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Commemorative Retail
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Having a take-away, something commemorative to an experience, can be part of the essential elements in providing the complete, memorable "experience package."
What is required to make such retail merchandise fit this purpose? Sound "Background" Basis for Merchandise -- The destination - the experience - must provide the guest with a memorable "core" experience.
No amount of clever merchandising will generate a satisfactory level of merchandise sales without a "more than" satisfactory core guest experience. If the Project does literally delight the guest, then the level of merchandising success will be solely dependent upon the retail program. Concepts, storylines, characters, and other content introduced during a guest's stay, can provide a strong basis for specific merchandise items.
Mercbandising Location - Retail merchandise should be accessible and visible to the guest at multiple times during their stay, although the visibility does not always have to be the physical merchandise display. Of course, providing point-of-sale opportunities as guests leave (exit) an experience remains once of the best times to close on the sale.
Consistency of image from first perceptions through to sale and checkout are vital. Customers develop opinions of a store even before they enter! A store's experiential design architecture against the surrounding environment is a powerful first impression. Windows and other aspects of the approach are key considerations. The retail space is a 3-D sculpture which delivers impressions to customers upon entry. This sculpture is based upon aisle widths, signage, overall spaciousness (or lack thereof, wall heights, item displays, color, lighting, aroma, sound, and feature presentations (niches).
A destination's retailing tactics must be completely integrated with the guest's arrival and departure patterns, and their level of expectation and excitement at various times during their stay.
Logo, Slogans, Trademarks, Etc. - The logo'ing of merchandise is a critical factor in the sale of merchandise. An intriguing logo, slogan, and/or trademark, imprinted on merchandise can greatly increase that merchandise's appeal. Logo's should relate directly and intrinsically to the Project's experiences so as to evoke all aspects of the venue in the guest's mind. The logo should be memorable and distinguishable on a stand-alone basis. Careful attention needs to be focused on legibility of the logo at varying sizes as well as distances from the imprinted merchandise. A great-looking logo if indistinguishable on a shirt from three feet is largely ineffective. All of this is part of setting the experiential design criteria for a place as well.
There are also more than one motivation for guests making these kinds of commemorative purchase:
Merchandise can literally extend the venue experience for the guest.
Merchandise can provide an opportunity for parent, or mate, or friend, to bestow an immediate gift/gratification to a "special one."
A stuffed Shamu doll purchased for a child that really enjoyed the Shamu show, allows the child to remember the show even more vividly in the hours and days after the performance.
For the parent, providing the doll to the child is an obvious and pleasurable aspect of parenting, and a core aspect of bringing the child to the park in the first place. Never forget the "I am my kid's hero" aspect of such things.
Merchandise can also provide purchaser with "brag rights" to friends and associates back home. We all know why we have sometimes purchased knit shirts with golf logos, baseball caps, sweaters with imprinted resort names, and other similar merchandise. We enjoy these items as a momento of our trip or experience, and if we are honest, do enjoy it when someone notices that we are wearing the item.
Merchandise can also provide something intrinsically interesting to some guests, based on their experience.
Related Topics
Sample Liability Waiver Form
About Urban Entertainment Centers
About Theme Parks
About Themed Restaurants
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Stonecreek Partners Resource pages are provided freely and without limitation for personal, private, non-commercial use, and may be linked to as a source page. All resource page information is based on 30 years of practitioner's experience of Stonecreek Partners' principals, in the retail, entertainment, hotel, residential, and commercial real estate industries.
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