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it can hold different events due to its neutral structure. Even if the scale of the building is impressive, it is possible to re-create this flexibility in smaller spaces. The Grand Palais adapts to each events that it holds between, the biennale, exhibitions, or playground.

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Although we've spoken a lot about experiential marketing, and how creating immersive experiences for your customers can generate more brand loyalty or awareness, one thing we haven't touched on much is its cousin: retail theatre. As you explore all the marketing possibilities available for your upcoming venture, retail theatre is one to add to your tool kit, as it has the potential to increase sales immediately, as well as boost brand loyalty and recognition too.

What is Retail Theatre?

Retail theatre is all about creating a theatrical or dramatic experience in order to make the shopping experience more enjoyable. It can be applied in numerous ways, such as devising displays that are artistic or creative, or genuinely staging your whole pop up shop as if it was a theatre set. In some cases, people consider it as an offshoot of experiential marketing, but it differs in that retail theatre is about enhancing the shopping experience, whilst experiential marketing is aimed more at building relationships. On a grand scale, we might consider what the Disney company does to be retail theatre. Whether you're in a theme park or one of their stores, their employees are all cast members. Each person is expected to play a specific role, even if their only job is to take out trash, and all their visual merchandising efforts are themed to create more engagement. They set the stage perfectly to be branded as "The happiest place on earth." Even tired shoppers can't help but crack a smile at the displays, and people feel welcome due to the efforts of the cast members.

What Can Retail Theatre Do for a Pop Up Shop?

Whilst the Disney Store is not a pop-up, the same benefits carry over into short-term retail spaces too.

Capture Attention: Unique approaches and uncommon displays catch the attention of shoppers. Most people tend to go on auto-pilot when shopping, and they may walk past things of interest because of this tunnel vision. However, you can use retail theatre to draw people into your pop up shop when there's existing traffic, and use it to call attention to specific elements within the store.

Create Engagement: Once you have their attention, you can use retail theatre to encourage people to examine or hold your products. Naturally, getting products into the hands of consumers is the first step on the path to making the purchase, but the physical act of holding a product also increases familiarity, and will make them more prone to buying in the future.
In short, the novelty of your retail theatre has the potential to draw people in and get them engaged, providing both short-term results (sales) and long-term results (familiarity, relationships).
How to Integrate Retail Theatre in a Pop Up Shop

Pop Up in Unexpected Places

Grocery chain TESCO ran into difficulty as it tried to usher South Koreans into its stores. Apparently, the group works so much, that they have little interest in spending what little free time they have shopping. The company solved the issue by appearing where its target customers already were- in subway stations. The unexpected arrangement also merged digital shopping with a physical presence. It appeared as if entire TESCO shelves were stretched across busy pathways, but upon closer inspection, customers learned that getting their groceries delivered to them at home was as simple as browsing the shelves, scanning QR codes, and completing the order. The unique concept was a success. In all, TESCO got 900,000 app downloads and boosted sales by 130% from the campaign's initial run.

Harness the Power of Tech

Target's Winter Wonderland pop up shop was the ultimate in showmanship. Shoppers who visited the store were given lanyards with RFID scanners at the start of their journey, and were then encouraged to walk through the store and interact with various toy displays. Many were simply stunning visual art displays, such as a Christmas tree built with more than 300 foam Hulk fists, a ginormous SS Free Shipping pirate ship created with Legos, and a massive Etch-a-Sketch. As people came across things they liked, they simply scanned the item with their RFID scanner and it dropped into their virtual cart. At the end of the trip, everything they purchased was delivered Santa-style... down a chimney. Because people had their hands free to interact with items, and all displays were kid-friendly, everyone was able to enjoy the shopping experience in a stress-free immersive setting.

Create Novel Displays

Weary airport travellers can be especially difficult to woo, but some clever merchandisers came up with a novel way of getting customers to stop for some Milka chocolates. The marketing company had custom-made cow displays created for a handful of airports, and each one was different. The concept was so unique, it caught the eye of at least one lifestyle blogger. Oh, and if the spectacle wasn't big enough to grab the attention of those passing by, the mooing sounds made by the cow, courtesy of motion sensors in its eyes, would certainly do it.

Bend Minds with Backwards Processes

When you want a good cup of coffee, you know the drill. You walk into your neighbourhood coffee shop, pick out your latte, frappe, or macchiato, and then customise it to suit. (Is five shots of espresso too much?) Organic Valley knew this, but it wanted to prove a point that good coffee starts with quality creamer, so it turned the ordering process on its head. Customers who walked into the shop were asked to order their ideal size of half-and-half, and then were directed to a table to add their coffee after making their purchase. Adding to the theatrics effect, they had one of their real farmers manning the counter.

Design Window Displays that Command Attention

In short, we expect to see certain things in window displays. Generally, it's signage or merchandise, perhaps with some mannequins. Unfortunately, most retailers, though they may attempt to be creative, fall short and go with the status quo. As a result, we don't even notice window displays anymore. We just walk past and never give the shop, or what's happening inside it, any thought. While technically retail, and not a pop up shop either, W+K's idea is sure to spark your personal creative genius. In order to grab attention and demonstrate what agency work is like, the company had a hand-drawn monochrome backdrop created for its front window, topped off with a clock that moved backwards, typewriter, and trashcan overflowing with crumpled paper. This alone is novel, but the agency took it a step further and had employees work shifts inside the makeshift office. They even took the experience online with a live video feed and invited viewers to grab screenshots, caption them, and share them on social media for a chance to win a prize.

Use Sounds and Scents as a Lure

Visual displays are great, and can certainly do wonders for your pop up shop, but how do you catch the attention of people lost in conversation and those staring down at their mobile devices? Reach them through their other senses. You'll see this at perfume counters in malls, and who can resist the scent of popcorn at the movie theatre? If a scent can be associated with your brand, use it! We've also heard of great examples involving sound. For example, when we spoke with John McCullough of Bang & Olufsen for a prior blog, he talked about rainy days being problematic for generating footfall. To overcome this, the shop played music to bring people into the nice dry shop, and it encouraged people who never even thought about B&O to become familiar with the brand. Talk about setting the stage!

Find Your Ideal Pop Up Shop Today

Hopefully by now, you're bursting at the seams with unique retail theatre ideas to implement when you launch your own pop up shop. If you're ready to find your ideal venue, browse our list of spaces now. If you've got a space you think will work well for someone else, you can also list it with us free.

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How to Use Retail Theatre to Drive Engagement in Your Pop Up Shop

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Although we've spoken a lot about experiential marketing, and how creating immersive experiences for your customers can generate more brand loyalty or awareness, one thing we haven't touched on much is its cousin: retail theatre. As you explore all the marketing possibilities available for your upco

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With ever-increasing, fierce online competition, it's never been more important for high street retailers to give plenty of thought to their window displays. A quality, eye-catching retail window display can turn a passer-by into a paying customer, so it's vital that displays are attractive enough to invite someone inside. Window displays are one of the most effective marketing tools that a retailer has at hand, so read on to find out more about the best ways to use them.

Why are retail window displays so important?

Window displays have the power to turn anyone who passes a shop into a customer. With a well-thought out, inviting design, a window display could cause a passer-by to turn and enter your shop, where they may ordinarily have walked past without a second thought.

As well as attracting customers and generating more foot traffic, a retail window display should be considered important for other reasons;

They help to enhance awareness of your brand

They are a shop's first visual point of contact

They promote specific products and services

They work alongside other marketing campaigns

The window display of a shop provides passers-by with a visual snapshot into what the shop is about. Not only what is sold there, but also the general style and atmosphere.

Types of retail window displays

Effective window displays can be created whether a shop has minimal window space, or generous glass-fronted walls. The trick is to make the most of the space you have, without overcrowding the display. It's important for the display to be digestible; that is, every item should be visible. Some different kinds of window display include:

Open-backed - this refers to when a window display has no backing board, meaning the rest of the shop can be seen behind it.

Closed - a window display that has a back board, offering no view into the store.

Semi-closed - a window display that has some kind of backing board, but one that does not obscure the whole view into the shop.

Island display - these are located within the shop but can usually be visible from a window, as well as from a range of angles inside. Lighting is used to highlight products.

Arcade-style - these only exist where the architecture of the shop includes them, because the windows protrude beyond the door. They offer limited space for displays but are effective in their prominence.

How to create a quality shop window display

Visual merchandisers who are trained in the art of window displays are taught various tips and tricks to make the most out of a shop's window space. The aim is to invite in more customers, promote products/services and increase brand awareness.

Focussing on brand

Brand awareness methods can be brazen and obvious, or subtle and tapping into the subconscious. This means that to ensure a window display works to increase brand awareness, it must display both bold company logos and more understated visuals. The latter of these could be by using brand colours, font, or any symbols and imagery that are consistent with the brand.

Example: A homeware shop that traditionally uses comforting images and tones, like neutral colours and tartan patterns, would not want to suddenly incorporate bright and bold cartoon imagery. This would be completely out of sync with their brand and would not serve to support customers' awareness of the company.

Promoting products and services

Another focus of a retailer's window display is often to promote a specific product or service that they wish to sell more of. Whether this is in line with a wider marketing campaign, or a one-off instance for a small business, there are different things that can be done to help in the promotion. This involves making that product or service the primary focus in the display in various ways;

Ensure the item or messaging is displayed at eye-level.

Use brighter lighting to highlight the specific area, and dimmer lighting across the rest of the display.

Make sure the display is not cluttered, as this will distract the viewer from the main item or message.

Inviting people in

If the main goal of the display is simply to attract more visitors to the shop, there are a number of methods to try.

After seeing a window display, if a customer then wants to enter it's usually because something has caught their attention. This could be one item or offer, or a whole collection that they like the look of. If you know you have one particular selling point, whether this is an exceptionally good deal or discount, or an item that you know sells out quickly, make sure this is obvious in your display.

Other welcoming tactics include the clever use of colour. Warm tones such as yellow, orange and red are considered to be inviting, whereas cooler colours like white, blue, and green are calming. This can be applied to what you are selling. For example, if you are promoting a beach holiday use calm tones, or if you have an autumn/winter clothing collection, opt for warmer colours. Not forgetting to incorporate brand logos, fonts, and colours where suitable.

Other hints and tips for an effective window display

In addition to considering the main goal you want to achieve with your shop window display, there are a few other things to keep in mind to help its effectiveness.

1. Less is more - while you might be tempted to fill your display with every product you want to sell, this will actually be detrimental. If a passer-by is faced with a cluttered display in which they can't see the wood through the trees, they're unlikely to look twice.

2. Decide on a theme - similarly, the use of one theme throughout the display is likely to resonate better with a viewer, than one that looks confused. The theme could be anything from seasonal (Christmas, summer holidays, back to school, etc) to your own priorities as a business.

3. Avoid clichés - while it can be helpful to adopt a theme, make sure yours doesn't blend into every other high street display. Try to find ways to make sure your window stands out from the rest and reveals your creativity at the same time.

4. Tell a story - rather than having a general theme for your display, make it specific. For example, at Christmas, think of a story or event to focus on, like the family Christmas dinner. For Valentine's Day, instead of just 'love', maybe consider presenting a famous love story, like Romeo and Juliet. Storytelling is widely known to be an enticing marketing method and helps bring focus to your display.

Even though most people seem to be moving across to a more virtual world, there is still plenty of space for the high street and its retailers. The fact is, customers still enjoy wandering past shops and looking at window displays, which is why it's so important to use these as the valuable marketing tool they are. An attractive, well-thought out window display that presents just a handful of products or services, while maintaining brand stylistics, will have multiple benefits. These include the likely increase of foot traffic as well as leaving viewers with a memorable impression of your business.
Written by Henry Martin, a residential and commercial developer with years of experience in real estate. You can contact Henry on LinkedIn.

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Retail window displays: how important are they? | Modern Retail

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With ever-increasing, fierce online competition, it's never been more important for high street retailers to give plenty of thought to their window displays. A quality, eye-catching retail window display can turn a passer-by into a paying customer, so it's vital that displays are attractive enough to invite someone inside.

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(Welcome to our three-part series on the psychology of great retail store interior design. Today's post, Part 1, focuses on color. Sign up for blog updates to get the next installments right in your inbox!)
Before diving in, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way. If you're here and reading this, it's probably because of one of two reasons: You don't believe that retail is dying, or you think that it is dying and you're wondering why anyone would want to build a brick-and-mortar store.

Retail stores used to be a destination in themselves. When consumers can order most things through the internet, there's less reason to leave the house.

The keyword here is less reason, not no reason:

In-store expertise can give you assistance in a way websites can't.

The instant gratification of immediately acquiring a purchase, absence of return hassles, and no delivery fees are attractive.

Experiencing the merchandise (touching, smelling, interacting) is still a need that exists.

And more.

Convinced? We now figure out how to get your customers to walk into your store and purchase - let's start with color.
Read: 8 Elements of an Indispensable Digital Material Library
Why Color Matters in Retail Store Interior Design

When it comes to sales, retail store displays are more than about looking pretty.

73% of purchasing decisions are made in-store.

Potential customers make a subconscious judgement within 90 seconds of entering a store.

62%-90% of first impressions are based on color.

52% of shoppers won't return to a store if they don't like the aesthetics.

93% of purchasing decisions are based on visual appearance.

Color advertisements are read 42% more than black and white.

As to indirect effects on your brand and product:

Color increases brand recognition by up to 80%.

Color boosts memory by adding an extra stimulus for the brain.

As a bonus, color can also save you money on operational costs - specifically, heating and cooling. According to Sally Augustin, Ph.D., an environmental psychologist and expert on person-centered design, "The color of a wall can actually change how a person perceives the temperature."

For example, warm colors such as yellow, orange, and red can make people think that the room is warmer than it actually is. On the other hand, cool colors such as green, blue, and light purple can make people feel like it's colder.

When it Comes to Retail Store Interior Design, It's All About Emotions

Augustin adds that color evokes emotional responses in most people. Take a look at this diagram by Robert Plutchik:

While there are general rules that exist about which colors evoke which emotions in people, they are by no means universal. According to Augustin, "People of different cultures may have different thoughts and emotions about certain colors. Also, a person's past experience can affect feelings about a certain color."

Using Colors to Attract Your Retail Store's Target Market

As a general rule, younger shoppers are drawn more strongly to bright, bold colors, while older shoppers prefer subtle ones.

If your product works best as an impulse buy, you ma want to use black, royal blue, or red-orange in your display. Are you targeting budget shoppers? Use navy blue or teal.

Does your product primarily target female shoppers? Blue, purple, and green are your best bets. Stay away from orange, brown, and gray.

If you're targeting males, you'll do well with blue, green, and black, but not with brown, orange, or purple.
Read: 5 Ways to Manage FF&E Specification and Procurement Costs (Plus, an FFE Template That Will Save You Time)
Individual Color Psychology in Retail Store Interior Design

According to Cestrian, a visual brand communications company, "The human brain was not designed to navigate the retail environment. But the retail environment has been carefully crafted to navigate the peculiarities of the human brain."

Another way to put this is that the decision to purchase isn't made with the brain. Instead, the brain exists to justify the purchase.

Let's look at how individual colors create specific responses and how you can use them for your business:

Red grabs attention, increases heart rate, and prompts quick decisions. This is why red is the most preferred color for packaging and signages for sales and sharp price drops: because of its "LOOK AT ME!" effect.

Another reason red is great for sales? It reduces analytical thinking, which means more impulse buying.

Besides encouraging impulse decisions, red also increases the appetite, which is why we often see it in fast food dining and candy stores.
Read: The Psychology of Restaurant Interior Design, Part 1: Color
Pink evokes happiness, light-heartedness, romance, and calm. It's no coincidence that Pepto-Bismol is pink: The color itself is enough to start soothing a stomachache sufferer. This soothing effect can be taken to extremes: "Sports teams have been known to paint guest locker rooms pink to drain the opposing team's energy."

Pink became the de facto color for girls after World War 2. It's primarily used for feminine products, gifts for women, or even cards. It appears that the color pink, which instantaneously makes people think about cute things, makes shoppers want to buy presents for their girlfriends, wives, or mothers, especially around holidays such as Valentine's Day.

Orange makes people happy. (Hello? Clinique Happy?) It's the color of energy and enthusiasm, and it has a positive affect on people. Orange is motivating, hence why Orangetheory and a lot of other fitness brands use it.

This color would then be well suited to fitness products, such clothing, gym equipment, supplements, and the like.

Blue inspires security and trust, which is why we often see it in financial institutions. It also instills a sense of cal, because it is reminiscent of the sky and ocean.
Read: Your Design Firm Needs a Digital Materials Library - Here Are 9 Reasons Why
If you want to take advantage of this effect, especially if you're selling noisy pets such as birds, Michelle Reynolds recommends this: "Try painting with a dark-medium shade at the bottom of your walls and gradually get lighter, ending in white at the very top. This use of blue reinforces the perception of a calming sky."

Black produces a general impression of strength, authority, and classiness. It works well as a color for electronics retail stores (such as cellphones and computers), and also for men's clothing.
Design and build better with Fohlio. Watch out for the next installment of this series! for your free trial, or schedule a free demo.
In small doses, black is a very effective way to bring attention to certain products. In trendy stores that sell clothing and accessories, for example, you can use black to highlight clearance items and new, high-priced merchandise.

Cover image: Target

Also published on Medium.

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The Psychology of Retail Store Interior Design, Part 1: Color | Fohlio

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(Welcome to our three-part series on the psychology of great retail store interior design. Today's post, Part 1, focuses on color. Sign up for blog updates to get the next installments right in your inbox!) Before diving in, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way.

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London Rain Walk in DESERTED West End, Soho & Marylebone Streets - Saturday Morning City Ambience

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sketch of routes and events on the site

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map of the site and its most interesting features

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Relationship of the site to the geometry and buildings

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Relationship of the site to the geometry and buildings

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Neighborhood specifications

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Geography of the site - parks and river

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Map showing the position of the site in London

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the architecture has very light and beige based colors.

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the adverts are really bright and lively which creates a contrast with the rest of the circus.

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in fiction

Raffles, the gentlemen thief by E.W.Hornung lives at the Albany (mansion now apartment complex in Piccadilly)

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde - Jack Worthing lives in Piccadilly

Dracula by Bram Stoker - Jonathan Harker is astonished to see the Count in Piccadilly, which sets off a chain of events that leads to the formation of the group of vampire hunters.  Later, Dracula is confronted by the vampire hunters in his house in Piccadilly, before making his escape. [wikipedia]

Margery Allingham’s fictional detective Albert Campion has a flat at 17A Bottle Street, Piccadilly (the street is fictitious)

Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey is described as living at 110A Piccadilly in the inter-war period.

→ in litterature a lot of fictional detective are written as living in the Piccadilly area

it seems Piccadilly is usually used to show wealth and sucess.

tv

Piccadilly Circus was in an episode of Sherlock “The Great Game” and is as well in the opening credits of the show.

An American Werewolf in London by John Landis 1981. David Kessler the werewolf, makes his final transformation in an adult theatre in Piccadilly Circus, and, shortly after, chaos erupts when he escapes the theatre and sets off a chain reaction of car crashes

featured in 28 Days Later, Fast&Furious 6, the final Harry Potter movie …

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1. 'Numerous a vacationer has, most likely, been baffled to show up at the world-renowned Piccadilly Circus and not locate a solitary bazaar act. In this unique circumstance, Circus alludes to the way that it used to be a finished traffic circle or circle. At the point when Shaftesbury Avenue was implicit 1886, the intersection stopped to be a finished circle, however, the name stuck.'

2. Eros Statue isn't really Eros as its proper name is the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, and it was inherent 1893 to recognize altruist Lord Shaftesbury. It is his twin brother Anteros who is represented. Anteros represents mature, selfless love whilst Eros was the god of romantic, frivolous love. This gives an entirely different meaning to the statue’s purpose altogether. It was the first of its kind to be cast entirely from aluminium, and still stands to this very day.

3. The lights on Piccadilly Circus were switched off only 3 times:
for Churchill’s burial service, Princess Diana’s memorial service and WWF Earth Hour.

4. 'Known about the Seven Noses of Soho? It’s reputed that any individual who tracks down the entirety of the etched hooters will have limitless riches. One of them is mounted to a divider someplace in Piccadilly Circus.'

5. 'Just one film has ever been communicated on the publicizing screens, and that was The Ballet of Change: Piccadilly Circus. The four-minute film, about the historical backdrop of the territory, was appeared in November 2007.'

6. 'The sign for Coca Cola has been a focal point of Piccadilly Circus since 1955 however the first products advertised in neon lights were erected in 1908.'

7. 'Piccadilly Circus has not always been known by this moniker. The original name for the street was Portugal Street, credited to the home nation of Catherine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II. It changed its name to Piccadilly Circus by the middle of the 1700s.'

8. Circus means circular line or ring. Which is exactly what the buildings all around the square make.

9. 'In 1612, Robert Baker, a man of enormous wealth built a mansion house to the north of what is now known as Piccadilly Circus. He made his fortune selling Picadils to the noble, rich and famous. Picadils are stiff collars favoured by those who hold influence and power, and carry it off with aplomb. However, he was not popular with the locals, who called the mansion ‘Picadil Hill’ behind his back. Yet the name ‘Piccadilly’ has still stuck.' This is how the name Piccadilly stayed

10. 'The Criterion Theater, on the south side of Piccadilly Circus, is altogether underground aside from the movies. It’s Grade II* recorded, and when it was implicit 1873, natural air must be siphoned in during exhibitions to forestall the crowd being suffocated by the poisonous exhaust from the gas lights.'

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Ripley's Believe It or Not! is an American franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the Believe It or Not feature proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, comic books, a chain of museums and a book series.

The Ripley collection includes 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels. With 80-plus attractions, the Orlando, Florida-based Ripley Entertainment, Inc., a division of the Jim Pattison Group, is a global company with an annual attendance of more than 12 million guests. Ripley Entertainment's publishing and broadcast divisions oversee numerous projects, including the syndicated TV series, the newspaper cartoon panel, books, posters and games.

Ripley first called his cartoon feature, originally involving sports feats, Champs and Chumps, and it premiered on December 19, 1918, in The New York Globe. Ripley began adding items unrelated to sports, and in October 1919, he changed the title to Believe It or Not. When the Globe folded in 1923, Ripley moved to the New York Evening Post. In 1924, the panel began being syndicated by Associated Newspapers, (formed as part of a cooperative that had included the Globe). That same year, Ripley hired Norbert Pearlroth as his researcher, and Pearlroth spent the next 52 years of his life in the New York Public Library, working ten hours a day and six days a week in order to find unusual facts for Ripley.

Other writers and researchers included Lester Byck. In 1930, Ripley moved to the New York American and was picked up by the King Features Syndicate, being quickly syndicated on an international basis.

Ripley died in 1949; those working on the syndicated newspaper panel after his death included Paul Frehm (1938-1978; he became the full-time artist in 1949), and his brother Walter Frehm (1948-1989); Walter worked part-time with his brother Paul and became a full-time Ripley artist from 1978 to 1989. Others who assisted included Clem Gretter (1941-1949), Bob Clarke (1943-1944), Joe Campbell (1946-1956), Art Sloggatt (1971-1975), Carl Dorese, and Stan Randall. Paul Frehm won the National Cartoonists Society's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1976 for his work on the series. Clarke later created parodies of Believe It or Not! for , as did Wally Wood and Ernie Kovacs, who also did a recurring satire called "Strangely Believe It!" on his TV programs. Other strips and books borrowed the Ripley design and format, such as Ralph Graczak's Our Own Oddities, John Hix's Strange as It Seems, and Gordon Johnston's It Happened in Canada. The current artist is John Graziano and current researcher is Sabrina Sieck.

At the peak of its popularity, the syndicated feature was read daily by about 80 million readers, and during the first three weeks of May 1932 alone, Ripley received over two million pieces of fan mail. Dozens of paperback editions reprinting the newspaper panels have been published over the decades. Recent Ripley's Believe It or Not! books containing new material have supplemented illustrations with photographs.

creator Charles M. Schulz's first publication of artwork was published by Ripley. It was a cartoon claiming his dog was "a hunting dog who eats pins, tacks, screws, nails and razor blades". Schulz's dog Spike later became the model for Peanuts' Snoopy.

Some notable books:

Believe It or Not! by Ripley The Big Little Book (1931)

Ripley's Believe It or Not (1929), reprinted in 2004

Ripley's Mammoth Book of Believe It or Not (1953)

Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not (1976)

Ripley's 35th Anniversary Believe It or Not (1954)

Ripley's 50th Anniversary Believe It or Not (1968)

Ripley's Believe It or Not Special Edition 2012 (2011)

A series of paperback books containing annotated sketches from the newspaper feature:

Ripley's Believe It or Not 1st Series (1941)

Ripley's Believe It or Not 2nd Series (1948)

Ripley's Believe It or Not 3rd Series (1954)

Ripley's Believe It or Not 34th Series (1982)

Ripley Entertainment produces a range of books featuring unusual facts, news stories and photographs. In 2004 Ripley Entertainment founded Ripley Publishing Ltd, based in the United Kingdom, to publish new Believe It or Not titles. The company produces the New York Times bestselling Ripley's Believe It or Not! Annuals, the children's fiction series Ripley's RBI, an educational series called the Ripley's Twists, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Special Edition in conjunction with Scholastic USA and a number of other titles. At the height of his popularity Robert Ripley received thousands of letters a day from the public, and Ripley Entertainment continues to encourage submissions from readers who have strange stories and photographs that could be featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! books and media.

The people whose items are featured in such books as Strikingly True, have what Edward Meyer, Vice President of Exhibits and Archives at Ripley Entertainment Inc. describes as an obsession. "Whatever it is they're after, it is so important to them that all the rest of the world can go on without them. They want to make something that makes them immortal, makes them a little different than you and me." Despite the wide range of true and unbelievable art, sculpture, photographs, interactive devices, animal oddities, and recycled objects contained within the Ripley's collection, rarely considered are alien or witchcraft-type stories, which are, according to Meyers, difficult to prove. To be included in Ripley's Believe It or Not books, museums, or television shows, items must undergo scrutiny from Ripley's staff and be 100% authenticated.

On April 14, 1930, Ripley brought "Believe It or Not" to radio, the first of several series heard on NBC, CBS and the Mutual Broadcasting System. As noted by the website Ripley On Radio, Ripley's broadcasts varied in length from 15 minutes to 30 minutes and aired in numerous different formats. When Ripley's 1930 debut on The Collier Hour brought a strong listener reaction, he was given a Monday night NBC series beginning April 14, 1930, followed by a 1931-32 series airing twice a week. After his strange stories were dramatized on NBC's Saturday Party, Ripley was the host of The Baker's Broadcast from 1935 to 1937. He was scheduled in several different 1937-38 NBC timeslots and then took to the road with popular remote broadcasts. See America First with Bob Ripley (1938-40) on CBS expanded geographically into See All the Americas, a 1942 program with Latin music. In 1944, he was heard five nights a week on Mutual in shows with an emphasis on World War II. Romance, Rhythm and Ripley aired on CBS in 1945, followed by Pages from Robert L. Ripley's Radio Scrapbook (1947-48).

Robert Ripley is known for several radio firsts. He was the first to broadcast nationwide on a radio network from mid-ocean, and he also participated in the first broadcast from Buenos Aires to New York City. Assisted by a corps of translators, he was the first to broadcast to every nation in the world simultaneously.

As the years went on, the show became less about oddities and featured guest-driven entertainment such as comedy routines. Sponsors over the course of the program included Pall Mall cigarettes and General Foods. The program ended its successful run in 1948 as Ripley prepared to convert the show format to television.

Films, television, Internet, and computer game

The newspaper feature has been adapted into more than a few films and TV shows.

Ripley hosted a series of two dozen Believe It or Not! theatrical short films between 1930 and 1932 for Warner Bros. Vitaphone. A 2-DVD release featuring 24 of these theatrical shorts is available in the United States beginning March 16, 2010, from Warner Home Video, through their Warner Archive manufacture-on-demand program. Directors on the shorts included Murray Roth (on the first five), Roy Mack and Alfred J. Goulding (latter half of second season). Leo Donnelly assisted later on commentary. The titles of the series were all numbered accordingly:

No. 1 / Vitaphone No. 1005, released May 4, 1930

No. 2 / Vitaphone No. 1038, June 11, 1930

No. 3 / Vitaphone No. 1053, August 31, 1930 (Film Daily review date)

No. 4 / Vitaphone No. 1067, released September 5, 1930

No. 5 / Vitaphone No. 1093, released September 12, 1930

No. 6 / Vitaphone No. 1109, November 5, 1930

No. 7 / Vitaphone No. 1148, January 5, 1931 (features Medal of Honor recipient Daniel R. Edwards)

No. 8 / Vitaphone No. 1172, February 20, 1931

No. 9 / Vitaphone No. 1189, released May 2, 1931

No. 10 / Vitaphone No. 1197, released July 5, 1931

No. 11 / Vitaphone No. 1211, released July 12, 1931

No. 12 / Vitaphone No. 1267, released September 1931 (with extensive travelogue footage of Egypt)

No. 2-1 / Vitaphone No. 1282, released November 5, 1931 (focuses on Algeria, Egypt and Morocco)

No. 2-2 / Vitaphone No. 1294, released December 3, 1931

No. 2-3 / Vitaphone No. 1304, released December 1931

No. 2-4 / Vitaphone No. 1320, released January 2, 1932 (features child actor Billy Hayes visiting "Believe It or Not Land")

No. 2-5 / Vitaphone No. 1336, released March 20, 1932

No. 2-6 / Vitaphone No. 1346, released March 13, 1932

No. 2-7 / Vitaphone No. 1361

No. 2-8 / Vitaphone No. 1362

No. 2-9 / Vitaphone No. 1363, April 23, 1932

No. 2-10 / Vitaphone No. 1364, April 23, 1932

No. 2-11 / Vitaphone No. 1412, released June 1932

No. 2-12 / Vitaphone No. 1427, July 1932

He also appeared in a Vitaphone musical short, Seasons Greetings (1931), with Ruth Etting, Joe Penner, Ted Husing, Thelma White, Ray Collins, and others.

Ripley's short films were parodied in a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon titled Believe It or Else. Released on June 25, 1939, directed by Tex Avery and written by Dave Monahan, it featured a running gag in which Egghead (a prototype Elmer Fudd) appeared to declare, "I don't believe it!" On November 5 of the same year, another Avery documentary parody, Fresh Fish, was released. Written by Jack Miller, this cartoon's running gag was a two-headed fish that kept swimming onto the screen to ask, "Pardon me, but can you tell me where I can find Mister Ripley?"

20th Century Fox produced another film short titled Acquitted by the Sea, released September 27, 1940, produced by Truman Talley and directed by Earl Allvine. This told an unusual story involving the .

On October 4, 2004, Paramount Pictures announced plans for a film that would chronicle the life of Robert Ripley. The film was to be produced by James Jacks and his Alphaville Films company, associated with Paramount. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski were hired to write the script. Jacks explained, "It's about the exploits of Robert Ripley, one of the most popular newspaper cartoonists in the '30s and '40s, who was well known for going around the world and looking for oddities and getting into adventures while doing so. We want to make a series of movies that, if not quite the truth, are the adventures that should have happened." Jacks also said "We want to turn it into an Indiana Jones, a goofy version, as played by Johnny Depp. When they saw we had the writers from Larry Flynt, they thought that we wanted to make the kinky version, but we saw a chance to do a Spielberg-type movie with one of their characters."

On November 29, 2005, it was announced that Tim Burton would direct the film, with Jim Carrey starring as Robert Ripley. Filming was to begin in October 2006, for a 2007 release. Paramount hinted that the film, if successful, could be the start of a Ripley's film series. In addition to Jacks, Sean Daniel and Richard D. Zanuck were to serve as producers for the film. Zanuck spent six weeks in China to scout filming locations for the project.

On June 12, 2006, Paramount delayed the start of production on the film for at least a year because its projected budget went over the allowed $150 million. Carrey had waived his entire upfront salary to help keep costs low, but the project remained over budget. Burton and Carrey also wanted to have Alexander and Karaszewski make changes to the film's script to focus more on Ripley's Believe It or Not column. Carrey was adamant on avoiding what happened with his previous project Fun with Dick and Jane, which required reshoots and additional editing as a result of beginning production without a script. Filming had been scheduled to begin in China in November 2006. Although Paramount could have delayed production to spring 2007, the film was delayed further to allow Burton to film Sweeney Todd.

In December 2006, Burton and Carrey approved writer Steve Oedekerk to rewrite the script. Oedekerk had worked with Carrey on several previous projects. Production was to begin in China in winter 2008, for a 2009 release. In January 2007, Zanuck said he was no longer involved with the project, and that he was unaware that it was proceeding. Oedekerk's draft was completed in June 2007, and was approved that month by Paramount, Burton, and Carrey. At that time, Carrey hoped to have production finished by summer 2008. Later that month, it was reported that Paramount may be searching for a new director.

In October 2008, Chris Columbus pitched an idea for the film that was approved by Carrey and Paramount. Columbus' idea involved scrapping the previous China-based storyline entirely. Negotiations were underway that month to hire Columbus as director, with plans to hire a writer afterwards. Paramount planned to release the film in 2011, and hoped that it would be the start of a Ripley's film series. In January 2011, Eric Roth was hired to write the script, with Carrey still attached to star. Ken Atchity and Chi-Li Wong joined the project as producers, alongside Jacks and Daniel.

The first Believe It or Not TV series, a live show hosted by Ripley, premiered on March 1, 1949. Shortly after the 13th episode, on May 27, 1949, Ripley died of a heart attack and several of his friends substituted as host, including future Ripley's Believe It or Not! president Doug Storer. Robert St. John served as host from the second season until the series ended on October 5, 1950.

A revival of the original series, titled Ripley's Believe It or Not!, aired from 1982 to 1986 on the ABC television network. Based on three pilots/specials conceived, produced and directed by Ron Lyon and Jack Haley, Jr. (1980-81), the series was a Haley/Lyon/Rastar production in association with Columbia Pictures. Featuring film star Jack Palance who hosted the popular series throughout its run, the series had three different co-hosts, who appeared from season to season, initially actress Catherine Shirriff followed by Palance's daughter, Holly Palance, later singer Marie Osmond. The 1980s series reran on the Sci-Fi Channel (UK) and Sci-Fi Channel (US) during the 1990s; it last aired on NBCUniversal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller.

A Canadian animated series, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, was produced for Fox Family in 1999 by Cookie Jar Entertainment, and followed the adventures of "Michael Ripley", Robert Ripley's nephew. The show was aimed at a younger audience, and would often feature Michael going around the world.

Another revival, once again titled Ripley's Believe It or Not!, aired from 2000 to 2003 on TBS. Hosted by actor Dean Cain, executive-produced by Dan Jbara and co-executive-produced by Dennis Lortz, the series took a slightly more sensationalistic approach to its subject matter and "premiered as the highest-rated original series on cable" at that time. The series was cancelled in October 2003 after four seasons. Like the previous syndicated live-action series, this latest edition moved to the Biography Channel for reruns, and continues to air today.

In 2006, the Philippines made a local adaptation of Ripley's Believe it or Not! with a local host. ABC 5 (now known as TV5) was the first to make it with Raymond Bagatsing as host. The show however was short-lived.[citation needed ]

In 2008, GMA Network bought the rights and revived Ripley's Believe It or Not! in the Philippines. This time Chris Tiu of the Ateneo Blue Eagles was chosen as host. It is part of the Bilib Ka Ba? Nights/Araw-araw (Do You Believe? Nights/Daily) block of the network which premiered on August 18, 2008.

Another revival titled Ripley's Believe It or Not!, with Bruce Campbell as the host, premiered on the Travel Channel in 2019.

In 2006, the Ripleys.com website held a "Dear Mr. Ripley" contest in which contestants submitted "unbelievable" stories and with a public vote selecting a winner. The submissions included stories about a two-faced kitten, a car hurdler, a painting on human flesh canvas, a snake swallowing a golfball, an unopened deck of cards in a thin-necked bottle, a collector of Converse shoes with over 400 pairs, a man who survived a dumptruck falling on him, a painting made of nail polish, a child who played sports while hopping on a pogo stick, and a tongue swallower. The winners were announced on December 15, 2006.

In 2003, a Ripley's Believe It or Not! pinball machine was released.

The point and click adventure game Ripley's Believe It or Not!: The Riddle of Master Lu was published and developed by Sanctuary Woods, and released in 1995.

When Ripley first displayed his collection to the public at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, it was labeled Ripley's Odditorium and attracted over two million visitors during the run of the fair. (In an apparent promotional gimmick, beds were provided in the Odditorium for people who "fainted" daily.) That successful exhibition led to trailer shows across the country during the 1930s, and Ripley's collections were exhibited at many major fairs and expositions, including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, and Cleveland. In New York City, the famed Times Square exhibit opened in 1939 on Broadway. In 1950, a year after Ripley's death, the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida. The Odditorium is housed in the Castle Warden, built in 1888 by an associate of Henry Flagler, President of the Florida East Coast Railway.

As of December 2010, there are 32 Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the world. Odditoriums, in the spirit of Believe It or Not!, are often more than simple museums cluttered with curiosities. Some include theaters and arcades, such as the ones in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Others are constructed oddly, such as the Orlando, Florida Odditorium which is built off-level as if the building is sinking. Expected to open summer 2016 is the first Odditorium in the Netherlands,at Dam square in Amsterdam.

(Alphabetical, by country or district)

Shanghai, China - This Ripley's museum is located at Huangpu River.

Victoria Peak, Hong Kong (closed) - There was an Odditorium in The Peak, opened in 1998 and closed on March 20, 2005.

Bangalore, India - This Ripley's Museum is at the Innovative Film city.

Jakarta, Indonesia (closed) - This Ripley's museum, dubbed the "Fun Odditorium", was located in the Pondok Indah Mall complex. It was the largest Ripley's Odditorium in the world (2,000 m²; 22,000 sq ft). It opened on September 28, 1995 and closed in the late 1990s.

Kuwait City, Kuwait (closed) - This Ripley's museum was located in the Hadiqat Al Sheaab Amusement Park.

Genting Highlands, Malaysia - This Ripley's museum was located in the First World Plaza. It reopened as Ripley's Adventureland located on level 4 in SkyAvenue.

Mandaluyong, Philippines (closed) - This Ripley's museum was in the Shangri-La Mall in Ortigas.

Jeju Island, South Korea (closed) - This Ripley's museum is located at the Jeju Jungmun resort.

Pattaya, Thailand - This Ripley's museum is in Royal Garden Plaza in Pattaya. It appears as if an airplane has crashed into it.

Copenhagen - This Ripley's museum is a smaller one located close to the city hall and next to a museum of Hans Christian Andersen.

Amsterdam - The Ripley's Believe It or Not! Amsterdam museum opened on June 23, 2016, at the Dam Square, Dam 21, in a building that belongs to the Heritage of Amsterdam. It has more than 500 exhibits.[citation needed ]

Blackpool - Located at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, this Ripley's museum is based in the popular holiday destination of Blackpool. It was located further north in the 1980s at a location adjacent to Central Pier.

Great Yarmouth (closed) - There was an Odditorium in Great Yarmouth on the east coast of England. It opened in 1993 and closed in 1997. It is now an indoor miniature golf course that uses some of the leftovers from the Odditorium as scenery for the holes.

London (closed) - This Ripley's museum was the world's largest and it opened on August 20, 2008, at the London Pavilion, 1 Piccadilly Circus, and closed on September 25, 2017. It housed over 500 exhibits. It was famed for its large collection of Marilyn Monroe's personal belongings and interactive exhibits over five floors, including a mirror maze and illusion tunnel.

Cavendish, Prince Edward Island - This Ripley's museum is located in a concentrated area of tourist attractions adjacent to the Prince Edward Island National Park. A lighthouse (the top broken) features the Ripley's sign. The museum is adjoined to a wax museum and also features a mini-golf attraction.

Niagara Falls, Ontario - This Ripley's museum is shaped like a toppled over Empire State Building with King Kong standing on top of it. This is the second oldest Ripley's Museum in the world and is one of two in Canada. The museum was closed for major renovations between November 2015 and May 2016. The newly updated museum is the largest and most valuable museum for the company.[citation needed ] Located across the street is a Ripley's 4D Moving Theatre, and up the street there is a Louis Tussaud's Wax Works which is owned by Ripley's.

Toronto, Ontario - The Ripley's Aquarium of Canada opened in October 2013 next to the CN Tower and Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m²) structure boasts the longest underwater tunnel in North America. The aquarium was originally set to open in Niagara Falls, Ontario, near Great Wolf Lodge in 2007, but relocated to Toronto.

Guadalajara - Opened in 1994, this Ripley's museum is a small one like Mexico City's location. It is near downtown.

Mexico City - Opened in 1992, this Ripley's museum is shaped like a medieval castle and has 14 exhibition halls within it. This was the first of three locations to open in Latin America.

Buena Park (closed) - This Ripley's Museum was located in Buena Park's E-Zone district on Beach Boulevard, close to Knott's Berry Farm. This is the location where Steve Sindad broke the world record for consuming ranch dressing, drinking 61 bottles worth (about 7 gallons). It closed on March 30, 2009.

Hollywood - This Ripley's Museum is on Hollywood Boulevard.

San Francisco - This Ripley's Museum is located near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.

Key West (closed) - This Ripley's Museum was located on Duval Street.

Orlando - This museum is located on the busy International Drive tourist corridor, and is built to appear as though it is dropping into a sinkhole.

Panama City Beach - Opened in 2006, this Ripley's Museum is at the intersection of Front Beach Road, Middle Beach Road, and Thomas Drive on Panama City Beach and is designed to look like a 1950s luxury cruise liner that has run aground on the beach. It also has a moving 4D theater.

St. Augustine - This is the oldest Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum, located in the Castle Warden. It was purchased shortly after Ripley's death in 1949 and opened in 1950. Before becoming home to his vast collections from his many travels, "The Castle", as it is known, was once a hotel which played host to many famous guests, including Ripley and author/owner Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It was originally a Moorish Revival style mansion, built in 1887 by millionaire William Warden as a winter home. Its popularity and success led Ripley's associates to open new establishments throughout the United States and the world. Perhaps not surprisingly, it is rumored to be haunted. Segments of the most recent Ripley's TV series were filmed here, including the opening credits. Among the attractions here are a mummified cat, a ​ scale model of the original Ferris wheel made out of erector sets, life and death masks of famous celebrities (including Abraham Lincoln), and shamanistic apparati from cultures around the world.

Chicago - The Museum on Wells Street in the Chicago Old Town area closed in 1987.

Baltimore - This Ripley's Museum opened June 26, 2012, in the Light Street Pavilion of Harborplace on the Inner Harbor. It was dismantled and closed permanently in May 2020.

Ocean City - This Ripley's Museum is located on the boardwalk at Wicomico Street. It is a popular destination for tourists and it sits at the entrance to Jolly Roger's Pier Amusement Park. It features a large model of a shark that appears as if it has crashed through the museum.

Branson - This Ripley's museum looks like a stone edifice that was cracked by an earthquake.

Atlantic City - The Ripley's museum is on the Boardwalk.

New York City - This location reopened in Manhattan on 42nd Street in July 2007. This is the largest Ripley's in the world, housing over 1000 authentic artifacts and interactive exhibits.

Newport - This Ripley's museum was funded by Jacob Walters and built in 1986. It is at the Historic Bayfront and one of three amusements known as Mariner Square. The other two are the Wax Works and the Undersea Gardens.

Gatlinburg - The original museum was built in 1970. On July 14, 1992, a fire started from a neon light fixture in a neighboring T-shirt shop. It quickly spread and engulfed a total of twelve businesses in one city block and damaged almost every building along the main street. From that Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, firefighters managed to get the situation under control, but the Ripley's Odditorium was one of the twelve to be completely consumed. Some of Ripley's most prized and unique possessions were lost in the fire, although some artifacts were able to be salvaged. The museum was rebuild and opened in 1994 with nearly twice the amount of exhibit space, plus a tribute to the city's firefighters included among the collections. Artifacts salvaged from the blaze sport decals saying "I Survived the Fire." As with other Ripley museums, it has an architectural theme by looking as if it has survived a major earthquake, with interior and exterior feature cracks throughout. The Ripley's Company has since opened several other attractions in the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge area, including a "four-dimensional" theater, a state-of-the-art aquarium, a haunted factory, several arcades, two miniature golf courses, and a mirror maze, all of which carry the Ripley's brand name and logo.

El Paso (closed) - This Ripley's Museum is located at 7051 South Desert Boulevard in Canutillo, Texas.

Grand Prairie - This Ripley's Museum is located at 601 East Safari Parkway in Grand Prairie, Texas. It is west of downtown Dallas on IH-30 and is on the northwest intersection of Belt Line Road and IH-30, 7 miles (11 km) east of Six Flags Over Texas.

San Antonio - This Ripley's Museum is located across from the historic Alamo. Next door is Louis Tussaud's Waxworks, and just a short walk down the road is Ripley's Haunted Adventure.

Williamsburg - This Ripley's Museum opened in 2006. It has 11 galleries and over 350 exhibits. There is also a 4D theater that shows 3D movies with added effects (air, water, scent, etc.).

Wisconsin Dells - This Ripley's Museum franchise is owned by Concept Attractions. The exterior of the museum is designed as a temple with a plane crashed into its side. It feature 3 floors with 11 galleries with illusions and puzzles. It is located on Broadway, the downtown strip of Wisconsin Dells.

Gold Coast - This Ripley's museum is located at the popular tourist destination Surfers Paradise. It reopened in the new Soul Centre on January 22, 2010, featuring a band of human oddities playing songs at the entrance.

Authorities at the company insist that they thoroughly investigate everything and ensure their accuracy before they publish their research. This is emphasized on its television show, where they often say "If you see it on Ripley's, you can bet that it's real". However, two claims[specify ] appearing in their books have been dubbed "myths" by MythBusters. One claim which had previously appeared in Ripley's books, concerning an accidental execution of 1,200 Turkish prisoners ordered under Napoleon Bonaparte, has had its accuracy called into question by Snopes.

Ripley's has reported the urban legend of Frank Tower - an individual who was supposed to have survived the sinkings of the RMS Titanic, RMS Empress of Ireland, and RMS Lusitania - as being factual. However, this story has been debunked by several sources.

Ripley's has also repeated the Muhlenberg legend, which claims that German was once one vote short of becoming the official language of the United States.

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Ripley's Believe It or Not! is an American franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the Believe It or Not feature proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, comic books, a chain of museums and a book series.

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Ripley's Believe It or Not! London Attraction at Piccadilly Circus

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Ripley's Believe It or Not! London: An Extraordinary Day Out!

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Ripley's Believe It or Not! London at Piccadilly Circus. A unique, interactive, must-see London attraction. Book your discount tickets today!

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J18 - The Carnival Against Capitalism - News Compilation

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- Robert Baker in 1611 bought this 22 acres of land and made it a residential area with some shops.

- the name ‘Piccadilly’ came from the Piccadills sold in the shops which are stiff collars, typical of the Victorian Era.

- During the 1660s,  Piccadilly and Mayfair started to develop as a residential area of the rich and famous.

(north side of Piccadilly: mansions and palaces are built such as Clarendon House, Sir John Denhams’s house).

In 1819, Piccadilly Circus became the connection place between the City of Westminster and Regent’s Street. In 1866, it connected Shaftesbury Avenue to the rest of London. Shaftesbury Avenue used to be the connection from London to slums in Soho and St Giles.

- 1893: the stone island was crowned with the aluminum statue of Eros as a memorial of the earl of Shaftesbury.

- the intersection’s first advertisements appeared in 1910 and in 1923 apparation of the giant electric billboards.

- in the 1980s: the surrounding buildings were redeveloped to house retail shops.

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The mood of the piccadily square changes according to the weather, number of people present and to the the program of the street. 

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The mood of the piccadily square changes according to the weather, number of people present and to the the program of the street. 

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Monico in the past. We can see that the billboards were made so the advert would stay for a long time on the boards. Now it has completely change as they are screens therefore, adverts turn and it is all computerized.

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1965 Piccadilly

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1953 Piccadilly

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1895 Piccadilly Circus

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One aspect of the lecture that particularly interested me was this approach on coffee houses. In the past, they were part of the culture especially in Paris and London. They helped the rich people to develop their opinions, to share their arguments. The cultural impact of the coffee houses was immense.

In London, coffee houses welcomed the rich, especially poets, politicians, journalists and thinkers. This range of professions (even if they are clearly upper class jobs) meant that everyone could bring their specificity in the debate.

Today, we are drawn towards big coffee shops such as Starbucks, Nero and we are losing this ambience that was so important. Today, no one would feel confortable go over to someone and start having a debate about a particular topic. We have lost this cultural difference. We are less mentally intrigue by other's opinions.

It would be really interesting to study those past spaces to see how architecturally they manage to create spaces where people were encouraged to talk and debate together without knowing each other.

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You may have heard this well-known retail statistic: 90% of people turn right when they walk into a store. That's a mind-boggling insight into shopping behavior.

Anthropologists, experience designers, interior designers, brand managers, and data scientists have spent countless hours searching for the perfect bones and outer-layers of a store layout to optimize the raison d'être for retail spaces - also known as moving merchandise. Those hours of work have uncovered some amazing insights into human behavior that have developed into best practices for retail.

If you're looking at opening a new retail shop or you have a shop you want to redesign, you're likely doing your due diligence into interior layouts that could work for your space. But you don't need to spend a dime on research and development, as we're sharing some of the top retail store layouts and interior design tips that science has to offer.

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Store Layouts

Since moving merchandise is the name of the game, the store layout should help to achieve that goal by guiding customers through the store, exposing them to product, all while managing important stimuli that encourages purchasing behaviors. How people experience your store is a big part of your brand that needs to be as carefully crafted as other aspects of your brand.

That's a lot to consider, but layouts are a great place to start. Store layouts are the foundation that will guide the experience of your retail space.

There are four commonly used store layouts:

We'll take a closer look at each of them, but let's look at some of the commonalities each of the layouts share first by looking at a generic store with a blank interior.

Exterior signage and window displays are curb-side appeal for your store's real estate. Doing a good job here can help to convert foot traffic into store traffic. Check out these tips on how to create a compelling curb-side story.

Once a person steps inside, they enter the decompression zone, which is the first five to 15 feet of your store. Think of this as a transition space - customers take a broad, sweeping look at the store and anything placed right in this area will likely not be noticed. Avoid placing key items here like shopping baskets or high-demand products.

Notice the empty space at the front-the decompression zone helps customers transition into your store. Image Credit: RMSE

As we mentioned above, studies show that 90% of people tend to turn right after entering a space, starting a circulation trail through whatever store layout you've designed. Thus, placing your high-demand product or premium promotion in this space will ensure it'll be seen. This area is known as your power wall and it can be both an excellent promotional and brand-building space. Use it to strike an impression.

A power wall at American Eagle Outfitters. Image Credit: Ispira Blog

Beyond these common features, store layouts highly influence the remainder of the circulation path and experience of your store - so let's examine the four most familiar layouts now.

Grid

We're all familiar with the grid. Nearly every convenience store, pharmacy, and grocery store utilizes this familiar layout. Reams of merchandise are displayed on a predictable pattern of long aisles where customers weave up and down, browsing as they go. The grid maximizes product display and minimizes white space. This layout is all about product, product, product. A standard grid layout looks something like this:

The grid features long aisles with impulse purchase items near the front and staple items at the back. The ends of aisles are prime real estate and many stores use additional features such as wing shelves to further highlight products. If you ever wondered why milk is at the far end of a grocery store, it's because this design forces customers to walk past an assortment of impulse purchase items both on the way to and from the staple item that they need.

While far from standard, if you have the room, 4' wide aisles help prevent customers from bumping into one another. This is something you really want to avoid, given that when this happens, most customers leave your store within five minutes.

Best for stores with lots of merchandise, especially when products are varied

Lots of exposure to products, as the layout encourages customers to browse multiple aisles

Familiar for shoppers

Predictable traffic flow means you can put promos where you know customers will see them

Lots of infrastructure suppliers, such as shelving, are available as this layout is used so much

Best practices within this layout are well researched

Pros

Least likely to create an experiential retail space; this layout is a dime a dozen

Customers may be frustrated they can't shortcut their way to what they need

Customers may not understand your product groupings, leading to frustration and questions (or worse, departure)

Few visual breaks and lots of merchandise can make customers feel overwhelmed

Cramped aisles often lead to customers bumping into one another

Cons
If you operate the type of shop where customers pick up multiple types of items that aren't naturally grouped together (think shampoo and greeting cards), you may want a layout that makes it easy for customers to browse the whole space and find what they're looking for.

The grid creates natural barriers that serve to simultaneously group like products together and separate different products. This can help to clear up confusion about where to find things in a shop with a high number of SKUs. Furthermore, customers are highly accustomed to this layout, so flowing up and down aisles is second nature to most shoppers.

Some of the cons of this design can be addressed through some creative interior design that builds in improvement beyond the bones of the layout alone, such as using shorter shelving so make the space feel more open and help customers see how you've grouped products through visible signage.

A modern grid layout in a store - notice the promotional areas at the ends of each aisle. This shop cleverly uses shorter aisle shelving so that staples at the back are still clearly visible, which opens up the space, improves wayfinding, and helps to reduce thefts. Aisles are spacious, helping to avoid the butt-brush effect. Image Credit: DesignTAXI

Herringbone

If you think the grid may be best for your merchandise, but you have a very long, narrow retail space, the herringbone layout is one to consider.

The herringbone layout has many of the same pros and cons as the grid, with a few notable exceptions.

Suited to stores with lots of product, but minimal space

Warehouse-style stores open to the public may also find this layout works

Pros

Limited visibility down 'side roads' can increase shoplifting opportunities

Can feel cramped, and customers easily bump into one another

Tuck shops, small hardware stores, and many small community libraries use the herringbone to pack a tiny space full of wares. The side roads can be used for promotions, but by adding some welcome visual breaks within the promo areas, you can add some much-needed breathing room to an otherwise overwhelming space.
Cons
Some herringbone book shops that want people to linger set up a comfy chair at the end where people can leaf through their choices before they decide.

Learn More: 50 Exceptional Shopify Stores

You'll find large warehouse style stores use the herringbone layout as well. IKEA's convoluted loop track (which we will examine more below) is replaced by the herringbone when you're in the pickup area and the intention of the shopper changes from browsing to purchase intent.

A big potential downside with the herringbone is the potential for theft. But one way to mitigate the risk is to park security cameras at the end of the side roads as visibility from the checkout is likely to be limited to none.

Loop

The loop, or racetrack layout takes the grid's fairly predictable traffic flows a step further and creates a deliberate closed loop that leads customers from the front of the store, past every bit of merchandise, and then to the check-out. Customers are exposed to the most merchandise this way, but the path they take is controlled.

A basic loop layout is shown below - the white path represents the main corridor that traffic would flow through, although the central area would be populated with a micro version of any layout, which suits the product offerings and fits the space.

Maximum product exposure

Most predictable traffic pattern; easiest to place promotions and have highest assurance they'll be seen

Can be experiential - may work with retail where a journey makes sense and time spent in store doesn't need to be brief

Pros

Customers don't get to browse at will

May waste customer's time who knows what they've come for; they may avoid this shop in the future when buying intent is specific

Not suited for shops that encourage high traffic turnover, or carry products that people need to spend little time considering before purchase

IKEA takes the loop layout to the extreme, and if you've been to one, you've probably experienced both the pros and the cons of this design depending on your intent in the shop. If you're there to browse, the experience can be quite nice - it encourages perusing and their creative displays spark ideas for your home. However, if you've gone there for a few specific items, it's a daunting, frustrating place to be - it's no coincidence that haunted houses use the loop layout too.

The loop doesn't have to be frustrating though, so long as it's carefully selected for the appropriate purpose.

One well-considered loop layout application are those pop-up gift shops that accompany time-limited museum exhibitions that continue the story of the exhibit where the shop becomes a natural extension of the display rather than a sudden, jarring retail space.
Cons
A well-executed loop layout can let retailers tell a story, albeit within very well-defined parameters.

Free-flow

The free-flow layout philosophy is almost a rejection of the others. With free-flow, there is no deliberate attempt to force customers through predictable traffic patterns; wandering is encouraged. Therefore, with free-flow, there are far fewer rules, but that doesn't mean there aren't any - don't forget about the commonalities that are based on natural human behavior.

A sample free-flow store layout below demonstrates that exterior signage, window display and most likely start path and power wall still remain the same. But beyond that, it's a very creative layout to work within.

Free-flow has been called the simplest store layout because there's no defined pattern, but arguably that's what makes it the most complex. How you organize your merchandise in a free-flow store is limited only by your square footage and your imagination. With so few rules, it's easy to go wrong. However, the biggest mistake you can make if you decide to go with this layout is thinking there are no best practices - human preferences and behavior still matter and need to be considered for this layout to be successful for your shop.

Great for small spaces

Also works within areas of loop and spine layouts (more on that below)

Creates more space between products

Less likelihood customers will bump into one another

Better suited to higher-end shops with less merchandise

Most likely to create an experiential retail space

Pros

Often less space to display product

Easy to forget there are best practices that still should be followed; breaking the unwritten rules can turn people off and away from your store

Can be confusing for customers

Cons
Image Credit: Retail Design Blog

Well-designed free-flow layouts can encourage browsing and impulse purchases. They are ideally suited to more creatively focused shops or upscale brands that want to prioritize experiential retail as a key component of their brand.

The flip side is that because there's so much variety in free-flow shops, it's easy to do the wrong things and discourage customers. Setting shelves too close together, not creating enough visual breaks, or putting check-out in the wrong part of the store can encourage departure rather than purchase.

Get the playbook

Using Multiple Layouts

You don't have to select just one store layout. The loop layout lends itself to more than one - a loop on the outside and grid or free-flow in the centre. Large sized department stores often use multiple configurations connected by a single power aisle.

Nordstrom, for example, uses several layouts to differentiate between various branded shops that live within the store. The department store transitions from a grid layout Nike store-within-a-store to a free-flow, high-end designer label embedded within the space. They cleverly mix and match store layouts to create the feeling of different shops, even though they're all under the same roof and umbrella brand.

A main corridor acts as a spine connecting each of the shops, while visual décor helps customers understand where one embedded shop ends and another begins.

The spine is clearly seen at Kid's Cavern, which is flanked by free-flow layouts. Image Credit: Architectural Digest

Final Layout Selection

When deciding upon a layout for your retail space, carefully consider your products, desired consumer behavior and square footage you have available. If you have a lot of dissimilar products, consider the grid. A smaller number of products may work well in free-flow arrangements. If you want shoppers to slow down and browse, consider mixing loop and free-flow styles.

Picking the bones of your store matters a great deal and can directly impact your sales.

What layouts do you prefer for your shop? Let us know in the comments.

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The Ultimate Guide to Retail Store Layouts

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You may have heard this well-known retail statistic: 90% of people turn right when they walk into a store. That's a mind-boggling insight into shopping behavior. Anthropologists, experience designers, interior designers, brand managers, and data scientists have spent countless hours searching for the perfect bones and outer-layers of a store layout to optimize the raison d'être for retail spaces - also known as moving merchandise.

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Many retailers admit that when they first open their store, they don't realise how important their layout can be and what impact it may have on shopper behaviour and buying trends. But, what types of store layout are the most popular and produce the best results?

Well, if you're not sure, don't worry. This post will outline the four types of store layout that you should know about to hopefully help business pick up.

We'll cover:

Everyone will be familiar with the traditional grid layout. Typically, newsagents, pharmacies and supermarkets are all big advocates for laying out their products in this fashion. The grid layout is where lots of merchandise and products are displayed on long aisles in a predictable fashion.
Photo from Shopify
For example, in a supermarket, all the dairy items will be together, all the household essentials will be grouped together and likewise with the bread too.

Usually, in the grid format, impulse buys are placed near the front of the aisles and the staple items towards the bottom. That way, the shopper has to walk past all of the impulse stuff, increasing their chances of them picking up something extra on the way to their staple items.

Grid layouts are great for giving shoppers plenty of exposure to products as the layout encourages people to browse various aisles in order to pick up just a few items. It's the perfect type of layout for stores like supermarkets that have lots of stock.

However, an on-trend retail brand probably wouldn't opt for the grid layout as it won't make for the greatest in-store experience. Shoppers may not be able to easily get to the products that they want. In some cases, this can force them to leave your store.

Overall, for certain shops like supermarkets and newsagents, the grid system works well as shoppers are familiar with it and you can predict the traffic flow. This means that you can put promos where you know that customers will see them easily.

Herringbone

If you have a long and narrow store, then the herringbone is a layout that you should look into for your business.
Photo from Shopify
As it's pretty similar, the herringbone layout has a lot of similarities to the grid. If you need to pack a tiny space full of your products, like bookshops and hardware stores, then it can be used to great effect. The side walls can be used for your promotional items and add in some visual breaks to split up the wall-to-wall products on offer. This allows your store to breathe and doesn't make it seem cluttered.

There are some things to consider though. As there's a lot of products in a small space, customers might start bumping into each other which will no doubt become annoying very quickly.

Plus, this layout is more susceptible to theft too. The visibility from the checkout to the products on each aisle is likely to be poor, so don't try and rely on human policing. Invest in security cameras to make sure shoppers aren't lifting smaller items without paying for them.
Photo from Shopify
Loop (Racetrack)

The loop or racetrack layout is a great way of predicting and manipulating your customer's traffic flow. By enforcing this kind of layout, you make your customers walk past every item within the store from entering to them paying and leaving. This is clever as it increases the chances of somebody impulsively picking up an item that they didn't intend on buying.

If you've been to IKEA, you'll have seen the loop layout in one of its most extreme forms. If you're there to browse then this layout is ideal. The "hanger flickers" amongst shoppers will really take to this layout as it allows maximum product exposure, allowing you to flick through every item in the store if you really wanted too. Loop layouts are usually married together with particularly creative displays to spark ideas for your home or wardrobe.
Photo from Shopify
If you've gone into a shop with this floor plan for just a few items, it can quickly become frustrating and may even lead you to not returning again. However, a well-designed loop layout allows retailers to express themselves and tell stories with their displays.

Pop-up shops are a brilliant example of how loop layouts are used to tell a story as the shop becomes a time-bound museum exhibition, rather than just another retail space.

Free-flow allows you to channel your inner creativity. It's a type of layout that doesn't conform to any strictly regimented layout rulings. It's completely up to you where you decide to locate your products. With free-flow, there are fewer rules but it doesn't mean that there aren't any. Free-flow tends to lean on the common behavioural trends of shoppers.

With so few rules, it's easy for retailers to get their free-flow layouts completely wrong. However, the biggest mistake a retailer can make when choosing to set their store out in this way is to think that there aren't any best practices at all. You should look into your shoppers' preferences and behaviour when considering where to place items.

Well-designed free-flow layouts are perfect for driving impulse buys and browsing. Ideally, upmarket or creative brands that follow this style as they want to prioritise a customer's experience in the store to harmonise with the amazing products that they're displaying.

One common problem with free-flow layouts is placing the checkout in the wrong position. Usually, you'd want to place the checkout in a position where the shopper has to walk past the majority of products in order to encourage impulse buys on the way to the tills.

However, with free-flow, it can be difficult to choose where to place them. Again, you should consult your shopper behaviour and look at the highest areas of traffic.

Large Format Print Can Help Retail Layouts

In a store, it's very easy to be sucked into the products and forget about everything else on the shop floor. But, creative designs on walls, shelving and in-window displays can help stores secure sales too. Large format printing can break up displays of products so they don't look too cluttered or encourage further purchases.

To see how Dominion Print has helped retail spaces in the past, why not download our product matrix below for free?

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4 Types of Store Layout You Need to Know About | Dominion

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Many retailers admit that when they first open their store, they don't realise how important their layout can be and what impact it may have on shopper behaviour and buying trends. But, what types of store layout are the most popular and produce the best results? Well, if you're not sure, don't worry.

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A shopper profile describes the shopping behaviors, preferences, and buying habits of a customer or set of customers. Essentially, everyone shops differently and, thus, has a different shopper profile. Maybe one customer enjoys browsing slowly, and another sticks to a list and is in and out. Shopper profiles identify different types of shoppers and what ultimately drives each one's decisions and purchases.

Understanding your customers' profiles -how they shop and what drives them to buy-will help you increase sales by catering your store's shopping experience to your unique shoppers' needs.

Here are nine types of customers in retail, their general characteristics, and how to cater to their needs.

1. The Bargain Hunter

Most retailers regularly encounter bargain hunters in their shops. Also called discount shoppers, bargain hunters are usually armed with coupons or discount codes, know when all of the best sales are, and rarely buy without some sort of deal in hand.

Whereas some shoppers are looking for something sentimental, the bargain hunter's purchase will be primarily determined by price and a sense that they are saving money.

Although bargain hunters were a shrinking group in the late 2010s, economic challenges and talks of a looming recession have inspired a resurgence of cost-conscious consumers. In fact, as people are tightening their pocketbooks in 2023, discount stores have seen up to an 18% increase in their YoY foot traffic.

The Bargain Hunter's Needs

As you might have guessed, what bargain hunters need is sales and deals. If you have a large bargain shopping demographic at your store, you'll need to create a pricing strategy or rewards system to regularly provide offerings that will satisfy their quests for deals.

How to Market to the Bargain Hunter

Unlike other types of shoppers, price is the most important purchasing factor for bargain hunters, and they will shop around, wait, and compare prices to find the best deal. While the simple solution to this would be to run constant sales, this will cut into your margins and may leave you at a revenue loss.

To appeal to bargain hunters and avoid running into debt, you can:

Host sales on a predictable schedule: Many retailers have clearance sales on certain days of the week or month. Others take a more seasonal or holiday-focused approach.

Use promotional pricing strategies: Promotional pricing is a marketing strategy that uses bundles, gift-with-purchase, or discount pricing to drive more sales while also providing shoppers with a good value.

Try anchor pricing: This is another pricing strategy where you display the original price and your own to demonstrate that your price is better without necessarily having to run a sale.

Clear out end-of-season merchandise: Most retailers have some leftover inventory at the end of the season; appeal to bargain shoppers by hosting a heavily advertised end-of-season sale to help move old products and make room for new ones.

Organize flash sales: Choose a typically slow or quiet time of day or day of the week to host a limited-time sale where shoppers can get a discount on their total purchase. This will draw your bargain shoppers in when you traditionally have low sales.

Offer points and rewards: In addition to traditional sales, you can also create a loyalty or rewards program where customers automatically get rewarded for shopping and can use their points to get money off their purchases.

2. The Browser

If you have a brick-and-mortar store, especially one with a lot of foot traffic, you're probably very familiar with shoppers who are "just looking." Browsing customers, or wandering customers, aren't looking for a particular item or even necessarily to make a purchase. Most often, they happen to come across your store and are just looking at what you have to offer.

The Browser's Needs

Typically, the browsing customer is motivated to make a purchase based on an experience or an emotional connection. For example, a browser might come across a candle with a smell that reminds them of their childhood. Or, they might talk with a sales associate for an hour about a fancy cheese and then buy it because they know its history and have formed an attachment.

Browsing shoppers are especially common in gift and souvenir shops, boutiques and apparel stores, bookshops, and any kind of hobby shop. They also might just be killing time. Consider how you can foster an emotional or special experience in your store without interrupting your browsing shoppers.

How to Market to the Browser

The best thing retailers can do to cater to the browsing customers is to make them feel welcomed, foster an easy and positive store experience, and stay available if anything arises, but ultimately leave them alone. To appeal to the browser, market your goods so they have a story or foster a connection without you having to intervene and make it obvious.

When working with browsing customers, retailers should:

Give a warm welcome: Browsing customers don't respond well to pushy sales tactics, but that doesn't mean you should ignore them. Even if a customer is "just looking," say hello, offer assistance, and inform them of any sales or promotions.

Create a comfortable store environment: Retailers should pay close attention to the lighting, music, cleanliness, and overall presentation of their store. Wandering shoppers are more likely to spend time (and possibly make a purchase) in a store that's neat and inviting, rather than harsh and unorganized. Take Anthropologie, for example. This store is ideal for the browser, with tons to look at, beautiful merchandising, and an easy-to-navigate layout.

Design an effective store layout: Since browsing customers are not directly interacting with store associates, your store layout and signage serve as the primary guide; make sure popular, profitable, and bestselling items are prominently displayed.

Offer small trinkets and easy-to-transport items: Even if shoppers are just browsing, small gifts or trendy items can still catch their attention. Curate an assortment of items that are eye-catching and easy to carry, as well as clear signage that illustrates product benefits. Browsers are often out and about, so small things they can take with them will be an easier sell for this shopper.

Create product stories: Market your products so they have a story and people see them as more than just goods. Create displays to show how your products can fulfill a need or want and fit into your customers' lives.

Allow for self-sufficient shopping: Allow browsers the space they need to explore. Make sure they can find all the answers to their questions without working with an associate, so you don't have to interrupt their shopping experience. Write instructions and answers to frequently asked questions on flyers and signs, label everything, and ensure your store is navigable.

3. The Showrooming Customer

One of the biggest perks of in-store shopping is testing out products in person for quality, color, fit, etc. However, sometimes shoppers test in person only to then buy online. This practice is known as "showrooming."

Showrooming customers are particularly common for furniture, appliances, or other large, expensive products that are supposed to last. While large companies like Ikea have modeled their entire business on showrooming customers, showrooming can be problematic for small businesses because often, shoppers will view your product only to purchase it from another retailer at a lower price.

The Showrooming Customer's Needs

The showrooming customer uses their in-store experience to get a feel for the product, scout out its price, and ensure that they are making the right decision. They then choose to purchase online to get an easier shipping and handling process and the best price. If you can give the showrooming customers peace of mind and simplify their shopping process, you will meet their needs and convert them into an in-store sale.

How to Market to the Showrooming Customer

In addition to meeting the needs of their showrooming, retailers need to offer these customers incentives to shop in-store or with their specific brand.

To appeal to showrooming customers, retailers should:

Sell specialized or unique products: The easiest way to ensure that customers don't purchase online from a competitor is by selling products they can only get from your store. Merchandise such as private label products, custom-made items, or pieces from local suppliers are great options for creating exclusivity around your products.

Start a loyalty program: A points-based rewards or loyalty program will incentivize shoppers to purchase from your business instead of a different online store because they can eventually earn discounts or free products.

Offer product customization: Offer free in-store monograms or engravings on certain products or with a minimum purchase to incentivize shoppers to purchase in-store.

Have a user-friendly, up-to-date website: Not every customer will buy in-store; make sure your online store and social media profiles are up-to-date and user-friendly so shoppers can find the product they saw in-store and buy online.

Offer warranties and price matching: Showroomers are often searching for the best deal and assurance that they are getting a good product. Show them that you can provide solutions to those apprehensions with product warranties and price matching.

Streamline a hassle-free shipping and handling process: Make yourself competitive with online retailers by offering shipping and local delivery services so that customers don't have to worry about transporting items themselves.

Offer assembly services: Set yourself above the online big-box stores by offering assembly services for relevant products. Remember, showrooming shoppers are looking for ease, so cater to that need.

4. The Impulse Buyer

Impulse shoppers make unplanned purchases based on items that appeal to them at the moment. I'm sure you've been in line at the grocery store or convenience shop and have grabbed a pack of chips at checkout. That's an impulse buy. And, according to a 2022 survey, you are not alone-consumers in the US spent an average of over $300 on impulse purchases each month.

Typically, impulse shopping is often buying small items that catch people's attention. It can also, however, be retail therapy or emotional shopping. This type of impulse buying generally involves large purchases with little forethought.

The Impulse Buyer's Needs

Whereas other shoppers have clearly defined needs, the impulse buyer operates not on necessity but rather on impulse. This makes impulse buyers' needs hard to predict, but we can capitalize on their general buying habits. As previously mentioned, impulse buyers gravitate toward small, typically inexpensive things that they can tack on at the end of a purchase without much thought.

If not small and inexpensive, then the other kind of impulse buyer tends to make spur-of-the-moment larger purchases. Creating an attentive staff, good product displays, and an easy-to-shop space will help cater your in-store experience to the impulse shopper's needs.

Another important thing for the impulse buyer is their in-store experience. If your merchandising and branding don't spark their interest, the impulse buyer won't bite. Create a fun experience and help foster emotional attachments to your products to ensure the impulse buyer is happy and engaged.

How to Market to the Impulse Buyer

Retailers can appeal to impulse shoppers by having friendly and helpful store associates, forging product connections, simplifying the buying experience, and using smart merchandising.

Retailers looking to cater to impulse buyers can:

Make it easy to buy: Since impulse shoppers are buying on a whim, they want to make their purchases quickly and easily. Lines will turn the impulse buyer away, so ensure you have adequate registers or equip your staff with mobile checkout devices so that no impulse sale is lost due to traffic flow. Self-service kiosks are also a great option.

Use labels, signs, and instructions: You can simplify the impulse buyer's shopping experience through clear product labels and instructions. Make your store easy to navigate and engage with-the impulse buyer isn't going to be asking for help to make their purchase, so make sure they don't have to.

Train an attentive staff: An attentive staff will make all the difference for the big-ticket impulse buyer. By making product suggestions, helping with sizing, and overall accelerating and simplifying your customer's experience, your staff will be able to better capitalize on the impulse shopper.

Place small, inexpensive items by the register: The cash register is one of the top places the impulse buyers make their move. Line your register with small, inexpensive items that people can add to their carts on a whim. Think gum, cards, sunglasses, keychains, and other small, inexpensive items.

Promote add-ons: Another thing that might entice impulse shoppers is add-ons. Suggest or market an accessory to finish an outfit or suggest headphones to go along with their phone. Often, when the big item is bought without impulse, it is easy to add small, compatible items to the more significant purchase.

5. The Mission-driven Shopper

Mission-driven buyers are on the hunt for particular products or are shopping from a list. They are even sometimes called "list shoppers" because they so often come with a physical litany of things they want to buy. Others have termed them "need-based" and "reluctant" shoppers because, for them, buying is driven strictly by need and not because they necessarily enjoy shopping.

The Mission-driven Shopper's Needs

Overall, mission-driven shoppers want their shopping experience to be easy and fast and to fulfill their needs. Remember, shopping is not something the mission-driven customer enjoys, so anything you can do to make their experience pain-free will boost their loyalty to your brand and make them more likely to return.

How to Market to the Mission-driven Shopper

Ease is the central thing that your marketing initiatives should address. Offering services that will streamline your shoppers' experience and merchandising so that things are easy to find will ensure that your business is ready to facilitate easy, pain-free shopping.

To appeal to mission-driven buyers, retailers should do the following:

Offer buy-online, pickup in-store (BOPIS): Time-crunched shoppers often choose to purchase from stores that let them place orders online and pick them up the same day. Offering pickup services will also completely cut out all of the actual shopping for a mission-driven buyer.

Use signage: Make sure to mark the various areas of your store with signs and list the products or categories of products you can find in each zone. This will make it easier for mission-driven shoppers to find what they need without having to wander or ask for help.

Have gift guides ready: Make shoppers' lives easier by offering gift guides and other inspirational materials to take the thinking out of shopping and make your customers' missions easier to accomplish.

Utilize cross-merchandising: Shoppers in a hurry will appreciate items conveniently placed, such as bread by the deli counter or limes next to the beer display. Consider what items are typically purchased together and merchandise them near each other for convenient shopping.

Have a clear store layout: Having an easy-to-navigate shop primarily comes down to the store layout that you choose. Be sure that you create good traffic flow and clear lines of sight so your store is easy to shop.

6. The Indecisive Patron

Indecisive shoppers are looking to make a purchase but are reluctant or hesitant to do so because of price, information overload, or insufficient information. I know I ran into this type of shopper all the time at my store. They would try things on but struggle to make a decision and constantly make excuses as to why they shouldn't buy the piece.

Ultimately, I learned that being hyper-attentive is the best way to appeal to indecisive shoppers so that I could calm any hesitations and answer any questions before they got into their own heads.

The Indecisive Patron's Needs

The indecisive shopper needs someone or something to boost their confidence and make them secure in their purchase. Anything that you can do to make the indecisive shopper feel more assured of their selection and give them a slight push to make a purchase will help calm their hesitation.

You want to be sure not to push the indecisive shopper too hard, as you could end up making them uncomfortable. Remember, this shopper wants to purchase something, so you should offer helpful nudges without creating an irritating experience. Meet hesitation with assurance, but if you're getting firm negative responses, move on and try suggesting another product.

How to Market to the Indecisive Patron

When working with indecisive shoppers, retailers should serve as quasi-personal shoppers or shopping guides. Indecisive shoppers have high purchase intent; they just do not know the right product yet. Having top-notch customer service associates is crucial for appealing to indecisive shoppers and securing a sale.

When working with indecisive shoppers, retailers should:

Ask questions: Determine the shopper's buying needs by asking open-ended questions about who and what they are shopping for so that you can give precise recommendations. This will allow you to provide better solutions to their problems and calm any hesitations.

Give honest advice: Shoppers who have a hard time making a final purchasing decision will appreciate honest advice, including personal experience or feedback from other customers. Telling someone that a piece is unflattering or giving them a piece of honest advice will build trust and result in more sales.

Use visuals and/or data: Signage and marketing tools that display features and benefits of the products will help shoppers weigh their options and better understand your products. Feedback on bestsellers, product comparisons, pricing information, and expert reviews will all help make the indecisive shopper more assured and ready to purchase.

Have a flexible return policy: Having a return policy or warranty can help assuage any fears of the product not living up to expectations.

Offer product suggestions: Product suggestions will help your customer feel like they're getting the best products put in front of them, allowing them to feel secure in the purchase decision.

7. The Educated Consumer

With increasing access to product information, many of today's shoppers fall into the educated or well-informed shopper profile. In fact, nearly 70% of online shoppers read between one and six reviews before making a purchase. The educated shopper researches products or a store's inventory online, reads customer reviews, and scans general pricing information before visiting the store. They will also typically have an idea of what they want to buy by the time they make it into a store.

The Educated Consumer's Needs

While the educated shopper can be tricky to help, they do have a few needs that you can use your marketing to address. The educated buyer wants to see the online products that you have in-store. Additionally, even though they have done research, the educated buyer will still want to ask questions to be sure that they really understand your products before making a purchase.

For example, at my boutique, we would often get customers who had clearly viewed our website or social media pages before coming in. In this case, they always had questions and wanted to see the exact pieces they'd been eyeing. By furthering their product knowledge and giving them a chance to see the items in person, we were able to elevate their in-store experience and satisfy their need for understanding.

How to Market to the Educated Consumer

The biggest thing you need to provide the educated buyer is a cross-channel shopping experience that adds value to what they already know. This includes continuously updating your website and merchandising displays, offerings in-store only products or services, and having a very knowledgeable sales staff.

When working with the educated customer, you should:

Keep your website and store up to date: Most educated shoppers will check out your store online before coming in so they can see what's in stock. To avoid disappointment, make sure the things you offer online are also available in-store, and that your website is up-to-date with all your new offerings. An integrated inventory management tool will help.

Offer a great value: Since educated shoppers typically already know about pricing and features, these factors won't wow them. Offer something extra like product customization, exclusive features, a special member price, or at least information that they wouldn't have been able to find elsewhere.

Incorporate customer reviews: Including customer reviews on your website and even in-store is a great way to boost buyer confidence for the educated shopper and give them peace of mind as they explore your selection.

Provide a positive shopping experience: Many shoppers return to retailers not because of their product selection or even price point, but rather because of the overall experience they had shopping with you. Your customer service, loyalty program, and merchandising will make or break your shopper's time in your store, so enhance those elements to create something memorable and positive for your shoppers.

Equip your staff with product knowledge: Empower associates to become experts on your products so they can answer any questions and provide a level of expertise not found through online research. At my store, for example, we had a binder with product information that included sizing, typical life cycle, styling suggestions, and compositions. Associates could reference and study the binder in their spare time so that they were ready to answer any customer concerns.

8. The Loyal Customer

Loyal customers, or regular customers, are every retailer's favorite. The loyal customer is someone who visits your shop often and makes regular purchases. You might even know them by name and have a rapport with them.

The loyal customer is a particularly important shopper profile subset due to their potential for profitability. In fact, a commonly cited retail statistic is that if 20% of your customer base is loyal, they will make up 80% of your revenue.

The Loyal Customer's Needs

To keep loyal customers happy, retailers should recognize their loyalty and treat them like VIP customers every time they come in. This will create an incentive to continue to be loyal and maintain an affiliation with your brand.

At my store, for example, we had several women who came in almost every week to see our new merchandise. I always made sure to address these shoppers by name and pull styles that I thought would flatter them. This helped to continue to foster their loyalty and rewarded them for choosing our brand.

How to Market to the Loyal Customer

Marketing to the loyal customer is all about making them feel special for their loyalty. They already like your brand and the experience you have to offer, so it is up to you to elevate their experience with special treatment and rewards.

Reward your regular customers: Host events or promotions and offer exclusive rewards for your loyal customers to let them know they are appreciated.

Start a referral program: Regular shoppers are likely already referring friends and family to your store. Start an official referral program to track your top-referring customers and reward them for boosting your business.

Ask for their input on new products: Send out a survey or hold a focus group with your loyal customers to get their feedback on new or potential products. They'll love being involved in the process, and you can purchase those new products with confidence knowing customers will buy them.

Get to know your loyal customers: It's not hard to identify who your loyal customers are. Create a list with their names, customer personas and profiles, general needs, and shopping styles for all your associates to access. If you can demonstrate you value your loyal customer as much as they value your business, you're sure to impress them and continue to strengthen their loyalty.

Create a loyalty program: Rewards shoppers for what they are already doing and continue to build their loyalty with a loyalty rewards program.

9. The Chatty Cathy

The talkative customer is another type of store shopper you will likely encounter. Unlike the browser or the mission-driven shopper, the talkative customer wants to make small talk with store associates. Not only that, they are more likely to divulge exactly what they want, provide contextual details, and discuss their thoughts as they explore products. They want your input and often even need it to make a decision.

The Chatty Cathy's Needs

At the end of the day, the chatty customer wants you to engage with them. They want you to ask questions, share your input, and be a part of their shopping journey from ideation, through searching, all the way to purchase. You should be their sounding board, provide your ideas, offer assistance, and validate their decisions.

How to Market to the Chatty Cathy

If you find that you have a chatty customer base or a large chunk of your customer base wants additional help and guidance through the shopping process, try these techniques to keep them happy and making purchases.

Provide an informative greeting: A greeting will not only open the door for the chatty customer to engage, but if you provide extra information about sales, new arrivals, or offers, they will likely ask you more about them, opening the door for your associates to start selling.

Provide one-on-one assistance: As much as possible, seek to have one associate work with a chatty customer the whole time. This way, the customer won't have to repeat information, and they can form a relationship with one associate.

Help them find what they are looking for: If your chatty customer comes in with a product in mind, help them find it. Use the information they give you to provide the best customer service and to personalize their shopping experience.

Remember the chats: A chatty customer will be impressed if you can remember what they talked about the last time they were in and will be more likely to form a relationship with your brand and become loyal. In whatever forum you log your customers, add shopper info and note any important information they shared.

Return the chat: If a chatty customer is chatting with you, you should seek to engage with them and meet them at their level. In other words, return their enthusiasm with enthusiasm and try to keep the conversation going.

Bottom Line

As a retailer, you will run into all kinds of shoppers, all with their own unique needs and behaviors. Learning which types of customers most often visit your store takes time, but identifying your shoppers' profiles will be the first step to creating an in-store experience that will serve them and, by extension, your business. Use this guide to help you identify what kinds of shoppers frequent your business, and watch as you meet their needs and get the sales rolling.

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What Is a Shopper Profile? 9 Types of Shoppers

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Many different kinds of shoppers will visit your shop. Use this guide to learn how to identify and cater to them all.

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Legible London is a seminal project in the history of city wayfinding. It has influenced the last two decades of city wayfinding systems, largely defining the sign typologies, content criteria, information architecture and graphic cues used by many subsequent city systems.

In addition to its impact on public awareness, its real innovation has been as a catalyst to integrate wayfinding across the city. It was built on a programme of stakeholder consultation, based on core logics.

The system has been extensively tested and reviewed and has more proven impact than any other system.

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Miro: the collaborative whiteboard platform for distributed teams

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Scalable, secure, cross-device and enterprise-ready team collaboration whiteboard for distributed teams. Join 10M+ users from around the world

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https://www.oberlo.com/blog/online-shopping-statistics

https://www.verywellmind.com/shopping-addiction-4157288

https://www.retailnative.com/defining-shopping-experience/

https://www.britannica.com/technology/mass-production/Economic-effects

http://bear.warrington.ufl.edu/lutz/working/guirylutz.pdf

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sold/201207/what-motivates-impulse-buying

http://mallarchitecture.weebly.com/types-of-shopping-malls.html

https://www.sapling.com/7779703/types-shoppers

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- sustainability (circular design)
- experience (activités, service, exhibition space, restaurant/café)
- production of good and waste
- window to attract people -> vending machine idea
- local crafts
- hidden space inside shop (Antony Gromley's exhibition)
- installation
- make people question what they buy
- unique experience- limit on products
- customized products
- create our own brand
- digital screen for fitting

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Miro: the collaborative whiteboard platform for distributed teams

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Scalable, secure, cross-device and enterprise-ready team collaboration whiteboard for distributed teams. Join 10M+ users from around the world

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A studio of multidisciplinary artists and engineers that conceive and produce high-tech kinetic art installations and sculptures.

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ADDRESS
FREITAG Sweat Yourself Shop
Grüngasse 21
8004 Zurich

OPENING HOURS
Tue-Fri 11.30-19.00
Sat 11.00-17.00

ADDRESS
FREITAG Flagship Store
Geroldstrasse 17
8005 Zurich

OPENING HOURS
Mon 11.00-17.00
Tue-Fri 10.30-19.00
Sat 10.00-18.00
This story is the fourth in a 12-part travel guide to Zurich,
created in collaboration withZürich Tourism.
Follow the series and discover the cityhere.

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FREITAG Sweat Yourself Shop & Flagship Store · Zurich, Switzerland - IGNANT

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ADDRESS FREITAG Sweat Yourself Shop Grüngasse 21 8004 Zurich OPENING HOURS Tue-Fri 11.30-19.00 Sat 11.00-17.00 ADDRESS FREITAG Flagship Store Geroldstrasse 17 8005 Zurich OPENING HOURS Mon 11.00-17.00 Tue-Fri 10.30-19.00 Sat 10.00-18.00 This story is the fourth in a 12-part travel guide to Zurich, created in collaboration withZürich Tourism.

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Photography by Aaron Bengochea

Color us happy: The Color Factory has officially landed in New York City's SoHo neighborhood for a limited time, and it is every bit as enchanting as we expected. The 16-exhibit experience spans 20,000 square feet of rainbow goodness, curated by a talented roster of collaborators who tell their unique color stories by engaging your senses in unexpected ways.

From a giant light up dance floor to the signature ball room, each installation is designed to " challenge perceptions, awaken senses, invite joy, and remind visitors to revel in the colorful moments of everyday life ," says co-creator Jordan Ferney of Lucky for me, I got to spend a few hours in the ultra Instagram-worthy space, and I'm here to say that whether you're an NYC local or just visiting anytime within the next month, you'll want to check this out. Did I mention there's a giant ball pit at the end? Okay, good. Phone cameras, at the ready. Oh Happy Day.

Come Insta-ready

Thanks to some pretty cool technology, once you enter The Color Factory you'll sign in to receive a personalized scan card with your very own QR code that will be linked to your email. Throughout the experience there will be photo stations (each equipped with sweet DSLR cameras) that will snap your photo and automatically send it to your email. Just scan the card, strike a pose, and carry on-pretty cool, right? My inbox was pleasantly flooded with some incredible pics by the end, so come insta-ready. The exhibits are obviously packed with amazing colors, so if you really want to stand out, wear something in your favorite hue or choose an outfit that will contrast with the vibrant surroundings. And of course, feel free to take tons of your own photos in addition to the professional stations.

There will be treats along the way

From specialized ice cream to perfectly paired candy treats and a even a conveyor belt of rainbow macarons, I was stoked to nibble my way through several exhibits. Prepare yourself for sweet surprises served by the Color Factory staff clad in their signature solid color jumpsuits as a way to complete the multi-sensory adventure.

You'll discover your "secret color"

One of my favorite parts of the installation were all the interactive elements that made the experience truly personal. Not only will you walk away with a customized color portrait done in the "Complimentary Room", but you'll also get to discover your very own "secret color" by following a walkable infographic (think: life-sized magazine quiz) that's just too cool. After making my way through questions like "what movie genre would you be?" I confidently stepped through a door to select my favorite name for a deep purple hue. You're looking at Strong Independent Lilac right here.

Some exhibits have hidden elements

Listen to the staff as they explain each exhibit and the best way to experience it-they are the pros after all. At first glance, a room of ombre balloons may look like just that, but on second glance, you'll realize that each balloon is printed with an adorable wish for the world written by students at public school 826NYC. Or, you may discover that the color button you chose on your way in will come in handy at an exhibit later down the line. Look closely, and be sure to read each room's description to get the full immersive experience.

Take your time

Though you'll buy your tickets to arrive at a certain time (this is to keep the experiences from becoming too crowded) you should take your time savoring each room. Gather all the eye candy each space has to offer without rushing from one to the next. Be present. In today's Insta-obsessed world it can be tempting to race from photo op to photo op, but taking your time in each unique room will allow you to get the full immersive experience that the co-founders were going for. I could have spent all day in the ocean-like ball pit, tbh.

Continue the color exploration

The actual indoor exhibit is just the beginning. In an effort to include the New York City community in this cool pop-up, the color continues with 23 hidden surprises scattered throughout the city that you can find and experience via a free neighborhood map (no ticket required). From eateries offering limited-time Color Factory specials, to vending machines placed at local businesses that deliver colorful surprises, let the exploration continue as you wander past the physical confines of the exhibit. I personally can't wait to check out the Color Factory-exclusive manicure being offered at a local Soho nail salon, but there's something for everyone.

Since the exhibit is only open for a limited time, you'll want to scoop up your tickets here sooner rather than later. In the meantime, follow @colorfactoryco on the 'gram to check out all the whimiscal, multi-hued photos (not to mention, endless inspo) from this year's installation. Rainbow lovers, unite!

See more cool color inspo:
A Rainbow-Hued Apartment Redefining French Girl Chic
Designers on the Colors You Should Be Decorating With Right Now
Instagram Accounts That Will Inspire You To Live Colorfully

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Color Factory New York City Summer 2018 Guide

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Color us happy: The Color Factory has officially landed in New York City's SoHo neighborhood for a limited time, and it is every bit as enchanting as we expected. The 16-exhibit experience spans 20,000 square feet of rainbow goodness, curated by a talented roster of collaborators who tell their unique color stories by engaging your senses in unexpected ways.

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"My name is Maraschino Marcus, and I'm going to be one of your flavour experts today!" said a tall and chipper man dressed in a pink lab coat and standing in an all pink room. He was about to tell a group of women about "our megastar flavour" vanilla, an ingredient he said was "essential to almost all of the flavours that we know and love".

It was a lively welcome to the Pint Shop, a spin-off of the hugely Instagram-popular Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) which immerses visitors in a world of photo ops with rainbow sprinkles and Gummy bears. Now in San Francisco, the museum got its start in New York. In June it returned as a spin-off, selling the museum's new line of ice creams.

The museum started as a photo-heavy attraction and the Pint Shop marked a greater transition: The Museum of Ice Cream is no longer just a place, it's a lifestyle brand. And that's just the beginning of founder Maryellis Bunn's grander ambitions.

Maraschino Marcus, joined by his peppy female companion Nilla Bean, told the group they needed ice cream names - Bunn's was "Scream". The group's members gave themselves names such as Mocha and Salted Caramel. No one chose Carageenan, an emulsifier often found in ice cream, or Soy Lecithin. The Pint Shop was no place for snark.

Rather, it was designed to give guests "a very tiny snapshot into the experience that I and my team had, actually developing an ice cream line," said Bunn, 26. "What does this flavour look like? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? And how does it feel to be inside of that flavour?"

It looks like rainbows, smells like sugar and feels like money. According to MarketWatch, the Museum of Ice Cream has made more than $20 million since its opening in 2016. Tickets to the San Francisco museum sell for $38 apiece, but the Pint Shop, a pop-up that closed on August 19, was free.

It found a corporate sponsor, Target, where the ice creams are also sold, and the store looked like a colourful riff on a big box rival: monochromatic aisles of merch in the museum's signature pastels, a freezer aisle full of branded ice cream, three shed-sized pints decorated as backdrops for social media snapshots. And, in the back, the pink room for the tasting experience, which cost $33 and included a pint.

It was all designed to look great in photos. Visitors could jump in the Cherrylicious pint and make GIFs of themselves swimming through a pool of plastic cherries. They could pose in pink in front of the aisle of pink sprinkle toys and accessories. "I actually brought three dresses," said Saina Kam, a luxury fashion marketer, wearing a blue slip dress that perfectly matched the branded colour of the Churro Churro flavour - which encompassed an entire aisle of the shop. "We're going to have an outfit change later."

Bunn has said in previous interviews her goal is to be the next Walt Disney. But she actually wants to build a city.

"We need spaces that ... catapult our human behaviour interaction in a way that we haven't seen before," she says. "We've become dormant in our curiosity and creativity. So if I can build spaces - cities, right - that really reinvigorate that, so it's not just this check-in, go to work, go home..."

She deflects questions on what that city would look like or how it would function. But every space - the hospitals, stores, parks - would be designed to foster creativity and connection. Would it be a utopia? Or - consider the image of a charismatic leader surrounded by pink-clothed employees, as in recent Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country - would it be a cult?

"Utopia has this connotation" that is easily misconstrued, she said. "I think about it more in the sense of like, how do we build the spaces that are going to change the way in which humans think about culture?"

Either way: In her future city, the grocery stores would not look like the Pint Shop.

"It's not a grocery store," she said. It's a space that "spoke to our brand mission of inclusivity".

Art critic Ben Davis has said Bunn and her imitators - including San Francisco's Color Factory and serious art museums that host room sized installations such as the National Building Museum's Fun House - are part of a movement called "Big Fun Art." "Branded experiences ... compete with retail spaces looking to refashion themselves as 'experiences' to get some advantage over online shopping," Davis wrote. "These in turn compete with the various new para-art pop-ups that now go head to head with museums for the adult theme park dollar."

While Bunn is not sure she started an art movement, she knows she is an artist. "My art is human experience," she said. And human experience is the art other people make in her spaces: "Before they go, they're curating a group of friends they want to go with," she said. "They curate their own outfits because they want their outfits to be part of it, so that's where the creative process starts to flow."

Millennials don't want things - they want experiences. That's the line marketers and trendspotters have been trumpeting for years. Things are almost shameful, something we've organised out of our lives. Experiences are pure. But a photo of yourself experiencing something - even if it only exists as pixels on your phone - is a thing, a thing people want. And it's a thing they'll pay extravagantly for.

People who visited the Pint Shop weren't just there to buy ice cream. They were there to take photos, hundreds of them, "curated," as Bunn says, with outfits and poses and objects, to become social media status symbols. Bunn has wavered about the idea publicly, sometimes encouraging people to put away their phones.

"We're in the process of a new MOIC project I'm building. There will be spaces which will be phoneless," Bunn said. "I think we'll get some backlash, but once they allow themselves to let go, it will be powerful."

But selfies, as much as ice cream, are what she's selling.

The children's clothing line she launched in another partnership with Target - Art Class - matches the exhibitions exactly: For the perfect photo op, you can put your child in a banana print shirt on a swing in front of a backdrop of bananas. People used Pint Shop merchandise as props, often without buying. But that was okay, because their photos served as advertisements for $14 water bottles that look like milkshakes, or $22 sprinkle-print yoga mats.

Experiences are commodities, and that's been the undercurrent of social media focused museums since they began. The Pint Shop just made the implicit overt. The experience is a store. But all of these experiences were stores all along.

Back at the tasting room, everyone was told to grab a millennial-pink lab coat.

"Uh, I'm okay," said a chic looking girl wearing all black. Her outfit was a look, and a pink lab coat was not her aesthetic. Maraschino Marcus told her the lab coats were not optional. "It can get a little messy" was his reasoning, but one suspects it was because photos look better when everyone in the pink room is wearing pink.

We were invited to crowd around an assortment of beakers full of marshmallowy cotton balls and waft their scents toward our noses, high school chemistry lab style, before experimenting with test tubes and eye droppers of vanilla extract and cream, to create an ice cream base.

"We went through 7,000 variations to come up with ice cream bases that you're going to taste today," Maraschino Marcus said. "Over the last year: 7,000!"

Finally, the ice cream arrived. More lab coated assistants dispensed scoops of six flavours - with names like Vanillionaire, Nana Banana and Chocolate Crush - into a custom dish. The scoops were the size of a ping-pong ball: Two bites and they're gone. The ice cream was good, but not remarkably better than any other brand of premium grocery store ice cream, such as Haagen Dazs.

The photos, however, were incredible.
© Washington Post

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Museum of Ice Cream: Inside New York's sugary Instagram haven

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"My name is Maraschino Marcus, and I'm going to be one of your flavour experts today!" said a tall and chipper man dressed in a pink lab coat and standing in an all pink room.

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- M&Ms store
- Apple stores
- House of innovation Nike Paris
-Hermès - in Sèvres Paris
- Coca-cola museum

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宙に浮く水 | WORKS | 吉岡徳仁デザイン事務所

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Hearing

The sound made by a Champagne as it leaves a correctly opened bottle is one of your first clues to the wine's identity. The cork should be eased out firmly but gently, releasing with a soft sigh or hiss. This is the prelude to a chorus of sounds that will soon become familiar to the attentive ear.
Listen carefully and you will learn to track the effervescence from first gush to its more sedate arrival in the glass. You can even judge the finesse of the bubbles - a key defining feature - from the sound they make once poured.

Words to describe how Champagne sounds

There is a discreet popping noise as the bottle is opened, then a crackling, fizzing sound as the wine is poured and the effervescence whooshes into the glass - a sound like the stirring of leaves in the breeze or the rustling of silk, taffeta, lace ...
The bubbles burst, hiss, chatter, babble, whisper then fade ...

Sight

Sight is the first sense that comes into play. The eye observes the limpidity, lightness, fluidity and colour of the wine in the glass. It judges the density of yellow on a scale that ranges from golden blonde to straw yellow or grey gold. The human eye is capable of fine discrimination. What it looks for most in Champagne is brilliance, radiance and crystalline clarity - all qualities that appeal to the eye. An absence of limpidity, on the other hand, tends to be rather disconcerting.

Then there is the spectacle of the bubbles themselves - endlessly fascinating as they rise irrepressibly to the surface and collect in a jostling ring to form the 'cordon'.

There are certain degrees of effervescence, each one an indication of a wine's age and personality.
Bubbles are synonymous with Champagne and always a welcome sight - but they should not overpower the nose.

Words to describe how Champagne looks

Champagne sparkles with life as it is poured. The bubbles may be described as fine or medium-sized; steady, streaming or moving in groups; light and tiny; fast and furious, or slow and shy. Some whizz through the liquid like shooting stars, whirling and spiralling upwards. Others are more enduring and generous, settling in a delicate cordon round the edge of the glass. Others still are more discreet and dispersed or on the contrary very evenly distributed.

Wine critics often talk about tiny, silvery bubbles or bubbles that shatter into fragments of gold.

Adjectives used to describe the mousse might be creamy, white, fine, enduring, lively, elegant, graceful, pale or frothy. The cordon formed by the mousse may be compared to a delicate string of pearls.

Nose and smell

Champagne wines are so subtly aromatic that the effervescence may mask their delicate bouquet. Scientists say that our sense of smell has evolved over the years, making us better able to discern the different nuances of aroma in Champagne. Every bottle develops its own particular range of fruit, floral, wooded and spicy notes.

That first whiff of Champagne is like the overture to an opera: there is a recurring theme, followed by notes that reappear throughout the tasting. In a young Brut Champagne, for example, scents of white flowers are often the prelude to hints of orange peel and wild berries. The aromas in Champagne are inherently volatile, constantly evolving in the glass. How you describe them depends on how you perceive them, whether fruity, floral, mature, subtle, thoroughbred or any other term that you might choose.

To appreciate the full aromatic potential of Champagne, you must allow the wine time to open - meanwhile studying its appearance in the glass. Once open, the Champagne releases its 'first nose' or immediate olfactory impressions, followed some time later by the deeper, more complex, more precise 'second nose'. The aromas in Champagne are also an indication of grape variety and grape ripeness.

Palate and taste

Champagne makes particular demands on the sense of taste, particularly the tongue and the palate. The moment when the wine enters the mouth is the high point of the tasting, especially for an experienced and attentive taster who will be looking for such qualities as intensity, completeness, sharpness, richness, perfection - sometimes even impertinence. How you define the wine very much depends on your ability to detect its subtle harmonies and tastes. Can your tastebuds distinguish between a touch of citrus and a hint of ripe pear? Would you say that the palate was round or long, lively or agile? What about the mouthfeel? Is it ripe with red berries, musky, toasty or brioche-like? It is delicate or ultra-refined? Look to your palate for the answers to these questions.

"The palate should be surprisingly but pleasantly sparkling, instantly seductive and velvety. The taste should have an underlying fruitiness, with a lingering fragrance that causes you to meditate silently and at length on the wine's aromatic qualities - long after you put down your glass". Louis Bohre, an early 20th century Champagne 'explorer'.

Words to describe how Champagne tastes

The bubbles feel like crystalline pearls on the palate, exploding with acidulous flavours that stand out against a rich, smooth background of ripe fruit and exotic wood interlaced with the fragrance of white flowers. Think of the bubbles as the musicians in a symphony orchestra. They rise to a crescendo then diminish by degrees to close on a note of peace and harmony. Excitement, completeness, tranquillity - a symphony in three movements that intensifies our tasting pleasure.

And touch...

Our sense of touch is the most reliable indicator of the temperature of the Champagne. The glass, ideally an ultra-fine, tulip-shaped glass, should feel cool to the touch, just as it looks cool to the eye by virtue of the mist that forms inside the glass. Champagne is at its finest and most expressive when you have stood the bottle in an ice bucket for half an hour, and served it at a temperature of 8-10°C (46.4-50°F). Our sense of touch is also the source of what we call 'mouthfeel', or the texture of the wine on the palate.

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The sound made by a Champagne as it leaves a correctly opened bottle is one of your first clues to the wine's identity. The cork should be eased out firmly but gently, releasing with a soft sigh or hiss. This is the prelude to a chorus of sounds that will soon become familiar to the attentive ear.

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- luxurious
- exclusive BUT how can we make it more inclusive so it seems accessible by everyone
- French taste
- festive experience

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- bubble experience: as if we were in a bottle - bubbles coming out from the floor of the retail shop
- label customized (interactive)
- a bar or vending machine
- production line -> to make people understand how it is produced ('educational')
- tasting experience

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Apr 19, 2021 - Explore j's board "retail" on Pinterest.

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https://www.pinterest.fr/hlneastrids/pins/