Redefining Retail: Designing an Alternative Experience-Based Retail Model

Abstract

The emergence of e-commerce and technology in the twenty-first century has caused a significant shift in shopping behaviours and consumer needs. This practicum project responds to these shifts by investigating how the practice of interior design can revitalize traditional retail environments to enhance the user experience. By responding to the demands of contemporary retail spaces and the experience economy, the design of this project was developed based on a theoretical framework rooted in concepts of brand experience, interior atmospheres, and strategies of adaptive reuse. The Zenshi Zone, a temporary, location adaptive, and experience-based retail model, is an alternative retail space aimed for introduction of the Zenshi brand. Ultimately, this project highlights the ongoing significance of physical retail environments, and demonstrates how retail space can be redefined to sell through unique brand and consumer experience.