Crafting the Retail Experience

The Wide-Format Experience

When thinking about creating a retail experience, brands’ first thoughts may not be about wide-format printing. Instead, they often think about the product and the finished look, but don’t necessarily realize how much can be produced by a printer. But that can be overcome if approached the right way. Demonstrating the versatility of wide-format, along with the creative power of the shop, can go a long way toward building a lasting relationship.

Powers notes one aspect printers can use to demonstrate the value of wide-format is how much more focused it can be.

“The biggest benefits over other technologies would be communicating your brand in a medium that is delightful on the eyes and not as distracting as digital signage that may look like a commercial,” he says.

Lawson notes that shops shouldn’t be afraid to talk up the size and unique properties of wide-format, either. “We can put a piece in a space or build something that goes into what would traditionally be a nonmarketed area,” he notes. “We can also do material that has texture that would be difficult for a web fed or sheetfed press to produce.”

However, Sawhney says, shops also need to be realistic about their own capabilities. When it comes to creating a retail experience, “cost effective” doesn’t necessarily win the day. Brands want an environment that will entice customers through the door, and something not done to impeccable standards might run the risk of having the opposite effect.

“You can’t do shortcuts,” Sawhney says. “When we first started, we were very B2C [business to consumer], and we tried to find the most cost-effective way to print — three passes is good enough instead of six, for example. But with these types of projects, never take a shortcut, even it if takes longer. Do it right and these customers will come back.”

Using print effectively in the retail space comes down to using graphics in targeted, innovative and engaging ways to give consumers a reason to walk through the doors. The mantra that every wide-format printer looking to get into the retail experience business should adhere to is summed up by Powers: “Wide-format technology means larger graphics, and larger graphics will help create a more immersive in-store experience. This allows your brand to be seen better and help your messaging stick.”