Brand, space and digitization: The service design of New Retail

There are two typical formats of enterprises in the New Retail, using digital means to maximize cost reduction and efficiency, and focusing on building the relationship between consumer and brand. Because of theses tow formats, how can we design the service of New Retail?

ETU believes that the UX design should focus on the aspect of brand, space, and digitization at the same time, to support the needs of users’ cognition, behavior and efficiency when they interact with retail corporations. 

-Brand Experience

Firstly, the experience should be designed from the emotional point to shape customers’ image of the product. Then, through the full-link and multi-touch services, building customers’ memory of the brand. 

The key to the brand experience is to design the value of business services from customers’ perspectives.

-Spatial Experience

For New Retail, space is a carrier of corporation services and brand stories. In the retail scene, customers’ experience can be enhanced through atmosphere creation, dynamic line planning, and space visual design in the sales space.

-Digital Experience

Digitization is the core driving force for New Retail, including users, store, production, channel, supply chain, marketing, etc. we use digital means to empower the consumer product, process, and scene, to reduce business costs and improve the efficiency of user shopping as well. 

The offline experience design of ETU 

We generalize an innovative model of “brand, space, and digitization”, to guide the enterprise to build a full-link and multi-touch business services system, and has been put into practice now.

In addition to using classical research methods for the position of user and brand, we use Customer Journey Map as well, to innovatively identify user pain points and improvement opportunities. 

Moreover, we design a method of Space Paper Prototype, doing Spatial Role-Playing with people from corporations to optimize the service process in an offline store.

ETU designers communicate with our customers through the Space Paper Prototype

In 2018, ETU helps Jiahua Flower Cake to upgrade its flagship store in Shuhe Old Town, Lijiang. Facing the problem of homogenization and low price competition, we extracted the core value of Jiahua’s brand and applied it to all aspects of products, services, and space experience. 

Customers can not only shop in a store with local characteristics but also getting touch with local culture, participating in baking flower cakes. During the process, consumers can re-recognize the band value of Jiahua, and form a memory about buying flower cake.

The new flagship of Jiahua is not only an offline store but also a space for making memories.

Our attempt of service design in New Retail has been at the forefront of the industry, so many challenges arose in the process of landing practice.