Today, retail spaces are not just about displaying products, but environments designed to offer multi-sensory experiences. These experiences seek to emotionally connect with customers and influence their purchase intention. By understanding how the brain responds to different sensory and cognitive stimuli, we can design more meaningful interactions that impact customer experience (CX) and promote conversion. From the layout of the space to the choice of colors and materials, every detail affects consumer behavior. Neuroscience allows us to understand how these elements influence decision-making, which occurs in a matter of milliseconds and subconsciously in the human brain.
While neuroscience is a broad field, today we focus on three key strategies that can be applied to optimize the design of commercial spaces.
Less Is More: Create Retail Spaces That Make Shopping Easier
We are talking about spaces with the number of elements necessary for their operation. We must avoid visual overload; there are studies that indicate that spaces with simple and organized designs generate a lower cognitive load on customers, facilitating the purchase decision and improving brand retention. This avoids the famous “paralysis by analysis.”
Example of Spaces With Simple Designs
A clear example is Apple stores, which display only the necessary product and the stock of products is not visible. The fewer items and options the user has, the faster the decision making, resulting in higher sales in less time. One of the most famous studies is Hick’s Law. In the article Digital products: UX/UI optimization to improve usability and conversion we cover this topic.
Interior design of the the Apple Store in Hongdae, South Korea.
In addition, neuroscience can help support marketing and category management efforts to improve in-store displays and product displays by providing a framework for understanding consumer behavior and preferences through a process of measuring the impact and effectiveness of promotions and displays. This is achieved through the use of technologies such as EEG or electroencephalograms.
Optimize Display and Advertising With EEG
This technology makes it possible to measure emotional response to advertising messages and images in order to identify which ones are most effective. This helps to create more persuasive ads and to optimize the conversion process.
I don’t have the technology to do EEG, what can I use?
There are now AI-powered tools that perform attention heatmaps, which at least helps identify visual foci and in some ways helps elucidate opportunities for improvement in the visual design of the exhibit, in terms of visual dominance. Dragonfly.AI is one example of the many existing platforms for AI-assisted heatmap testing, allowing for faster and more cost-effective testing.
Heatmap image of a bookshelf. Image courtesy of Dragonfly.AI.
Listen to Your Customers, Co-create With Them
Beyond measuring the customer’s response to visual stimuli, neuroscience suggests that integrating the customer into the design phase of a commercial space can generate better results. When we integrate them into the creative process of both the space and the design of products and services, the validation of ideas occurs early, reducing uncertainty and increasing the emotional connection with the brand.
Example of This Early Validation Process
As an example of this early validation process, we have the Innovation Lab, a space we have at Blaster where we design and co-create all kinds of solutions with clients. In the article The Design Accelerator: Driving the development of innovative products, we go into more depth on the subject, discover how this process helps your brand.
Conclusion: Use Neuroscience to Improve Conversion
Designing retail spaces based on neuroscience principles can improve customer experience and sales. By simplifying environments, optimizing displays with technological tools, and encouraging co-creation with customers, you can achieve a more efficient and engaging shopping experience.
At Blaster Design, we help you create memorable and effective retail spaces. Contact us to find out how we can improve conversion in your store with strategies based on UX and CX design.
