On several years now, consumer preferences and habits have been drastically changing. Along that line, one of the main trends, and one which is having a serious impact on the French market has been the consumers’ commitment to take care of themselves and eat healthier, as well as being more respectful to the environment and demanding that companies do the same.

As a result, more organic products are consumed every day and the fight against waste is gaining momentum, people chose to cook more often, use seasonal foods and reduce the use of certain types of less sustainable packaging, among many other incentives.

To respond to this trend, Jean–Albert Bureau and Anne–Christine Poisson created the Biomonde network, which began with the opening of a 120 m² organic store in the city of Cachan.

A global concept of the bio store

The organisation faced a complex challenge: they needed to create a store concept consistent with the values of the network, but that allowed the associate retailers to respect their own identity and preferences. That’s when they asked HMY to develop this project, the aim being, creating a global concept of a cosy, friendly and organic store that respects diversity.

HMY, with more than 60 years of expertise in the market, is accustomed to finding 360 solutions tailored for all its customers. In this case, we started the project by launching a research and analysis phase, which allowed us to propose a unique and strong identity. In addition to the need for an identity, there were other requirements such as having a design and furniture to display 3,000 products in the 120 m² of sales area, while making the space convenient for consumers.

A comprehensive approach to a 360° project in record time

The HMY team proposed a global concept that included several solutions such as furniture specifically designed to display fruits and vegetables in a small space, which adapts to seasonal products, makes it possible to hide boxes and show prices on small blackboards. We also worked on specific shelving, a rear counter (to display that day’s products), discreet but colourful signs that segment the different areas, and a carefully designed combination of lighting and use of materials.

Despite being a complex challenge, we were able to do it in just three months thanks to our experience, production capacity and the amazing work done entirely by members of our team. In addition, in line with the focus of the project, we also made it possible for the concept to have a sustainable approach since all the furniture was made in our French factories and installed locally by our own assembly teams.

Since it opened, the concept of the store has been very well received and, above all, the first measurable results have already been collected: traffic has increased and consumers are becoming more loyal.

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LPoint has been in the world of sneakers and streetwear for 30 years. This year they have decided to take a turn in their project and initiate a brand redesign and expansion process that already have visible results.

A brand redesign is not a simple logo change; it is something that goes much further, especially in a retailer that must protect your brand against the cannibalization that may arise from your product. For this reason, brand identity is built on every decision that affects the store design: colours, shapes, materials, etc.

This helps a retailer to maintain and become the brand as a reference in the sneakers world, where everyone consumes all brands, but only the journey of discovery makes you a leader.

A 360 ° project carried out in record time

Thanks to the trust and involvement of the client, at HMY we were able to help them design 6 stores with a 360 ° approach covering all phases of work from design to assembly through 3D rendering, manufacturing, construction and logistics.

For the realization of the fourth store, we had a challenge: to carry it out in just 5 weeks.

The speed in these developments is essential to be able to take advantage of the opening opportunities that arise and thus be able to optimize the process of brand expansion. However, the most important thing is that the client has been very satisfied with the result, highlighting the proximity of the 3D renders to the result, which has even exceeded their expectations.

A new agile store concept

These new LPoint stores have been developed under the concept “Think outside the box” in which we have opted for an urban image, multi-material furniture and very careful lighting design through our Retail Lightning division. Through this combination, we have achieved a spectacular result with which LPoint has been very satisfied.

Another of the big bets in this new store concept has been modular furniture. With this solution, LPoint can modify the furniture appearance and arrangement according to their needs and interests at any time.

This solution gives agility to the stores, allowing you to offer a different image and adapt your space to events and promotions that you may have throughout the year.

Agility and versatility

Agility is one of the fundamental virtues that every store should have, thanks to it we build versatile spaces better adapted to the customer’s needs, offering brands and retailers a simple way to surprise their clients.

The best example is LPoint, the brand with new stores attracting customers and success since the inauguration.

If you want to know more about this and other projects, we invite you to contact us and discover first-hand everything we can offer you

The effectiveness of stores when it comes to displaying their products more and better does not only depend on the size of the store, the design has a great deal of influence in giving them greater visibility and, of course, making them more attractive to the consumer.

A transformation success

Forum Sport needed a change in its stores to provide a better customer experience and make its products more attractive. After the redesign we have achieved a great deal that we can summarise in:

– Greater visibility of categories and products

– Recovery of unprofitable sections

– Space optimisation

– Better shopping experience

– Greater prominence of the Forum Sport brand

We have consequently managed to completely transform the store enabling it to offer a differential experience and make its space more profitable.

Forum sport: a commitment to space optimisation

With the renewal of Forum Sport, we took another step towards reinventing sports fashion retail, solving the problems of this space through a layout design focused on facilitating customer comfort, finding their way around the store and getting the product to win in terms of attractiveness and visibility.

This model is now continuing its expansion after the redesign of the store in Vitoria to reach the La Bretxa market. For this new space, 1,300 square meters have been renovated and laid out over two floors with direct access from the Boulevard.

Strengthening the customer experience

The design devised by Consulting & Design has opted for the creation of themed areas, a new line of visual communication to reinforce the brand, omni-channelling and reinforcing the Forum Sport brand, giving it credibility and making it more consumer friendly.

The customer experience has been greatly developed thanks to the creation of a display space that includes repair and customisation workshops, which will eventually add presentations, talks and workshops.

Greater prominence for brands

The brands have ephemeral spaces enabled for personalisation and for carrying out promotions. This enables the brands that so wish to have a greater presence and prominence in the store.

As a result, Forum Sport not only offers a better experience for the customers in its store, but also for the brands it works with as it can offer more services.

More than 100,000 items

With its design, this space has managed to make the product shine more thanks to the new layout and the creation of themed areas, but also allows users to check more than 100,000 items and the stock in any store in real time.

This has been achieved thanks to installing touch screens that are used to access the omni-channel sales platform and also enable orders and returns to be made online.

If you want to find out more about this and other projects, discuss with us!

Retail store signage tips

Graphic signage is a beneficial element in stores that plays a significant role in providing information to the public, from motivating them to enter our store to convincing them to buy a particular product or visit a section of our store.

 

In this article, we will collect some tips to enhance these elements in our store and optimise them properly.

 

 

Use short messages

If we want to catch the public’s attention, we must use short and appealing messages that anyone can read without stopping. Sometimes we may be tempted to give a lot of information, but if we do, we run the risk of not catching the public’s attention.

 

Make it readable and visible.

Even though it is evident, the typeface we use must be easily readable, also at a distance. Sometimes corporate typography is not the best for this type of signage, so it is necessary to use a typeface that works well in these formats.

 

To make our signage visible, we must also use the right combination of colours that provide contrast but are also attractive to the consumer.

 

Test

It is important to test different types of messages and measure their effectiveness. In this respect, digital signage combined with Business Intelligence solutions can be very interesting to find out what kind of messages or colour combinations work best with our audience.

 

Surprise

All stores use graphic signage to either attract visitors or encourage them to purchase in the store. For this reason, it is important to try to “get out” of our schemes and think of options that allow us to surprise our customers. This implies rethinking messages, colours or even formats within graphic signage.

 

In this regard, humour is usually an excellent resource we can use to catch our users’ attention.

 

Don’t forget to help the customer

Graphic signage in-store is very useful to increase our sales, but we must not forget its usefulness in assisting visitors to find their way around our space. Good signage will help us get a better shopping experience and build customer loyalty.

 

Less is more

Signage catches the public’s attention and sends them a certain message, but if we overuse it, we can end up confusing them. Therefore, we mustn’t saturate our space with messages and focus on communicating what we consider most important.

 

 Evolution: digital signage and banners

 

Signage is fully implemented in stores, but digital signage and banners still have a long way to go in retail.

 

Digital signage offers excellent advantages such as personalising messages so that they change depending on the time of day or the circumstances in the store.

 

These types of solutions allow customers to interact with the store and have more and better product information, improving their shopping experience.

 

At HMY, we are experts in implementing technological solutions in commercial establishments. Also, our global reach and presence in more than 90 countries allow us to offer services anywhere in the world. Contact us to learn more about our solutions.

Selling is not a matter that exclusively depends on need and price. The shopping experience and how the products are displayed greatly influence whether the consumer decides to buy a product.

What is visual merchandising?

Visual merchandising is a retail sales strategy that takes advantage of the physical elements of the store to reinforce the presence of products and increase sales. Some examples of visual merchandising in stores are found in mannequins, shop windows, gondolas, etc.

It is therefore an area closely linked to window dressing, which aims to attract visitors and boost sales.

Importance of visual merchandising

Visual merchandising is an element of great importance within any store since it serves not only to attract new customers, but also as inspiration. In the end, consumers not only purchase out of necessity, but because they are drawn to products. Visual merchandising thus helps us to make our products more appealing and, of course, increase our sales.

However, we must bear in mind that good visual merchandising is not everything. It certainly contributes greatly to our store’s appearance, but we must also consider other elements such as the environment, lighting and spaces in our store. A good combination of these elements are those that will help us achieve a memorable shopping experience for our customers.

Tips to improve your visual merchandising

Colour

Although the colour may be marked by our style and brand book, we must bear in mind that colours play an essential role when it comes to catching the public’s attention and getting them to look at the products in our store.

Creating contrast between colours is essential, so that we can highlight some elements of our visual merchandising.

Storytelling

To tell a story, you don’t need a long text, not even words sometimes. The visual elements of our store can reinforce the need for our products or highlight why they should be purchased in a way that conveys or reminds the public of a story.

Avoid saturation

We tend to want to show and highlight everything, but that is simply impossible. If we want to catch the public’s attention, we must show as many products as possible, but always avoiding saturation and playing with empty spaces to give greater relevance to the products.

Give your spaces a theme

Take the opportunity to give a theme to the spaces in your store through visual merchandising. Giving a theme to our spaces helps our storytelling to work more effectively and also offers a more consistent image for the customer.

How to improve your store’s visual merchandising

If you need professional help, at HMY we have more than 60 years of experience in retail and we can help optimise your store’s processes and performance. Contact us to find out more.

Gaining and maintaining loyal customers is essential in the ever-changing world of retail. Consumer needs and demands are constantly changing, and in order to gain the trust of customers, retailers need to provide an exceptional experience, meeting and exceeding their expectations. Doing this provides a higher chance of customers purchasing again in future and considering customer retention can be five times cheaper than acquiring new ones, it’s something that’s hugely important to retailers. So, what are the best ways for retailers to develop strong relationships and build customer loyalty?

An omnichannel experience

Experts once predicted that the future of retail was online, but we’re increasingly seeing online retailers open physical stores. Despite the staggering increase of e-commerce, brick and mortar stores still have the edge in the world of retail. This can be put down to factors such as being able to see and feel merchandise, and the engagement with technology and staff when purchasing a product. Therefore, the most successful retailers are revitalising their in-store environment, to create an omnichannel shopping experience, ensuring they meet every need of the customer – which ultimately, leads to customer loyalty.

As digital capabilities develop, there’s an opportunity for retailers to blend offline and online strategies to deliver the ultimate shopping experience. For example, HMY’s digital store solution offers its customers real-time information on its full catalogue, available stock, current prices, personalised offers and promotions, as well as recommended products, encouraging cross-selling.

The solution allows HMY customers, both brands and retailers, to develop a robust omnichannel strategy, adopting the capabilities and characteristics of every channel to transform sales spaces into authentic digital stores.

Meet individual needs through personalisation

An important part of omnichannel marketing is personalisation – the buzzword on all brands and retailers’ lips. In order to keep up with, and complement the customised on-line experience, retail brands must use data capture to provide personalisation, better interactions and a more streamlined offline shopping process. Smart technology is helping to deliver this.

Whilst the growth of personalisation has been facilitated by advances in technology, a big driver has been the collection and use of data. Retailers can harness data collected in-store to better understand customers’ preferences and tailor offerings accordingly. This is key in helping shoppers feel like the set up of physical stores is designed with their specific needs in mind.

HMY’s Digital Store solution offers customers real-time information on a retailer’s full catalogue, including available stock, current prices, and importantly, personalised offers and promotions, as well as recommended products tailored to the particular individual, encouraging cross-selling.

Engaging with artificial intelligence

The traditional display signage concept has recently evolved into more interactive versions using holographic and augmented reality (AR) technology. This is another way retailers can truly excel at maintaining and developing strong customer relationships – through artificial intelligence (AI).

In order to differentiate themselves from competitors, retailers should look at the ever-evolving consumer purchasing journey and how technology is disrupting the traditional business model to bring real-time, personalised experiences to either facilitate the process or creatively engage with the consumer. Amongst mobile apps, smart shelves and new POS systems, retailers are learning more about their customers to entice sales and enhance individual experiences with AI.

HMY has started to implement this technology via its Digital Mannequin, a solution that shows a brand’s garments and accessories on a digital model, so that the consumer can see the product moving.

This can segment the campaign by gender and age, tailoring the experience to each customer. Also,

all garments worn by the model, has an associated QR code connected to website, resulting in digital sales.

Putting the right solutions in place, exceeding customer expectations and ensuring they feel valued is achievable at any scale. If you’d like to find out how we can help build customer loyalty to your brand, get in touch.

 

More people are shopping for beauty products than ever before, and the majority are still doing it in store – unlike many other sectors. As one of the most competitive retail industries there is, it’s imperative that the health and beauty sector remains one of the most cutting edge when it comes to user experience. In a world where image is everything, beauty brands have the unique opportunity to create an entertaining and engaging shopping experience to align with the changing expectations of buyers and the increasingly tech-centric shopping environment.

Personalisation

Personalisation is the buzzword on all brands and retailers’ lips at the moment. The typical ‘bricks and mortar’ health and beauty store is evolving, and in-order to keep up and complement the customised on-line experience, retail brands must use data capture to provide personalisation, better interactions and a more streamlined, offline shopping process. Smart technology is helping to deliver this.

Whilst the growth of personalisation has been facilitated by advances in technology, a big driver has been the collection and use of big data. Retailers can harness data collected in-store to better understand customers’ preferences and tailor their offerings accordingly. Digital advances are key in helping shoppers feel like the setup of physical stores is designed with their specific needs in mind.

For example, Skincare brand NUDE created the Skin Nutrition Bar in the Selfridges Beauty Hall, in order to help customers understand their skin type, and recommend appropriate products based on this. This involved a questionnaire on a counter mounted tablet, as well as a mini facial, and customers were encouraged to share their results on social media with a photo and hashtag. Finally, in order to increase customer loyalty, their personal skincare programme was then emailed to them, promoting lasting usage and extending the experience outside the store.

Augmented Reality

It’s been predicted that by 2020 as many as 100 million consumers will shop in AR. So, what makes it worthwhile for beauty brands? Unique technology allows customers to come in store and virtually try on make-up via apps, such as Modiface, which gives shoppers a quick and hygienic ‘try before you buy’ solution through a digital screen. Now that so much of the beauty industry is influenced by tech-savvy vloggers and filter-loving bloggers, AR is helping to bring the in-store experience to a whole new level, and one that a new generation of customers can get on board with.

Global beauty brand, Sephora, is one of the most well-known companies embracing AR in its stores. Sephora implemented a ‘virtual artist’ app back in 2016 and since then more than 200 million shades have been tried on in store. It doesn’t stop there as similar technology can do everything from step-by-step make-up tutorials to colour matching products for individual consumers.

Social media

With more than one billion users, Instagram is fast becoming a new home for brands looking to make an impact on social media – something which is increasingly important in a world where consumers demand an omni-channel shopping experience. It’s vital that the online and offline channels complement and add value to each other – offering a consistent and seamless experience, no matter how the customer wants to shop.

With the distinction between online and offline shopping experiences diminishing, it’s definitely worth investing in technology to merge the in-store experience with the world of social. This can be as simple as integrating screens and tablets in store, so that user-generated content can be brought to life. For example, tablets can be placed at make up counters, allowing for customers to access product reviews, tutorials and to encourage shoppers to take pictures and share on their own social accounts.

Frictionless shopping

The need for a frictionless shopping experience is arguably most important at the point of sale. Today’s consumers are much less patient – queues and long checkout times are unacceptable and can even result in the loss of a sale.

Therefore, contactless payments and mobile payments, which are quicker than conventional card transactions, benefit health and beauty retailers by reducing queue times and increasing customer satisfaction and, ultimately, revenue. Not only this, but due to the speed of transactions, fewer staff may be needed at checkouts during peak times.

Moving forward, in order to make the buying process as seamless as possible, sensors that monitor your purchases could soon be introduced to your favourite health and beauty store. A smartphone app will track your purchases and even tell you if you’ve forgotten something. There will be no need to queue or physically pay a cashier – when you exit through a barrier, your account will be automatically charged.

Would you like to improve your health and beauty store design? Get in touch to find out how we can assist.

We know that the world has been increasingly aware of the care of the environment for several years. This trend has been translated into actions aimed at saving energy, reusing materials, etc.

At HMY we have spent many years betting on sustainability and SmartECO. This philosophy is not something that is only written in our values but is reflected in the way we do the things and the services we provide to our clients.

All design will be EcoDesign

At HMY we think about the future and know that for a sustainable future, we must create a new store model that is committed to the use of 100% recycled or controlled origin materials and that minimizes carbon footprints.

This is not only important for the future of the planet, citizens are increasingly aware of sustainability and seek to buy in stores and companies that also have this philosophy.

In this sense, from HMY we work in different ways to make stores as sustainable as possible:

Recyclable material

The materials we choose for our designs are carefully selected. We bet on recyclable or controlled origin material to favor the circular economy.

Energy saving

At HMY, we bet on technology, but we know the importance of energy savings that can be provided.

Zero waste

The accumulation of waste is a big problem in today’s world. That is why we offer our clients solutions that avoid this problem by minimizing or completely reducing waste.

Reusable materials

At HMY, we are committed to the use of reusable materials that are easy to recycle and that can be given various uses to favor the circular economy.

Towards sustainable development by 2030

At HMY, we are committed to the 10 principles of the United Nations global pact, through an action plan linked to the 17 objectives that have been set for sustainable development by 2030.

Generating a positive impact on society

At HMY, we want to generate a positive impact on society. For this, we develop projects and sponsorships that help us to be more involved with our environment.

In addition, we are also very scrupulous in our agreements to ensure that the raw material we use, such as wood, is of legal origin.

Join the SmartECO

If you want to know more about how we can help you from HMY to make your stores more sustainable, visit us at EuroShop or contact us.

More and more, a shopping experience is sought with less friction and less waiting, in which the purchase process is as natural as possible and reduces its difficulty to a minimum.

What are unmanned stores?

In this sense, it is experimenting with concepts of stores in which the customer only must enter, take what they need and leave. Making the payment automatically, without human interaction.

These types of stores are known as unmanned stores and is one of the strongest and most ambitious trends that we can find today in the world of retail.

HMY Grab & Go

HMY Grab & Go is a solution based on visual recognition and artificial intelligence. Thanks to this technology, we can create “unmanned stores” Amazon Go style.

These types of stores that are becoming popular in China and Japan, are an ideal solution for many stores, such as those in the food sectors, where customer visits are frequent and waiting in queues can be a nuisance to them.

How do unmanned stores work?

HMY Grab & Go works by means of cameras that are placed shelves and ceilings where images are analyzed by an artificial intelligence system. From this analysis, data that is useful for the operation of the store are extracted: completed purchases, unpurchased items, stock level, consumer behavior and the customer journey.

HMY Grab & Go technology has a very high accuracy rate of 99.7%, which together, with its easy-to-replicate and install model anywhere in the world, makes it the reference solution for unmanned stores.

The customer accesses the store via identification in the application where they had to register themselves and their debit card. This allows a quick purchase in which the payment is made automatically when leaving the store, without any friction and without waiting.

In addition, this type of purchase facilitates customer loyalty thanks to the ease of use and facilities offered.

Advantages of unmanned stores

The unmanned store offers great advantages for brands and retailers, but also for customers. In addition, HMY Grab & Go has a high image recognition rate.

• Better customer shopping experience
• Improves customer loyalty
• Easy to use for the customer: you only need to register as a member with your phone
• Simple model to replicate
• Able to recognize possible thefts
• Integrated automatic alert to replenish stock
• Detailed analysis of consumers with data such as sex and age
• Track the trajectory and behavior of the consumer in the store
• High accuracy in image recognition. The system performs a product recognition every 0.02 seconds with an accuracy of 99.7%.

In addition, HMY Grab & Go does not require that we use RFID technology or weight scales in our store, except for very small items for double checking.

Develop your own concept of unmanned stores

At HMY we help you create your first Unmanned stores anywhere in the world. Find out by visiting our EuroShop booth in Frankfurt during the next days from February 16 to 20. Get your ticket to see it at EuroShop or contact us.

Despite the increase in online shopping, we begin a stage in which service and experience in physical stores are increasingly important.

A new generation of consumers shows preference for physical stores and value ​​the experience. Therefore, the retail sector must take advantage of it and know how to attract this type of audience. These are the users known as ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline) who, despite buying in the physical store, seek a homogeneous experience in all the channels of the brand.

For this reason, it is vital that physical stores offer a frictionless purchase, like the online store that eliminates queues and waiting, but with the wealth of experience that only physical stores can offer.

At Euroshop, HMY presents different solutions that will allow to create memorable experiences for your customers.

Unmanned stores

HMY launches HMY Grab & Go, a solution based on visual recognition and artificial intelligence that allows a frictionless experience while capturing data with the highest market accuracy.

It is a solution for Unmanned stores. This new store concept is achieving the objective of improving the user experience as well as reducing waiting times and friction in the purchase process. In addition, these stores are equipped with artificial intelligence via cameras and sensors that monitor the activity of the buyers, obtaining information of great value for the stores.

Interactive showcase

It is a powerful tool to highlight the product at the exact point at which the purchase decision is made, at the same time when the customer shows interest in it.

In addition, it helps to develop the customer journey for the product.

Through this solution, we join digital content to physical products, giving rise to an experience without barriers.

Digital Assistant

Having the advice of an expert to accompany us throughout the purchase process is a factor that people value very much when they visit a store.

The digital assistant fulfills this function by seeking the appropriate staff and allowing advice that can be done both in person and by videoconference.

Interactive shelving

The shelves of our stores can be more than a place for products to live. They can also be a point of connection and interaction with our customers.

Interactive shelving detects the specific position of the customer journey, where the user is showing interest and associates a specific message, product or event. Thus, the store becomes an experiential zone for the user and a point of data collection on consumer behavior for the retailer.

Live a new shopping experience at EuroShop

As you can see, one of the most powerful trends in the retail world is to convert the shopping process in physical stores into multisensory experiences for the consumer, moving more and more away from traditional ways of buying.

If you want to know more about how we can help you from HMY, we invite you to see it yourself and meet us at EuroShop, in Pavilion 13 Stand A47 or you can get in touch with us.