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Unit 14: Experiential Retail

While it’s unnecessary (or even inappropriate) for all experiences to be developed highly across Notes
all of these dimensions, the more in-depth and consistently a product or service is developed
across them — the more responsive an offering is to a group’s or individual’s needs and desires
(e.g., a customer) it’s likely to be. Enhancing the affordance of a product or service, its interface
with people, is key to commercial experience design.
Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
6. Experience design (XD) is the practice of designing products, processes, services, events,
and environments with a focus placed on the quality of the user experience and culturally
relevant solutions.
7. Dynamic experience utilise stationary and constant audio visual elements.

8. Static experience always altered in another form.
9. In commercial context, experience design is driven by consideration of the moments of
engagement, or touch points, between people and brands, and the ideas, emotions, and
memories that these moments create.
10. Commercial experience design is also known as customer experience design, and brand
experience.

14.3 Generation C — The Changing Consumer

Gen C is the ‘Connected Collective’ consumer. Gen C is not a target audience but a community
of digital natives that will partner with brands. To successfully market to Gen C consumers,
brands must create fresh, cultural capital for Gen C to talk about – a process which also gives
them “status” within their cohorts or “tribes” and social networks.

What makes Gen C – the changing customer more effective?
 Tribal behaviour: Like many youths, Gen C form their identities by belonging and
expressing themselves within “tribes” reflecting the desire to “connect” around interesting
ideas, cultural objects, causes and movements. Brands need to get into conversations that
are happening within and across tribes. This will give their messages more credibility and
attention compared to external sources.
 Social status derived by what you share: Gen C gains credibility in their friends’ worlds
by expressing opinions, sharing ideas, observations and thoughts. Their influence depends
on what they share and how often they share it.

 Bee-like swarm behaviour: Powered by social media platforms, Gen C members mobilise
as one with their tribes like bees around topics that interest them. When it comes to
buying decisions, 85 percent of youths rely on peer approvals. Everything is reviewed and
rated, making decision-making a team sport. Marketers must talk to “we”, not “me”.
Marketing successfully becomes all about “talking to the community, not the individual”,
and creating a conversation for the swarm to run with.
 Social oxygen: Gen C thrives on constant connectivity via social media platforms. Mobile
devices have become “social oxygen”, enabling them to connect, create and share opinions
and thoughts with their tribes. The mobile phone acts as a lifeline to the world, connecting
not only with people they want to talk with, but also shielding them from those they do
not.

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