Research in Retail Design: Methodological Considerations for an Emerging Discipline

Abstract

The design of retail stores has been the subject of considerable research in disciplines such as marketing and consumer behavior. But in many instances their output failed to reach or appeal retail - and interior designers. Their holistic approach seems to place little value in the results of research on the influence of isolated environmental stimuli on customer behavior, studied while exposing customers to modes of representation, other than the actual 3D - retail environment. Research in retail design, based on methodologies and a vocabulary closer to the realm of designers, may bridge this gap. This paper wants to frame this phenomenon by focusing on three relevant concepts: ‘holism’, ‘research in design’ and ‘tacit knowledge’. The paper argues that research in retail design in a ‘designerly fashion’ and taking into account the discussed concepts, can contribute to the development of the discipline’s own body of theory.