Millennials make up the highest proportion of social media users, so much so, restaurant design is influenced by whether it’s ‘Instagrammable’ enough. The same goes for retail spaces; and it makes sense, considering there are one billion users worldwide. The photo sharing app holds great commercial power; 60% of users discover products on Instagram, 75% of users take action and there are even awards created to praise businesses that are Instagram-worthy.
As a cult platform, it’s hard to ignore. Considering the photogenic aspects of your store at the design stage can improve engagement with your store in the long run. Customers won’t just be tempted off the street by the alluring design, but will be traipsing in off social media too. So how can you get involved?
It’s important to consider a few things before you begin your journey to Instagram fame. Here’s five points to help you get started:
1.Know your brand’s idiosyncrasies
It’s important you have a clear idea of your brand’s identity. You want to create a creative space without losing touch of your brand or what it stands for. This means maintaining your businesses tone, language and colour scheme, but adding a bit of extra flare to mix things up. Sézane gets the balance just right in its New York City boutique.
2.Consider pop culture
Pay attention to trends and movements in the design world; millennial pink, indoor plants and neon signs are a few examples of recent interior trends. Tonight Josephine has racked up an impressive 32.6k followers by incorporating all three in their underground Waterloo-based bar. Paying close attention to popular culture can help you create a space that people are going to travel far and wide to see.
3.Experience, experience, experience
To increase the sharability of your store, create an experience your customers can’t forget. This spans from entering the store to browsing, payment and leaving the store. Offering interactive aspects such as activities, demonstrations and photobooths can all boost the chance of someone sharing your store on Instagram. Topshop showed us how it’s done with their pop-up waterslide in 2017.
4.Lighting matters
In the selfie era, anything that involves a great photo op is guaranteed to find its way on to Instagram. Typography, creative wallpapers and flowers are all great backgrounds for a selfie, but don’t forget about the lighting! Bellota, in California, installed 25 custom lamps at their bar to allow diners to tweak the lighting to get the perfect Instagram shot.
5.Don’t go OTT
Too much of anything is overkill. A few bold features can be all you need to the lure in shoppers and encourage them to snap away. Small details can have a big impact – Jack’s wife Frieda has quotes on its individual sugar packs which proves very popular with its Instagram-obsessed customers.
Need some inspiration? Here are a few Instagram-worthy stores:
1.Aesop – Milan (Image courtesy of Dezeen)
2.The Budapest café – Chendu (Image courtesy of Dezeen)
3.Goodhood – London
4.Glossier – New York (Image courtesy of Dezeen)
5.Charlotte Tilbury – Dubai (Image courtesy of Charlotte Tilbury)
6.Gucci at Selfridge – London (Image courtesy of Vogue)
