Lyn is an author, award-winning designer, and owner of Retailworks, a full-service retail design consultancy. In the past 30 years, Lyn has been teaching and helping retailers such as Allen Edmonds, Aveda, the Kohler Company, Miller Brewing Company, and Sears build engaging, experiential spaces and she has received national praise for her holistic, innovative, and results-driven philosophy.
In addition to the thousands of professionals and consumers she has spoken to, I have had the pleasure of Lyn guest lecturing to my retailing management students. Her presentations are always informative and get at the heart of why design is such an important component of retailing.
Lyn, thank you so much for joining me. First off, I’d love to hear a bit about your journey to retail design. What were some important events in your life that led you to retail design and eventually running your own business?
I grew up in a retail family so I was familiar with this type of business. My bachelors degree from UW-Madison was in Interior Design and Related Art and my first job was as assistant to the Display Director at Yost Department Stores (they had 6 in the Madison area at the time). I was fascinated with how what we did on the selling floor, affected consumer behavior. I was also very interested in helping a business succeed so I went to graduate school at the UW to take business classes and research consumer behavior in retail settings.
What are the biggest challenges you face when working with clients now? How has this changed over the years?
Budgets. Many retailers may realize they need help but can’t always afford it. Everyone has a budget, even those with deep pockets. Our goal is to create dynamic and engaging environments that positively affect the bottom line, while staying within our client’s budget.
We’ve seen a number of prominent retailers close their doors in the past few years. What are some things retailers should do to avoid becoming another statistic in the so-called “retail apocalypse”?
Create a strong brand and deliver on it in every aspect of the business. Know your target market and tell stories that they find interesting. Provide an experience that can’t be had online. Provide exceptional service.
What advice do you give to clients to create experiences that can’t be had online?
Creating an environment that touches all the senses. Surprising the customer by doing something out of the ordinary. Educating the customer. Providing super good service via knowledgable staff. Each retailer has to think out of the box and figure out a way to (emotionally) connect with their target market and keep things fresh so their customer will want to continue to come back for the experience.
I teach my students about the importance of retail atmospherics, how sensory elements impact our in-store experience. How do you approach these elements and where does it come up in the design process with a client?
We start looking at retail atmospherics and sensory elements the moment we step into the store environment for the first time and are thinking about them throughout the entire design process. We’re also often teaching our clients about the positive effects of properly used elements & principles of design and implementation of sensory elements. Good design = engaged customers = increases in purchasing behavior.
Are there any retail design elements you’d love to integrate into a store but no clients have had the courage to try?
A digital “style wall” a sort of live, life-sized design look book that shoppers can interact with — but we may be getting close to doing so!
Any advice for students who might be interested in pursuing retail design?
Get a four year interior design degree from a CIDA accredited University, get some experience working in a retail setting, learn basic business principles so you can understand budgets and how to affect a bottom line, and take classes in or read about consumer behavior/environmental psychology so you can see how powerful interior design can be.
