Retail technology design is a pivotal part of the business tech revolution. Pioneering solutions that once existed only in the most progressive business minds are now fast becoming commercial necessities to remaining buoyant in the modern climate. Retail technology design innovators are continually crafting emerging tech capabilities that break new ground in business operations, tracking and performance. A shining example of the power retail technology design holds is provided by Decathlon, a major global retailer of sporting goods and equipment.

Decathlon: reimagining customer experience

Technology design is a vanguard of the overall Decathlon business strategy. Decathlon invests significantly in digital capabilities to enhance customer experiences in bold exciting new ways. At Decathlon, retail technology design is much more than just a bid to achieve a more contemporary look and feel to store interiors. Rather, digital capabilities enhance the efficiency of customer pathways and expand service offerings that improve their shopping experiences.

Decathlon is particularly adept at leveraging retail technology at point of sale. Accelerated check-out experiences are one example of this. Here, digital technologies assist in building the Decathlon brand and crafting interactions that customers return to experience again and share with family, friends and others.

Staff empowerment revolutionised by retail technology design

Retail technology design does not just enhance the experience for customers. Staff members also stand to gain plenty, like liberation from low-value tasks and optimum efficiency. In the case of Decathlon, staff members enjoy greater ease and empowerment as enhanced digital capabilities let salespeople:

– access valuable integrated product information

– get current real-time product availability and order statuses

– plan deliveries with far greater efficiency

– tap into the CRM database

– leverage exceptional ease of payment through digital capabilities and self-service options

Retail technology design does not always have to be of Decathlon-style scale. One of Design Clarity’s clients, NRMA, embraces retail technology in their insurance hub. Their brand journey towards an agile, digital-first and customer-led business is just as impressively pioneering in today’s retail space.

No matter what the size, scope and goals of your retail business, Design Clarity specialise is crafting retail technology design to ensure you break new ground. Speak to this leading team today.

Retail design is the force that moulds retail and hospitality venues into experiential spaces. When it comes to crafting visually engaging retail and hospitality venues, art becomes pivotal. Retail design experts like Design Clarity know that art attracts attention and achieves a thematic consumer experience that persuades them to enter, purchase, linger and return.

Retail design can be the closest ally of hospitality or retail operators by increasing patron dwell time and pleasurable socialising within the space. That is why powerful design is imbued with strategically curated art elements.

Design Clarity’s insightful design hand can be experienced in the Nando’s restaurant chain, whereby a thematic art journey is incorporated throughout its many outlets globally. Nando’s artworks are statement pieces that strengthen brand story, captivate consumers and cultivate a unique enticing gathering space.

Full-flavoured design is what makes Design Clarity tick. So when putting retail design flair to work for contemporary sushi joint, Sushi Hon in Barangaroo, this talented retail design team again tapped into artistic forces. Here, Design Clarity collaborated with internationally recognised Sydney artist, Shannon Crees. Ms Crees has given vibrant interpretation to Design Clarity’s Japanese laneway-style bar and eatery concept.

Customised wallpaper depicting international cityscapes was used in Sydney’s shopping mall Central Park. The level 2 food precinct was enlivened with the wallpaper art elements created in collaboration with Eboy. The loud graphics enhance the vibrant colours, the provenance of the ingredients and the theatrics of cooking.

Another eatery that also benefited from a commissioned unique wallpaper designed exclusively for them by Design Clarity in collaboration with Timorous Beasties was Browns Brasserie & Bar. The wallpaper design played a part in an overall thoroughly modern ‘grounded grandeur’ concept, true to the brief, for a client craving a cocktail of ideas; a design refresh that is considered, elegant and quintessentially British.

Would your retail or hospitality establishment relish the potential of ravishing retail design? Or perhaps you would simply like to see more of this force in action. Either way, a great next step is to browse Design Clarity’s recent portfolio of retail design work including projects like the Glue Store in Miranda, Sydney.

Pop up shop designers are genuine change-makers. Their vision and nous can be the determining factor in your store success. So much rides on your store layout yet this factor is often overlooked or downplayed. Yet snappy pop-up stores can achieve resounding customer engagement and conversion with the right layout. Here is where pop up shop designers come in to play. Design Clarity know precisely what it takes to make your pop up shop pop. Here are three tips this leading team of pop up shop designers can share to help you achieve a layout your customers will fall in love with:

Tip 1: Do decompression right

Every store has one. The decompression zone. Here is where customers temporarily close the door on the world outside and step into your playing field. Do they simply walk out again or does your store beguile them to linger longer? Pop up shop designers ensure your decompression zone pays dividends through bright open space, engaging ambiance and an undeniable compulsion to venture further inside.   

Tip 2: The wall can change it all

Where do customers turn when they enter your store? Research tells us that they turn right. That’s why pop up shop designers give your right facing wall special attention. Here is the perfect backdrop to provide dazzling displays of your hero products or most important promotions. You will literally be placing these drawcards smack bang in your customers’ first line of sight.

Tip 3: Pave the way

Customers are on a journey and like all journey goers, they need a ‘map’. Pop up store designers pave an indiscernible yet highly impactful path to guide your consumers in all the right directions. Naturally your consumer pathway will be full to the brim with compelling product displays, cohesive branding and vital interfaces. Don’t be shy about using floor markings or physical objects like shelving to steer your consumers where you want them to go. Visual merchandising hot spots and signage make terrific ‘speed bumps’ to slow customers down and optimise their buy-time.

Considering putting pop up store designers on the job for your shop? Why not take a look at inspired store design in action? Check out Design Clarity’s portfolio of recent work in this area, including:

• Vodafone pop-up
• Braun in-store concept
• Le Monde Nails

Australia has a mammoth bar and restaurant culture. Drawing on a rich diversity of cuisines, cultures and styles, there truly is a dining experience for everyone in Australia. Yet while foodies and bar lovers are in seventh heaven, Australian bar owners do not all rejoice. A heavy saturation of competition makes it a significant ongoing challenge to carve out a niche and remain at the forefront of target patrons’ minds. Many forward-thinking bar owners are wisely turning to Design Clarity for revolutionary bar design that stands out from the crowd.

Australian bar design is not about trying to be all things to all people. It is about bedding down a sound clearly defined brand, offer and target patron group. Integrated with this is a big focus on operational efficiency and functionality. No wasted space, ease of customer service – that sort of thing. Design Clarity delivers all this and more as can be seen first-hand by two recent projects in their bar design portfolio: Moo Moo Bar and Grill together with La Bodeguita del Medio.

Residing in an iconic riverside landmark in the heart of central Brisbane, Moo Moo Bar and Grill already had location appeal to burn. Yet the establishment faced the same challenge as almost all Australian bars and restaurants: keeping bums on seats. Enter Design Clarity with visionary bar design that capitalised on the premises’ heritage listing and fused this with a smart sophisticated upmarket spirit. Heritage is fused beautifully with modern touches.

Beneath the historic verandah of green and cream wood paneling, trees are lit with fairy lights and bold contemporary contrasting colours of black and yellow add charm. The green marble bar looks every so inviting as does the comfortable carpeted seating indoor dining zone complete with wood-framed arched windows.

La Bodeguita del Medio presents another example of bar design brilliance. Here all the flamboyance and charm of 1950s Cuba spills into one of Sydney’s York Street heritage buildings. Sophisticated cosmopolitan effervescence is achieved through bar design touches like rum barrel displays, luxurious cigar lounge and grandiose entrance hall.

Australian bar design changes the tide of Australian hospitality. Design Clarity stands at the forefront of visionary bar design across Australia and the UK. Speak to the experts first.

Retail design is turning a popular misconception on its head. With the explosion of online retail, many have believed and propounded that in-store shoppers are a ‘dying breed. Yet smart insightful design is challenging all this and changing it too.

Retail design is about maximising the value, offer and appeal of tangible 3D store space. This process is about crafting a truly unique memorable consumer experience. One that extends well beyond merely the gratification of getting the goods and services you want. 

Every store space can weave a lasting sort of magic. All it takes is insightful design that respects and responds to the wider environment. Lighting, signage and so much more come into play. All those design elements must of course be topped off by exceptional customer service. Retail design is not just about building store interiors it is about building community and a shopping space with soul.

Stores have dual tasks to serve. First up is to wholly embrace and express their unique brand values and promise. The second is to wholly embrace and express their synergy with the surrounding environment. For big box stores and chains, the latter can be a challenge. Yet by playing off and maximising elements of individual store locations through retail design, even these retailers can augment each specific community in which they have a presence.

One of the most compelling ways to see the transformative power of retail design in action is through store revitalisation. Take a hip funky denim store called Imogene + Willie that set up stop in an old gas station. Enter smart retail design and a bold new story was written for the premises. 

Unleash the power of transformation. Speak to retail design specialists Design Clarity today.

Meet your progressive store development specialists: Design Clarity. This stellar team knowledgeably harnesses one of the most influential forces in retail interior design – technology. Charting new frontiers is what our retail interior designers live and breathe for and we do it well.

You can see the hand of our retail interior designers in:

• Flagship store development for Bonds: enter the Bonds & Me loyalty program that is so much more than simply rewards for buying Bonds. Our restaurant interior designers fused online and offline services to supercharge customer service. Yet the value-add went well beyond mere service combination to include improved cost efficiency, more streamlined operations and a consumer journey built on a much stronger emotional level
• New generation Tradelink store: under the skilled proficiencies of our retail interior designers, Tradelink welcomed a best-of-breed ommi-channel experience. Customers were treated to a medley of immersive options cutting across every in-store category. Bigger basket size meant more room for shopping. Impulse bins encouraged unplanned purchases and convenience was laid on in spades through a fresh click and collect service
• Westpac’s flagship Melbourne retail store: free browsing, freshly brewed coffee, interactive discovery zone, Heart customer lounge – what a conglomeration of brilliance by insightful restaurant interior designers. Westpac certainly smashes the traditional institutionalised bank experience into smithereens

Technology is no stranger to landmark store development. Just look at Apple Pay that has taken UK store development by storm. Now Apple customers have a handy mobile payment service for optimum speed and convenience. Most importantly, stores have been taking Apple Pay up in droves. Over 250,000 stores across the UK are inviting their consumers to use Apple Pay. That is a major success story, not just on the technology front but also in the branding arena where Apple is making yet another major mark.

Now you do not need to be a giant like Apple to benefit from creating an unforgettable brand experience. All you need are the right retail interior designers on your side. Look no further than Design Clarity on this score. When progressive store development is what you have cooking bring Design Clarity into your kitchen.

Great restaurant design is imperative in today’s dining climate. All those core factors on which restaurant brands used to compete still stand – yet they no longer stand alone. Restaurant design has joined the competitive points of location, cost and quality to spur a wide-reaching wave of restaurant chain roll out ‘anti-branding’.

So what does the anti-brand movement actually mean? Essentially many that prominent brands are moving away from their long-term well-recognised and expected restaurant spaces to embrace the unexpected. We, therefore, need to deliver more innovative and sophisticated physical dining surrounds – and menus to match.

Modern consumers demand much more from their eateries. Great coffee, stylish café settings and fare crafted from fresh wholesome produce. Such elements do not fit the traditional ‘big box’ fast food giants. Enter several fast-casual challenger brands. Through revolutionary restaurant chain rollouts, such challenges are offering a delectable merger of quick affordable service with healthier made-to-order food served in stylish surrounds. Consumers have taken up fast-casual dining with alacrity causing several forward-thinking major fast food brands to up their look through a strategic sweeping restaurant design overhaul.

Take the restaurant design execution for Nando’s Canberra as an example. We infused the dining space with Nando’s absorbing history complete with stories and legends. Raw design tempered with nautical themes included curved plywood panelling, copper detailing, washed brick plus decorative floor and wall tiles. The result was a clean contemporary and engaging dining space that was a far cry from Nando’s original fast food origins.

Restaurant design need not be rolled out verbatim across all stores under a major brand. The direction changed for Nando’s Adelaide, drawing on locational heritage is a powerful restaurant design force. Here the unique rural and agricultural heritage of South Australia laid the scene. Old items of farm machinery, timber trusswork and gingham-inspired floor tiles combined to craft a truly eclectic dining experience.

Recent examples in the UK include ‘Smash Burger’ in Westfield Stratford who doesn’t even have one logo inside their restaurants and it seems McDonald’s is also going that way too.

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Restaurant roll outs: when executed well this powerful tool gets clients rolling through the door. Even in saturated restaurant markets like that of the UK, inspired restaurant roll outs ensure your establishment carves out a distinctive identity. Yet the key lies in choosing the right design experts to craft your restaurant roll outs. Design Clarity has earned significant industry respect as a leader in UK restaurant roll outs. This punch-packing team are behind many premium UK restaurant designs. Such designs lead to the coveted market share, incredible brand recognition and immense consumer loyalty enjoyed by the likes of:

• Dishoom
• Soho House
• Jamie’s Kitchen
• Many other restaurants in prime UK hotels

Design Clarity stands apart when it comes to successful UK restaurant roll outs by virtue of their unique menu of proficiencies. Because Design Clarity know the UK market their finger is right on the pulse of current and emerging trends, consumer ‘sweet spots’ and branding innovations. This allows them to empower eateries of all kinds with exceptional competitive edge akin to that held by high street chains.

Take Buttercup Cake Shop. Spurred by Design Clarity restaurant roll outs, Buttercup Cake Shop has grown to become Europe’s largest chain of its kinds. Packed to the brim with impressive artisan foods, Buttercup Cake Shop required branding and store spaces that drew in the masses. Enter Design Clarity with their highly charged experiential restaurant roll outs. Buttercup Cake Shop became a unique identity with playful design elements meshed with traditional British kitchen. Such distinctive design features were thoughtfully tailored to reflect the chain’s singular brand ethos: incredible handmade cupcakes minus assembly lines.

Buttercup Cake Shop is leading the transformation of East London with inspired restaurant design. Meanwhile Design Clarity is leading the field in UK restaurant roll outs. For the finest in restaurant design and fully integrated branding breakthrough, speak to Design Clarity. Or start by browsing their portfolio of recent restaurant roll outs including:

• Luxury Wine Boutique
• Gari
• MakersCafé, London
• Coco Roco

Restaurant interior trends; stand-out designs, stripped back interiors and retro vibes. The use of monochrome is rather overwhelming at the moment especially when combined with industrial fixtures and finishes therefore bold, bright interiors bring life to the restaurant sector.

Design Clarity’s layout for Din Tai Fung is certainly bold with colour – see picture above!

Stripped back interiors: every burger joint in London (with the exception of Five Guys) has an exposed brick wall, low hanging lightbulb fixtures and a dark wood or concrete floor. It’s sad that a lot of restaurant identities are blurring into the same mould.

When making a restaurant choice, British consumers are becoming less price conscious and instead, desiring an eating out experience. From the first step into a restaurant, consumers want to feel excited and ready for a memorable dining experience.

A twist on stripped back interiors by Design Clarity is Moo Moos (see pictures below). This lovingly designed restaurant interior is modern, bright and with rustic touches. The success of the restaurant speaks volumes, customers keep going back for more.

Retro Vibes- killing this trend is the Hoxton Hotel in Holborn- it’s like being in the 70s except the other customers don’t have sideburns or brightly coloured flairs on! What’s great about this trend is that it is full of life and something new to experience.

Restaurant interiors are a talking point and the main feature of eating out. For example La Bodega Negra- you enter a sex shop (it’s not quite as risqué as it sounds though). When Gaucho first opened, their extensive use of animal print was different but they pushed boundaries and as designers – we are getting more inspired. Each restaurant experience should be memorable and this is down to the interiors, food and customer service.