Tag Archives: anthropologie

Retail Archetypes: IRDC Blog Interview

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http://www.irdconline.com/2011/blog/qa-two-west-chief-anthropologist-gavin-johnston

While quotes from blog interviewers grossly oversimplify the ideas and musing we give them, the core idea still comes through.  We will be presenting a new theoretical construct we have been working on at this year’s International Retail Design Conference. Here is the teaser:

One of the most intriguing sessions in this year’s program is Retail Archetypes, an exploration of the role archetypal settings such as “the shrine,” “the bazaar” and “the void” play in shopper behavior.

“You could say archetypes give shopping missions emotional context, and context gives shoppers a clearer sense of purpose,” says Ethan Whitehill, CEO of retail design consultancy Two West, Inc. “If you’re shopping for an engagement ring at Tiffany, a store suggestive of a fairy tale castle, then you assume a certain role with a certain sense of duty. You are a knight in shining armor.

Sociologist Erving Goffman called this dramaturgy, and it’s an important part of archetypal experience.”

We asked Whitehill’s co-presenter, Gavin Johnston, chief anthropologist at Two West, to delve further. Here’s a preview of their September 7 session:

IRDC: Tell us more about the role of archetypal settings in retail. How do they subconsciously draw shoppers into a store, then prime them to buy?

GJ: Whether we like it or not, human beings need symbolism and metaphor to function properly. Every ritual we have, every religious ceremony, every myth, every iconic figure is tied to subconscious archetypal structures we can’t escape. This pattern applies to brands and retail spaces as well. Archetypal settings prime people to buy because they are a balance between what is known and comfortable and what is new and exciting. This emotional tension results in feelings of arousal and pleasure, so customers are encouraged to approach, explore and experience wonder. Beyond this cognitive stimulation, retail archetypes can trigger biological responses, too. It’s no coincidence that we feel relaxed at Nordstrom (“the cathedral”) and invigorated at Ikea (“the bazaar”).

IRDC: Give us an example of a retail brand that draws on a specific archetype, and explain why it’s successful.

GJ: Anthropologie is a perfect example of “the garden.” It projects an idyllic, Eden-like atmosphere, setting people at ease by using organic forms, natural light, colors and sound. This motif is very tactile and leads customers to want to touch the products, which increases the likelihood of buying. Picking a shirt is like picking a flower. It’s wild but safe, open and breezy but closed off from the chaos of the outside world. The result is a retail environment that makes sense to us culturally and biologically.

IRDC: How do you determine which archetype is appropriate for a given audience?

GJ: The fact is that you’re going to have multiple audiences coming into a retail environment throughout the day. Assuming you will appeal to a single group—or that demographic segmentation schemes matter in a real, live space—is unrealistic. It reflects what we want as retailers and marketers, not what really matters to people.

The important point is that the brand and the retail archetype align to engage shoppers in a complete experience. For example, if you look at the Disney Store, every element of the retail design helps moms, kids, fathers, etc. feel like they are part of the story line, regardless of income, age, gender or anything else. “The theater” archetype, which is clearly present in the Disney experience, gives shoppers permission to pretend and play on a stage that happens to be a store.

IRDC: Why do archetypes matter now?

GJ: According to the Richard Ellis Group, 92% of retailers plan to increase store openings in 2011. More stores means more opportunity win customers—or to lose them. In such a highly competitive, highly demanding landscape, there is little margin for error and a short time to market. Retailers need a decision tool that will help them balance the growing quantity of stores with the quality of the environments created.

There are certain basic characters and storylines that appear regularly in myth, fairy tale, literature and film—archetypes that represent core aspects of the human condition, and tap deep into our motivations and worldview. This pattern goes beyond individual people in narrative and myth; it applies to brands and retail spaces as well. It’s why Disney Store employees are “cast members.” If you want to establish real loyalty in an age where procuring goods is simply a matter of an internet connection and a couple of clicks, you have to speak to these deeper needs and symbols.

Creating Place in the Retail Setting

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The retail space is an extension of the brand, not simply a place to display merchandise. As brands becomes more focused on shopper marketing, the retail space becomes increasingly relevant in how we think about marketing and design. This means that in addition to the consideration put into the initial design of the space, retailers have to think about the space as a destination, a place of pilgrimage. The goal should be to produce a sense of devotion with shopper by turning the retail environment from a space into a place. Designing around the concept of retail archetypes ultimately streamlines the process. Just as we have archetypes about characters, roles and personalities, we also have archetypes that relate to physical space. An archetype is an ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated.  An archetype is a symbol.

At the macro-level, these sensibilities shape cultural expectations about how every environment we interact with should be properly organized. Settings can and do take on a “personality” depending on how they relate to cultural archetypes we posses about a given spatial frame. The visible layout of the space needs to reflect cognitive and cultural frames that allow people to construct and revisit stories in the minds, the goal being to produce strong emotional responses. Products need to be displayed in such a way as to make them visually reverential (e.g. on a pedestal and under directed lighting). Basic touch needs to be elevated to tactile play and experimentation. Events must be incorporated into the retail space, allowing people to ritualize their visits and feel as if they are part of an ongoing, transformational experience. It isn’t enough to make the store look inviting and to reflect the brand standards of the company. The retail space needs to become a destination and take on a sense of “place.” When used in a retail environment, how space is used impacts how customers interpret what that space is “supposed to” be.

Why It Matters

Creating a façade is easy.  It is the basis of most stage productions. But shopping, unlike watching a play, is not a passive at. It involves direct interaction.  So it isn’t enough to dress the store in a way that is visually appealing.  The store needs to encourage interaction and become a destination to which people assign personal meaning.  One they do this, it becomes a place and becomes part of the shopper’s personal and shared storyline. That leads to loyalty and advocacy.  Archetypes help facilitate this by providing a motif  around which to create an already understood story, a shared story.

Atmospherics has dominated much of the conversation around retail store design for the last decade. Approach and avoidance theory has focused on psycho-evolutionary principles. Specifically, Mehrabian and Russell propose that individuals’ reactions to environments are categorized as either approach or avoidance behaviors, which include four basic dimensions:

1.   A desire to remain physically (approach) or to leave  (avoid) the environment

2.   A desire to explore (approach) the environment as opposed to a tendency to remain inanimate in (avoid) the environment

3.   A desire to communicate with (approach) others in the environment versus a tendency to avoid interacting with others

4.   Enhancement (approach) of performance and satisfaction of task performances or hindrance (avoidance) of task performances

Environmental psychologists assume that individuals’ feelings and emotions ultimately determine their behavior. The problem is that people rarely shop as individuals, even if they are alone.  On the surface that may sound confusing, but the point is simple. Human beings are cultural creatures, shaped by shared experience and the unavoidable truth that we are part of a complex system of beliefs and interactions. Atmospherics addresses only the cognitive side of the shopper journey, letting the more powerful cultural drivers fall out of the equation.  The Retail Archetype model adds them back in.

From Space to Place

What all of this means is how we interpret space and our physical environment, both public and personal, literal and symbolic, can have a enormous impact on how a brand is perceived.

Clearly, investing in the right location with the right amount of space and the right demographic mix for your target audience is important.  Equally, so is the sound, temperature, amount of “clutter,” color palette and lighting.  But first and foremost, understanding how space becomes a place and thus, a major aspect of brand, begins by defining an environment by its cultural standards.  It includes determining rules of interpersonal interaction with the staff.  It even involves determining how space will translate in ad collateral.

Place comes into existence when humans give meaning to a part of the larger, undifferentiated space. Any time a location is identified, given a name, or designed to represent a know storyline it is separated from the undefined space that surrounds it. Some places, however, have been given stronger meanings, names or definitions by society than others.  These are the socio-spatial archetypes. Dean & Deluca exemplifies this by speaking designing every element of the store (an the visual storyline) to recreate the old world market – the archetype to which it speaks is The Garden.

The sense of place may be strongly enhanced by the setting, or the setting it attempts to project, being written about, being party of stories handed down over time, being portrayed in art or being part of the collective myth.  It can be established through modes of codification aimed at preserving or enhancing places and traditions felt to be of value.

Ownership is a key element to converting space to place. Feeling directly invested in the space, the story and the people in an environment allows people to feel directly invested in it. For example, the appropriation of public places by skaters for their stunts and parties allows them to endow an area with meaning. The same can be said for archetypal retail spaces, such as the Apple Store of IKEA.

Collaboration is another key element in establishing a sense of place. Shoppers who are encouraged to interact with others in a non-transactional way or to engage directly with the environment, creating new configurations collectively and dynamically, are more inclined to interpret themselves as part of the storyline. The contextualization of these actions by location provides a deep and varied “interaction space.”

Sense of place is a social phenomenon that exists independently of any one individual’s perceptions or experiences. Such a feeling may be derived from the natural environment, but is more often made up of a mix of natural and cultural features in the setting, and generally includes the people who occupy the place. In other words, it’s about establishing context.  And establishing context in a retail setting is much easier if shoppers have an archetypal model from which to work. Considering the number of decisions that are being made at the point of purchase and the sheer number of choices shoppers have, both online and off, creating an environment that brings them back is smart business.