Retail environments

Abstract

The changing relationship between producers and consumers, the growth of service industries, and the opportunities for shopping as a leisure activity have signifi cantly infl uenced where retailing takes place through the use of internal and external spaces. The opportunities for consumption beyond the selling of products have embraced the development of the 'third place' and the design of explicitly experiential retail environments. The focus on consumer experience but also the convergence of commerce, service, leisure and culture has contributed to both the hybridity and the fl uidity of the designed environment. Fluidity extends to the physical retail space itself, as it becomes permeated by online connectivity to the virtual environment.