Every Shop is an experience

Okay, I'll let you all be the judge of whether or not 'every experience is a selfie' but there's no question about the first part. When so much shopping, price-checking, style-testing, thinking and dreaming happens in the controlled environment of our screens.... the key place to experience 'brand intention' is when we walk through the sliding doors of a real shop.

I used to think I was immune to marketing. I identified strongly with a sense of 'natural', hand-made, hand-craft and local community product. But marketing was working on me the whole time... What was I really buying? It was buying Felco secateurs, Aigle natural rubber boots, Carhartt workwear or Oxfam hats. Cringe... they had me all the time... they were all 'speaking my language', and I was one of their targets. It's near impossible to escape our human need to 'identify'.... And brand is a tool for that need.

So when shops are clearly intended as an experience... Why not try an experiment next time you walk into your favourite store?... think like a designer... what do you think the space is intending you to feel? The lighting.. is it dim? or accented and dramatic? Is there an exciting event-feel, or is it bright like a warehouse? Why might it be bright like a warehouse? What type of person is shopping beside you, and how do they fit in to their surroundings? If anything... it'll probably give you a greater satisfaction from the brand feeling.... perhaps you'll feel a stronger connection to a place you already liked - a stronger connection to the 'you' that you already liked.