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Online shopping is fierce competition for the in-store experience, demanding that brands put exceptional thought into both what they offer in physical stores and how.
With 59% of consumers desiring an inviting ambience when shopping1, businesses must carefully consider the impression their spaces, inside and out, make on prospective buyers.
Shopping behaviour can be affected by design choices. For instance, warm colours influence potential customers to make decisions quickly, whereas brighter, cooler tones encourage longer deliberation of products.
As retail becomes increasingly experiential, Neolith® is helping shops stay relevant by offering designers unlimited potential to realise immersive and enticing emporia, whether prominent counters, sophisticated shelves or hard-wearing floors. Along with complementing the customer experience, well-chosen furnishings have the ability to enhance the products that are being showcased.
Showing is telling
Following the increased popularity of natural looking stone, Neolith has noticed retail designers exploring contrast, particularly of lighter and darker materials, to create a stylish aesthetic statement. The interiors of Il Lusso, a luxury furniture showroom in South Africa, are an exemplary design. Co-founder Robert Marengo wanted an attractive platform on which to showcase his products, requiring visual excellence in every aspect of the store.
Large format tiles and an array of realistic motifs were used on floors and walls to evoke an atmosphere of refinement and draw visitor attention to specific products. Upon crossing the threshold, potential customers are welcomed with floors fabricated in subtle Strata Argentum and Arena offset with deeper hued Lava and Beton. A diverse array of patterns, including lustrous Calacatta Gold, igneous Basalt Black and shimmering Onyx, provides a dynamic background for displaying deluxe furniture.
To ensure an unparalleled shopping experience, the close attention to detail extends to the washrooms, which feature beautiful white veined Estatuario juxtaposed with warm, tobacco-toned Pulpis.
A feast for the eyes
Elegant white marble, a market leader in 2017, continues to be highly sought-after this year. Owing to its multifaceted qualities, Neolith Calacatta was specified for Xocó Heladería y Cafetería, an ice cream and coffee shop in Valladolid, Spain.
Its marmoreal qualities made it the perfect choice for the floors, walls, worktops, bathroom and furniture. Calacatta’s dramatic veining against a bright background brings a clean and classic feel to this space. The continuous and sophisticated décor enriches the customer experience with an aesthetic one.
Unlike conventional marble which is sourced from nature, Neolith is produced, delivering time and cost savings. This manufacturing process also allows greater possibilities, especially with Calacatta, to end match or book match slabs for stunning visual effect.
What’s on the outside counts
A building’s exterior is another principal factor in cultivating a welcoming and appealing environment. There has been on-going high demand for textures in exterior design, and this is developing into a desire for fusions of multiple styles on single surfaces. US architects, Arquitectonica, chose Neolith for the façade of Hudson Lights, a 12-storey mixed-use development in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The Sintered Stone surface was able to deliver the natural aesthetic the architecture firm sought, without the long-term upkeep costs associated with many raw materials.
The building provides visually arresting aspects of striated Strata Argentum and patinated Iron Corten, further complemented by delicately mottled Pierre Bleue. Bold, contrasting patterns combined with impressive resistance to wear and tear give the building high-quality, timeless visual appeal.
Neolith’s Mar Esteve Cortes comments: “It’s paramount for retailers to establish an attractive in-store environment consistent with their brand. Neolith designers use the latest technology in the manufacturing process that provides endless possibilities to realise spectacular and singular patterns for flooring, counters, shelves and more. Making a positive first impression is imperative for any business, and high-quality surfaces from Neolith can help achieve this. Sintered Stone offers a wide range of performance or advantages that conventional marble and other popular materials cannot. Neolith’s incomparable durability can help shops meet the market demand for sustainable spaces, delivering long-lasting designs that decrease the likelihood of refurbishment.”
by AN shopfitting magazine no.145 ©
