Three Steps to Energize Retail Localization
National retailers face an ongoing challenge of maintaining brand consistency at scale, while also appealing to diverse markets through localization, an important way to upgrade the shopping experience and customer loyalty.
It’s a crucial balance, one that requires consistent attention. Localized retail interiors create a sense of connection with the community and drive sales, but they also feel both authentic and on-brand.
So, here are three effective strategies to optimize on-brand localization.
Formalize consistent brand identity guardrails
Think about an outline describing your store design process. On-brand is a part of your thesis statement, while localization is a subcategory. Both are important, but there is a hierarchy.
While your stores vary by footprint, region, revenue generation and even perhaps purpose, it’s important to clearly establish and present your brand identity and localize within it in brand-consistent ways.
Walmart wanted to improve its wayfinding, branding and its interior signage and displays. Miller Zell helped value engineer the design so it could be scaled and rolled out. Walmart located in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Create a brand playbook that sets standards and an all-encompassing visual language — logos, colors, fonts, images, primary and secondary slogans and verbiage. This ensures brand-right consistency from endcaps to restroom signage to digital kiosks to pop-ups celebrating local people, events or causes.
“On-brand is part of your thesis statement, while localization is a subcategory. Both are important, but there is a hierarchy.”
Establishing guidelines for all types of branding makes localization, new décor elements and innovations easier to implement, whether your designs originate in-house or through an agency. Therefore, when an opportunity to promote and celebrate a specific store location’s community arises, your managers and associates understand the process to incorporate it seamlessly and effectively.
Real engagement leads to real localization
Know the expression “Fake it till you make it”? Hard no. Don’t fake it. Half measures and superficial localization gestures not only will fail at the store level, they also could go viral online, becoming a national problem.
There needs to be a “why” for every aspect of your retail space, and localization is no different.
Localization is about specific touches, not general categories. Details matter. The barbecue in North Carolina is different than in Kansas City. Eighty percent of Minnesota natives say “pop,” while 55 percent of Wisconsin residents say “soda.” And if you open a store in Brewton, Ala., good golly, you need to understand the local high school dynamics.
Regional awareness matters, from accents and lingos to food to arts to sports teams. Sometimes what seem like subtle differences are actually mission critical.
Community Connected: Miller Zell included signage that described the origin and development of the Emerald Necklace park system, the branch's neighborhood near Fenway Park in Boston..
If you ask AI about localization, it could note, “A store in the Southwest might feature adobe textures, warm earth tones and desert-inspired elements, while a store in New England could integrate reclaimed wood, nautical accents and cooler color palettes.” Fine. AI and Google searches are good starting places. But true community outreach requires… true community outreach. And research.
Split-flap display uses web-based applications to present custom messaging. Baggin's Gourmet Sandwiches, a family-owned eatery in Arizona, displays NCAA game results to locals.
Ask questions. Engage community leaders, charities, schools and local artists and artisans. Circulate localization design down to the store-manager level to make sure your national team is on point. That kind of engagement helps create feelings of inclusion among associates, who then use that collaborative design approach as a touchpoint to start conversations with customers.
Authentically integrating cultural references or historical hat tips into retail interiors help foster an emotional connection with customers. Half measures and superficial gestures will do the opposite.
Localization touches many bases, both aesthetic and functional
Localization is about in-store aesthetics — art, photography, material selection, etc. It’s also about community outreach — events, concerts, schools, charities, etc.
But it’s also purposeful, from store size to product selection to seasonal needs.
If your store is close to an ocean or mountains, your décor should include elements and displays that connect to those regional attributes. Also, your product selection would in the former lean harder into swim wear and beach accessories while the latter connects more with hiking and camping. And regional and seasonal climate differences mean shoppers have different needs throughout the year.
Café Quindío is located in Salento, Quindío, Colombia. The cash wrap features an illustration of local wildlife, while the walls are covered with vinyl graphics that blend patterns of the local landscape with brand elements, creating a visually immersive experience.
Store sizes and formats are different in urban and downtown areas than in rural or suburban locations, and the product selections vary too. Stores in Phoenix and Miami will have different customer wants and needs as will Boston and Seattle.
Consistent analysis of local demographics and preferences will help you curate a product mix that resonates with your shoppers. This could involve offering products from local brands, stocking items that are popular in the region or adjusting the assortment based on local weather or cultural factors.
Pittsburgh’s yellow bridges, like the iconic Andy Warhol Bridge, define the city skyline -- and this Dunkin' Donuts.
Localization, just like other important touchpoints of customer experience engagement, is both art and science. It’s not a one-off question of store design either. It’s best served by regular reviews of evolving customers and seasonal needs.
And, when done right, it increases revenue and shopper loyalty.