GROUND LEVEL ways to offer wellness services where convenient for consumers. In fact, these “anchor stores” are transforming into healthcare support hubs, with services ranging from physical therapy and acute care to fitness centers and pharmacies. For example, big-box retailers such as WalMart and Target are offering these ancillary services to better serve their customers. When redefining the store, retailers should take a closer look at existing assets and how they can be utilized to create flex-spaces. Using a variety of design choices and flooring finishes, these flexible floorplans can support multi-use facilities, such as seasonal stores and colocation spaces. Mixed-use spaces are becoming increasingly popular as businesses strive to create “convivence communities,” where people can live, dine and shop. However, these mixed-use facilities will require flooring with high acoustical properties to help minimize noise and disruption through the various spaces.
The post-pandemic world
Regardless of when the pandemic ends, it will continue to have a lasting impact on traditional brick and mortar businesses. Many retailers have already reimagined a variety of ways to support their employees and customers. However, the question remains: How do businesses keep consumers engaged during this new era of online shopping? First, stores should continue to embrace experiential design. The convenience of e-commerce is driving retailers to offer interactive experiences that can’t be derived from an online purchase. For example, shoe stores that provide turf surfaces to try on athletic footwear place a great emphasis on performance flooring while helping increase in-store engagement. Additionally, traditional malls that now lay dormant are being transitioned into sports facilities and gaming environments. Rethinking these spaces will give consumers a new reason to visit these outdated environments and have a different type of human connection that goes beyond shopping.
The future of flooring
Since flooring is the largest surface in any facility, it deserves greater attention. There are a variety of ways flooring can support the new spaces that will be created in a COVID-19 world. From taking care of grocery employees with surfaces that offer greater ergonomics and a superior coefficient of friction to utilizing experiential design to provide more intimate and interactive
retail environments for customers, focusing on the human experience has become the new normal as we make our way through the pandemic and beyond. The post-COVID-19 world will require a concerted effort from all stakeholders to fully integrate operations, facilities, design and construction to meet the needs of their brand, their customers and their employees. CCR
Bo Barber is Executive VP of Sales and Marketing, and Clay Moore is Mideast Regional Sales Manager for Ecore.
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COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — ISSUE 4, 2021
