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Consumer Shopping Habits for Wellness and Environmentally ...

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Building Positive H+W Impressions through Aesthetics<br />

<strong>Consumer</strong>s associate higher quality levels with better looking store spaces. Higher quality generally<br />

correlates quite closely with overall impressions of H+W as well; they are in many ways two sides of<br />

the same coin. The reverse is also the case, where a lack of detailed attention to aesthetics tends to<br />

convince consumers that something<br />

other than quality (most likely, cost<br />

containment) is guiding the choices<br />

that a retailer makes.<br />

In a thematic sense, the objective<br />

here should be to move away from<br />

the more industrial <strong>and</strong> warehouselike<br />

looks of the past (imagine a<br />

grocery store in the 1970s) that<br />

reflected ideas of utility, efficiency,<br />

<strong>and</strong> economy, <strong>and</strong> instead move<br />

toward looks that convey today‘s<br />

consumer, who is increasingly<br />

oriented more toward quality than<br />

utility, even in tougher economic<br />

times. For instance, compare the top<br />

photo to the bottom photo, showing<br />

differences in shelf materials. The top<br />

photo creates a much starker,<br />

utilitarian feel. The bottom photo carries<br />

Figure 120 - Comparison of Shelving Materials<br />

more of a message of quality <strong>and</strong> H+W,<br />

simply through the use of updated shelving materials.<br />

Below, we summarize the key variables to manipulate in making a store look <strong>and</strong> feel contemporary<br />

<strong>and</strong> oriented toward higher quality levels.<br />

Shelving<br />

Move away from utilitarian shelving (typically metal, often painted off-white) toward<br />

more natural (e.g., wood) or higher-end (e.g. chromed) shelving particularly in areas<br />

where H+W goods are a focus.<br />

Avoid high-stacked shelving <strong>and</strong> boxes on top of shelves, which produce<br />

warehouse-like impressions, <strong>and</strong> use lower shelving where possible, to provide a<br />

feeling of spaciousness <strong>and</strong> elegance.<br />

Avoid ―busy‖ shelves with excessive POS materials hanging off of them. Interesting<br />

products tend to be visually lost when a shelf is too busy, <strong>and</strong> too much POS often<br />

looks ―junky‖ to consumers. Instead use simple, elegant shelf facings that are not<br />

visually distracting.<br />

165

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