By Sophie Rhodes, Lumsden
Customers’ expectations continue to rise as they seek better and better experiences that appeal to families. However, operators in the visitor attraction and cultural sectors can sometimes overlook how their retail and hospitality spaces impact younger visitors and, in turn, help to drive increased commercial opportunities.
Generation Alpha – those born after 2010, who are expected to reach 2.2 billion this year, are our future. They hold persuasive powers in gift shops and cafes. To delight both this generation and the ‘big kids’, we need to design memorable experiences that excite and enchant. This should be considered at the very beginning.
Retail for Generation Alpha
Whether retail or dining environments for internationally loved brands, visitor attractions, or museums, the aim should be to create seamless experiences that extend storytelling and immersion beyond the main attraction. That continuous thread across the visitor experience, including retail, hospitality, and, importantly, the ‘in-between spaces’, maintains a continuous sense of discovery and interest for younger visitors.
Designing themed and interactive spaces with hidden stories or retail spaces with tables at suitable heights can make kids feel more involved and help create a sense of discovery.
With the huge shift to online retail, designing spaces that engage young visitors and give them a compelling reason to visit is critical. As people become more conscious of their spending, prioritising a memorable experience over material goods is becoming prevalent, according to insights by Barclays. Being able to tie that experience to something they can take home makes it a tangible memory and a good investment of their time.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter, opened in the summer of 2023. It includes a celebratory retail space inspired by the Wizarding World. Covering 13,000 square feet and featuring intricate layouts and sculptures to encapsulate everything fans love about the Harry Potter franchise, visitors can explore eleven magical-themed areas inspired by the film locations, sets and props.
A nine-metre-high enchanted dome is central to the huge retail shop. Its magical creature imagery and integrated projection mapping make the store feel truly alive. This retail emporium ensures the tour experience doesn’t end until you’re on the train home.
Elevating the retail experience, extending the attraction, and consequently increasing in-store dwell time for Generation Alpha, we begin to see how beneficial all this can be.
These memorable experiences apply to dining, too. Halfway through the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo, the Backlot Cafe consists of three areas themed to different scenes from the Harry Potter films. These are the Hogwarts Greenhouse, Potions Classrooms, and Delores Umbridge’s office. Such unique atmospheres help create a foundation of lasting impressions for young visitors and families.
Educating young minds
To complement the popular Children’s Garden at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the world’s first botanic gardens shop was designed specifically with children in mind.
The design brings the outside in as the shop is filled with stories about nature. These seamlessly connect to the gardens as well as adding fun and encouraging interaction. Installations include display tables resembling oversized ants. There is also a reading area with a giant earthworm bench, honeycomb hive lighting and cloud-shaped lights.
It is also a net-zero carbon space. Sustainable materials throughout include a cash wrap countertop made from recycled yoghurt pots. Trees felled at the Kew Gardens site have been crafted into tables that double as mushroom-shaped sculptures. It is an imaginative and inspirational shop that appeals to children and their families.
While captivating environments are a magical experience for kids, such spaces must be designed inclusively. Generation Alpha may not be the ones buying their souvenirs. But we need to make it feel like the space is made for them. Simultaneously, we don’t want to exclude the ‘big kids’.
The Wonderlab at the National Railway Museum in York is a hands-on, interactive gallery that encourages young visitors to participate in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths). The dynamic experience encourages play, discovery, and socialising, which is key for early development. The adjoining retail space has subtle, low ‘play’ tables at a comfortable height. These allow young visitors to see and touch the products easily.
Again, these spaces seamlessly transition from the main attraction, driving into the element of play.
Designing retail spaces that aid emotion creates a more positive experience for all, not just Generation Alpha
Rather than using bright, bold colours commonly used in children’s spaces for stimulation, the design of the Wonderlab shop is playful through form. Emulating the pipes found in the industrial engine of steam trains, the design uses toughened cardboard tubes across the rear retail display, creating a playful aesthetic.
Although the main Bramall Hall attraction offers an exciting adventure, it can be overstimulating for some young visitors who may want to ease out into a more relaxed space. Natural materials are thought to have a subconscious association with the outdoor environment, evoking feelings of calm and reducing stress. This neutral palette allows the products to speak for themselves while creating a peaceful atmosphere.
Grimm & Co. is an arts-based literacy charity that champions the writer in every child. It helps to build confidence, self-esteem and skills.
At its new home, the magical Emporium of Stories, the design for the story themed café The Feastery and the Apothecary to the Magical shop inspired by Art Deco and Art Nouveau pharmacies where potions such as A Pinch of Happiness and Concentrated Concentration can be found, are spaces that have been carefully created to ignite young imaginations.
The spaces around us help form who we are. That is why it’s so important to consider young Generation Alpha visitors when designing retail and dining spaces. The more time spent in places of learning and exploration, the more significant the impact on their imagination. As adults, we try to maintain that sense of fun and discovery. And this is exactly what we want for our future shoppers.
