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Instagram-Spezialisten raten zu ausgefallenen Accessoires. • Specialists recommend unusual accessories.

photogenic. What is particularly important here is the right planning and concen-
tration. Sharp shadows must be avoided. Resourceful store managers have long
discovered that Instagram mo ments can be directed. Ideally, this leads to verita-
ble Instagram paradises with hyped motifs, quirky wall decorations, artful instal-
lations and selected accessories. Besides trendy art objects and modern lounge
furniture, colourful clothes rails, mirror panels, fancy façades and window dis-
plays are popular props for photographs. If done well, the result is much more
than just a bland selfie: it is a picture that conveys a myriad of information about
the store, the brand and its products. Hashtags, location details and captions
communicate further valuable background details. Unlike deliberate, frequently
costly partnerships with influencers, these pictures are authentic professions of
brand loyalty – and they are perceived as such.

Room for customer requirements

The ultimate goal is to make the store a must-visit location. Customers must be
encouraged to immerse themselves in individual lifestyle scenarios with an
unmistakeable aesthetic; once they do, shopping becomes a complete and holis-
tic experience. The background of all this is a lifestyle aspect that brings digital
natives to the offline world in order to present their experiences online. Store
managers should take full advantage of their design possibilities and create a
playful, surprising experience that shoppers will enjoy sharing. Visual merchan-
dising in the digital age requires the stationary retail sector to be more creative
and fast-paced and challenges it to react to visual trends. The rewards for these
efforts are faster feedback and new marketing opportunities. As a retail identity
agency, we want to alleviate our customers’ fears of these new developments.
Perfection is not necessary, but players in the stationary retail sector must
absolutely go with the flow of culture and respond to emerging requests and
desires – or they will fail to keep up with their target audience. The current devel-
opments in stationary retail are as much a challenge as they are an opportunity.
In either case, they require intensive interaction with and analysis of the cus-
tomers. The most important maxim remains the same: the design of a store
needs to reflect the brand in all of its facets and present it in the best possible
light. This includes digitalisation! Designing spaces expressly for social media is
not the point, however: Ultimately, the point is to create spaces that allow cus-
2019
tomers to express themselves and that fulfil their desires.