For a country that loves malls and shops as much as the Philippines, it’s unfortunate that many of these shopping spaces look like huge concrete boxes – for two reasons. First, ugly slabs of concrete disconnect people from nature, causing stress and discomfort. Two, reconnecting humans to nature by adding vegetation and landscaping encourages customers to pay eight to 12 percent more for goods and services. In other words, making a retail store conform to biophilic design is good for people and for business.
Biophilic design aims to surround people with nature because humans, who evolved from it, developed a positive response in natural ecosystems. In contact with nature, people enjoy significantly lower stress among other effects and benefits while stores that connect individuals with the natural environment attract more customers and increase their likelihood of sales.
To enjoy these benefits, here are five things that you can do to your store:
Add Flowers and Plants
Exposure to nature is crucial to biophilic design and one of the simplest ways help people connect with the environment is by adding flowers or plants to your shop. The addition of greenery naturally soothes stressed customers and they also help to absorb sound, creating a nice, quiet, restful place that people want to visit and patronize.
Include Water Features
Water is a soothing element. Even just the sound of flowing water can help people relax. While installing a koi pond might not be possible, your shop can add a water source like a fountain or an aquarium.
Let the Air Flow
Air might be invisible but bad air quality is easily noticeable. Ensure that your store has good ventilation to keep the air cool and prevent the spread of airborne toxins and diseases.
Enhance Your Displays with Natural and Artificial Lighting
Light is crucial to people. Sunlight helps the body produce Vitamin D and serotonin, a calming hormone. Unfortunately, many workers stay in dark cubicles or work when the sun isn’t even out. If you can, open your store to natural light with windows and skylights but you can also install artificial light that mimics the sun.
Use Natural Materials, Shapes, and Colors for Counters and Kiosks
Connecting with nature also means interacting with materials derived from it. Install wooden kiosks and counters instead of plastic. Using natural colors can also create a positive response but, in case you think that limits your choices to green, brown, or blue, find inspiration from flowers or the plumage of birds – nature has more colors than you give it credit. You can also build counters with features that mimic natural shapes, such as leaves or animals.
In the Philippines, Ayala Malls is a good representation of biophilic design in action with its ponds and greenery that shoppers interact with regularly.
Renovating a store according to biophilic design principles will take commitment. The entire space must become a biophilic habitat to ensure that the soothing effect occurs in humans. But the transformation will help your customers relax and your business to flourish.
Photos from: Inquirer, Retail Design Blog