Croydon Centrale, South London
'Faith In Nature' Retail Experience Design
Croydon Centrale (South London) Pop-Up:
"Nature’s Playground"
Project Overview
The project is in collaboration with the Future Collective (a UK-based retail consultancy agency) and Hammerson (a British development company) to design a well-integrated physical and digital retail experience for the UK sustainable beauty brand FaithInNature's pop-up store, which is located in the high street of Croydon, South London.
Brand Intro
About Faith In Nature:
Faith in Nature is a UK based sustainable beauty brand. The designs of the branded pop-up will also convey the brand message and enhance the community-based retail experience.
The Business Objective
The brand Faith In Nature wants to create a pop-up experience that is highly on-brand and digitally enhanced to revive the Croydon shopping center as well as offer customers a creative and trendy experience to be educated about sustainability and the brand.
The Solution
To design a creative pop-up retail experience that is on-brand and integrated with the physical (in-store) and digital (mobile app) experiences of shopping and experiencing the brand.
Timeline:
The client-facing project was divided into three stages:
Stage 1:Research & Insights: 2 months
Stage 2 Design: 1 Month
Stage 3 Presenting: 1 Month
My Role:
Designer: UX design & 3D Space Mock-Up
The team consists of five members:
Tools:
Figma (UX/UI)
SketchUp (3D)
Photoshop (Graphics)
Google Drive (Collaboration)
Research & Analysis
Research Overview
Croydon Demographics
Target Demographics:
To get to know more about the community we are designing for. We researched Croydon's demographics.
It is an area in South London, it is a great local area to live in for people who work in London. The area is affordable and culturally rich.
User Persona (Jane)
User Persona:
Based on our on-site interviews.
Our user, Jane, is a young mom living in Croydon, looking for a more engaging and fun experience in terms of shopping.
Brand Strategy:
To better align with the branding strategies and create a highly on-brand retail experience, we researched the brand's core values and business objectives.
Brand Strategies Summary
Competitor Analysis
In order to understand the beauty industry, we researched what's available in the market. So we could make sure the experience can stand out to attract customers and be creative as expected by the business.
Market Positioning Map
Competitor Lanscape
Future Retail Trends
Retail Trends:
The brief states that the designs should incorporate the key trends that are reshaping the retail industry.
Our designs revolve around the 4 key trends discovered in our primary (interviews) and secondary academic research.
Design Rationale:
Lastly, to summarise all the primary and secondary research of the pop-up. A pop-up design should serve one clear purpose:
In this case, we decided to make it highly on-brand in order to enhance the brand experience and interaction.
As proposed in the taxonomy of pop-up: high experience & interaction, low sales turnover.
Spacial Design
Floor Plan Sketch
Store Floor Plan
Based on the floor plan (size and shape) provided by the client, we sketched out the layout of the initial space design to map out the main service touch points.
3D Design
3D Birdeye view
User Journey Touchpoints
Customer Journey Flow
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Touch Point 1: Juice Bar
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Juice Bar Close-up
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Touch Point 2: Children's Play Area
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Play Area Close-Up
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Touch Point 1: Central Product Display
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Central product display and photo wall Close-Up
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Touch Point 1: Refill Station
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Refill station Close-Up
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Touch Point 1: Workshop Space
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Workshop Space Close-Up
Service designs: Workshop Activities
The workshop space is designed to be flexible to fit the rotation schedule of the workshop activities.
Mobile App Design: "InNature"
Mobile enhanced phygital user experience
Based on the physical touch points of the retail experience design, considering the marketing KPIs (customer retention, loyalty, and engagement, etc.) and the business strategy of the brand 'Faith in Nature,"
We designed a mobile app, "InNature," for the brand to enhance the customer journey in-store and increase customer interaction.
Visual Concept
Mood Board
Jane's Journey
(Prototype Demo)
The digital mobile app experience is well integrated with the physical touch points in store. A smooth phygital retail experience can be achieved collaboratively.
Jane receives a notification reminds her that her Faith In Nature shower gel is due for a refill, it is a good excuse for her to take her son out to the local shopping mall Centrale and check out the brand pop-up store.
01. Notification
Mobile app notification to enhance customer engagement, and bring customers from online to offline store.
She saw that there are workshops and a playground for kids, so she decides to book one for her son, Max, who loves playing in the playground at Centrale shopping mall.
02. Book a workshop
The app provided customers with live updates on offline events; knowing what is available also allows them to plan their visit and engage more in-store.
While Jane is watching her kid play and wandering around in the store, she could easily purchase the Rose body wash that she came here for.
0.3 Digital Purchase in Store
The app is connected to the in-store retail system, so customers can purchase after seeing and trying it at the pop-up, no waiting in the check-out line.
After browsing in the store, Jane is feeling thirsty and sees the cocktail/juice offerings. She decides to scan the QR code and order one on her phone while she is sitting there watching her son playing.
0.4 Refreshments brought to you
The digital menu and QR code ordering greatly improve the efficiency and experience of refreshments in retail stores.
The drinks are brought to Jane, who is resting on the bench and watching her son play. No more exhausting walks around the shopping mall or chasing the kid around, Jane is feeling relaxed.
No more exhausting shopping trips
The app enables customers to have a hassle-free, relaxing shopping experience. No walking around, no waiting in the lines.
Jane is reminded by the app that it is time for the plant-dyeing workshop she booked. She brings her son to the workshop space and checks in smoothly with the QR code.
Make shopping meaningful.
The workshops are educational and fun. Customers are also educated about the brand values, natural ingredients, and sustainability.
The various workshops on the app make customers keep coming back.
Final Thoughts
01.
The app can be further developed to incorporate post-PopUp interactions, including social media sharing and brand communities, to build customer loyalty and retention.
02.
The design of this app is scalable to be developed as a branded app for long-term use and an excellent. marketing channel.
03.
Due to the project scope, this project is heavily focused on research and experience/service design. However, it is a good process for future phygital retail UX.
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