Release Date: February 2, 2015
Contact: Karin Pryor
Phone: 954-241-4823
Fax: 954-893-7500
E-mail: karinpryor@retailenvironments.org
New research: Retailers need holistic approach in measuring bottom-line benefits of store design
A.R.E. and EWI Worldwide collaborate to produce report; results will be shared
at GlobalShop and a nationwide A.R.E. Shoptalk workshop series
HOLLYWOOD, FL--Retailers who take a holistic approach to measuring the benefits of new store designs are most
successful in accurately quantifying the bottom-line results, according to new research from EWI Worldwide and A.R.E.
(the Association for Retail Environments).
The research, published in a special 16-page report in the January/February issue of A.R.E.’s Retail Environments
magazine, analyzed data gleaned from retailers’ annual reports and press coverage combined with retail survey results.
“Guiding and measuring uncharted changes in how stores work and look will be vital to the industry in the next few
years,” said Janis Healy, EWI’s VP of Retail Strategy. “The Millennial generation is fundamentally different from retailers’
traditional Boomer shopper. Understanding their expectations and designing stores to appeal to them is not optional.”
Nearly 90% of retailers surveyed by A.R.E. are expecting to redesign stores in the next two to five years. In considering
what those stores will look like, and what the investment and expected ROI will be, EWI and A.R.E. suggest that the old
formula for calculating ROI—(gains from investment minus cost of investment) divided by cost of investment—is only
partly helpful.
The study shows that the most compelling reasons for redesign are subjective: gaining a competitive edge by
differentiating from other retailers; appealing more to current customers; providing a better customer experience
through all channels including the store; and providing a better customer journey through in-store navigation.
“Those goals have long been considered important, but impossible to measure in the same way that sales per square
foot can be calculated,” said Angela Schrubbe, EWI’s Market Intelligence Strategist. “Nor has it been considered possible
to isolate store design from other factors contributing to a store’s success.”
Because all of these factors are prompted by customer demand rather than retailer intuition, acting on them is
imperative, researchers found.
The good news: The data shows that measurements designed to test results for traditional, objective goals also can be
used to measure progress toward new, subjective goals. This data can then be combined with nontraditional metrics to
help retailers evaluate and target their store designs.
The researchers call this “holistic approach” to measuring ROI an “ironclad framework for success.”
In addition to being published in the January/February issue of Retail Environments, the report will be available on
Insights.RetailEnvironments.org and EWIWorldwide.com. A.R.E. is expanding its ROI Resource Center
retailenvironments.org/are-roi-toolkit to include the report as well as a searchable database of all the referenced case
studies.
“Advancing the retail environments industry is core to our mission,” said A.R.E. Executive Director Todd Dittman.
“Accurately measuring the benefits of store design is an important factor in the industry’s success, and we have put
considerable resources behind this effort, as has EWI Worldwide.”
To ensure retailers fully understand the approach and to provide the tools for them to put it to work, A.R.E. is
sponsoring a major GlobalShop Conference session. The session, “The ROI Advantage–How To Get Your Store Design
Project Approved,” will be moderated by A.R.E.s Director of Membership Karen Schaffner. On the panel: Janis Healy,
Angela Hoekstra Gearhart of Select Comfort, and Julie Swanson of Car Toys.
A.R.E.’s regional Shoptalk series also will be expanded to include a workshop on ROI and will visit eight cities in 2015:
Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Montreal, Cincinnati, Seattle and Dallas.
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ABOUT EWI WORLDWIDE
EWI Worldwide is a global live communications company headquartered in Detroit, MI, focusing on retail, digital
engagements, exhibits and events. The retail team designs and executes environments for a variety of retail formats,
from stand-alone stores to store-within-a-store and pop-up footprints. The team has their finger on the pulse of retail by
tracking consumer trends and monitoring market insights. Driven by strategy, the design team takes a holistic approach
to every project resulting in the creation of memorable experiences, converting consumers into brand ambassadors.
With manufacturing and program management rounding out the offering,
EWI is poised to provide single source, end-to-end, turnkey solutions to their clients.
ABOUT A.R.E.
The Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.) is a Hollywood, Fla.-based non-profit trade association representing the
retail environments industry. More than 700 member companies include store fixture suppliers, retail design firms,
suppliers of visual merchandising products, and suppliers of materials and equipment for the retail environments
industry. Member capabilities include importing, exporting, consolidating, installing, project management, engineering,
design, and more.