Did you know your farm store is like the flagship store of 5th Avenue in New York?! A flagship store's purpose is to convey a brand and provide a shopping experience relating to that brand. That is precisely what you are doing at your farm. You are trying to tie an experience to a purchase. Allowing your customers to take home a memory. This is part of a series of articles on retail design. The next one talks about layouts and technical design considerations. Skip ahead!
Macy's or the Apple store in New York may be your cup of tea or not, but a flagship store is less about shopping and more about sharing a brand and an experience with fans and customers. As more people shop online you want your customers to come to your store and you want it to be a good and memorable experience and most importantly purchase. Many companies are switching to creating a place to emotionally connect and relate to your farm rather than a focus on just shopping as they can do that online. Especially with the ease of online shopping (groceries to underwear, to toys), what makes your store one that people WANT to visit? Especially after a long day dragging kids around your farm, how can you make that last purchase easy and part of the fun experience?!
Make sure to read to the end for return on investments and costs of retail and Return on Investment!
Customer Journey
So you need to create touchpoints along your customers' journey both on the farm and within the retail space. What are touchpoints? These are places where people can interact with the brand and product. These points are where you can create citizens of your farm rather than just consumers. Some examples would be:
- A selfie spot to take a unique picture with the product (wine glass at Malestrom)
- A moment where they can taste the product before purchasing, like a sample of flavored honey at Clovermead (I know I can never decide which flavor to buy so I buy them all!)
- A place where they can feel the wool of the llama or alpaca. Perhaps even try a sample knit or crochet row. Or maybe even brush or take a walk with an animal.
- A history of the farm family to feel a real connection.
- A particular greeting from store clerks to make you feel welcome.
These moments make your customers feel they belong and connection and hopefully super fans! A level of loyalty should be rewarded.
Technology
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk a bit about technology and retail. Technology is coming to your local store in a variety of ways. From digital clothing try-ons, to inventory, to virtual reality, to information you may want to consider tech for your farm and farm store. Here is an article with some examples from stores around the world. https://econsultancy.com/examples-digital-technology-in-retail-stores/
Technology is new to retail and I would be cautious and considerate. I suggest avoiding gimmicky tech that breaks often and doesn’t help the overall experience. This type of tech needs to be refreshed to maintain interest. Whereas an app that could gamify your farm with a scavenger hunt, or scan products and locations to provide more information (a great way to reduce staff) could be an excellent investment. Or have a cashier-less (and not self-checkout!) store where purchases are made throughout the customers' journey on your farm, paid over an app, and picked up upon leaving! One of my favorite brands LEGO requires you to “build” your food order and then scan it. Using pieces and instructions in the menu you need to construct your meal. Talk about an on-brand experience as well!
So what does this have to do with architects and architecture?
Materials, layouts, flow, aesthetics, and details are cues that relate to the brand and farm and the quality of the product. We’ll talk about the practical functional layout details in a second blog, but this one is all about concepts, brand and experience. Material choices need to be authentic and done well. Finishes that are not put together without the right care and detail will come across as inauthentic or fake. A modern simple steel shed that becomes a barn board interior for the sake of barn boards is a bit jarring and can come across as a fake barn.
Own your own story and be unique.
Farms tend to lean toward a more rustic, or historic branding aesthetic, nostalgic and sentimental almost (a very powerful emotion). So theming the retail space in a similar fashion by bringing in barn boards, antiques, and farm family history are good techniques. Old things can be used in both traditional ways and modern ways, and even ultra-modern. Your shed or barn is probably full of wonderful “treasures” and “antiques (AKA Junk)” That are just waiting to be used in unique and modern ways.
At VELD, we are seeing the rustic avenue starting to get overused and over-saturated. With the growth of agritourism, what is going to make you stand out and be different? Why should someone visit you vs. another farm store? The image of a farm or farmer is an incredibly powerful part of our culture. A farm is in trust of land, strong family ties, history, sustainability, hard work, and good quality. What other features can your farm draw inspiration from? Meadows, nature, a core crop, the farmer archetype, small town modern, shabby chic, clean energy, sustainable, socially responsible, geology, etc. And these details can manifest in so many ways in your physical retail space.
Return on Investment
And hopefully, flagship thinking gets you the retail sales you want and need! Average farm retail sales benchmarking tells us that you should achieve $500 of sales per square foot of floor space. This will vary based on product mix, but that gives you a benchmark on return on investment. The cost of a retail building is anywhere from $125 to $350 per foot, depending on the finishes, style, back of house, and other uses (IE kitchen). Adding additional high-value products such as cafes, bakery, and farm merc, can all increase that benchmark as well. The more people want to go for the shopping experience, rather than simply buying food, the higher your average sales, the more often they come, and the more people they tell!
Your architect can become your partner in brand development to achieve those business goals! They should be part of the early journey and help you grow and develop over time. They will understand your brand and farm story intimately so as to create a physical space that represents that brand and emotion. They should have a clear understanding of farming and the hard work and life you have chosen for the sake of good food and the land and animals! VELD architect can create unique and memorable retail spaces to help you convey your farm story through your retail space for your citizens! We have farming in our roots and we get you and the life you have chosen to share with the public.
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