasonable rates is the target market for Zara’s pricing approach.

• Promotion

Zara spends extremely little on advertising efforts. Zara primarily focuses on branch expansion and word-of-mouth marketing. Experience, uniqueness, price, and distinction are the cornerstones of Zara’s core promotion strategy.

Unlike its competitors, Zara focuses on its brand loyalty, price values, customer experiences and proximity to stores to market itself.

Conclusion

These offer us a good understanding of the scope of UX design and how it encompasses all potential means of enhancing the user experience with the product or the brand as a whole. Over the future years, new experiences will also be a result of the development and expansion of technology in our daily lives. Due to these adjustments, businesses are looking for seasoned UX designers who are also working with business consequences in mind, such as implementation costs, global reach, competitive analysis, and more.

Originally published at https://www.onething.design on Jan 23, 2023