Thinking across Channels: Retail Designers' Competencies in the context of Omnichannel in Retail

Abstract

This contribution addresses the need to widen the discourse on retail design education, in times of major shifts in retail. Today, retailers are urged to rethink their business models into omni-channel strategies. We believe this not only affects the retail industry but consequently has repercussions on the field of retail design, the profile of the retail designer and retail design education. The central question in this contribution is: what is the impact of current developments in retail on the profile and the competencies of future retail designers? As we noticed a lack in understanding the profile of the retail designer in terms of their required competencies, we consulted 31 practitioners in the field of retail design with the objective to develop a holistic retail design competence model. The model consists out of 77 competencies divided into eight thematic competency categories. We elaborate on three competencies in the category omni-channel and digital which future retail designers need to acquire to cope with the challenges in the field of retail. Based on these findings, we reflect on the role of retail design education.