The in-store design Today!

		From maomao publication@2008
In-store Communication		One of the greatest revolutions the retail world has seen in recent years has taken place inside the commercial space. From the technically-minded science of shopping to the sheer experience of consumption championed by creative branding types, the great battle of consumption is being waged at the point of sale. We should not forget that today more than half of all shopping decisions are made inside the commercial formats most commonly used by consumer, such as shops, supermarkets, department stores and duty-frees. However, the reasoning behind traditional marketing strategies no longer convinces shoppers who, faced with the ever-growing similarity between competing products, display increasingly less brand loyalty and tend to devote less time shopping. This situation has promted designers of commercial spaces to step up their efforts in two opposite yet complemantary ways when tackling a shop design project: refin ing the technical aspects while heightening the excitement factor. Improving the technical aspects of a point of sale has been an issue from the very beginning-even more so now with the mechanization of supermarkets-the main goal being functionality, valuing factors such as the store layout, customer walkways and the optimal location for different products on the selves or in storage areas. Here graphic interventions use to be nothing more than simple signage, indicating variables such as price, product or location. While it may be difficult to poinpoint exactly when emotional factors began to play an important role in the commercial space, it is clear that they became a significant variable from the moment that buyers first began to see consumption as something related to leisure instead of necessity. It is precisely this view of consumption that has enabled the retail project to be understood as a tool for generating emotion based strongly on image, an arena in which graphic interventions are fundamental and increasingly popular. Today, the graphics program within the commercial space is not limited to mere signage:; it has evolved into a powerful communication tool for product features, the qualities of a given brand and the class of business establishment in which it is sold. A contemporary strategy of shop design combines the constructive feasibility of interior design, the commercial evaluation of merchandising and the ambience of the image strategy where graphic interventions play an essential role.