Randy Stejskal, vice president and founder of Campus Store Design, and his colleagues Kim Walters, assistant director and interior designer, and Nicole Nielsen, interior designer, shared their insights about what design themes they’re currently noticing, how retail is changing and more and more stores are right-sizing.   

What design themes are you currently noticing in your work?

Kim: Stores are looking for timeless looks that can evolve. We like to design spaces that won’t be outdated within a few years. We do this in a couple of ways: by specifying streamlined, flexible fixtures, as well as by focusing on a neutral color palette that allows the merchandise and graphic to be the pops of color needed to make a space come alive.

Stores are also looking for sustainable design. CSD can specify different wall and flooring treatments or retail fixtures that are eco-friendly, recycled or made of biodegradable materials.

We’re also seeing stores want to incorporate technology into the design. It could be in lighting, kiosks, a smart mirror or a place to custom design a unique school t-shirt.

Finally, another theme we’re designing for is being more innovative with the use of physical space. We’re helping stores reimagine how the retail space can build connections with students, faculty, staff and the community.

Nicole: I would add that creating a unique retail experience overall is important. Students aren’t shopping brick and mortar stores often, so an experience needs to be made to invite them in.

Kim and Nicole, you both noted how retail is changing. What are some of today’s retail needs and expectations, and how does store design address those?   

Kim: Design is imperative in addressing today’s needs and expectations.

For campus stores, flexibility is really important. Generally, there are only two times per year when a campus store has an abundance of textbooks to sell. Otherwise those shelves are basically empty. We have several design solutions for stores that need to plan around this fluctuating inventory on the retail sales floor. We also design for flexibility with fixture systems.

We know experiences are important to students today, so we help creatively address unique selling environments that help stores provide those opportunities. This might be for an area where students can custom design a t-shirt, a virtual fitting room or space for author readings or book signings.

Stores are also looking to increase community sales and traffic. CSD determines how special community events, like a holiday wonderland, could work into a retail space and how to design the area to draw the community in.

Nicole: College students expect the latest and greatest.

As Kim mentioned, students want experiences. An example that comes to mind is a yoga/pilates space we added to a campus store.

Convenience is absolutely an expectation and need for busy college students. We’ve solved for this by adding self-checkout lanes to small grab-and-go markets, so students can quickly grab what they need and checkout.

We also help stores consider niche needs for their campus. If students are really into Frisbee golf, we can help design a section of the store that caters to those needs.

Randy, how does a store know what’s right for their campus brand and how does CSD help with this?  

Randy: Most times, the campus store stakeholders engage their university’s marketing department in the design process. What happens then is really fun and exciting. We work with the campus’s marketing team and share brand identity opportunities for the items that we’re specifying for the renovation. These opportunities include a plethora of signage vehicles for the wall units, floor units and elsewhere in the store. We also allow them to visualize their artist creations via photorealistic software called AccuRender. This allows clients to see, photo realistically, what the end product will look like prior to any work being performed.

Overall, our clients are very resourceful and know their value to the campus. Their core desire is to serve the campus community and that guides the design process a lot.

Right-sizing is a buzzworthy phrase in the industry right now. Can you talk more about the concept and how it can benefit stores?

Randy: Yes, many of our projects involve right-sizing. We’re seeing stores decrease square footage from 15,000 to 10,000 or even 45,000 to less than 40,000-square-feet. Some stores are really considering and engaging in shedding excess square footage from their retail operation, and it does make sense for many.

Right-sizing helps to decrease square footage that is no longer as necessary as it once was due to changing shopping habits and competition. Changing markets, online shopping and shifts in a store’s operating budget are other factors that contribute to the need to right-size. Additionally, rents can be high and there are many entities vying for valuable space on campus.

What is involved in the right-sizing process?

Randy: Our industry renovates its retail operations at a slower pace than other retail. Some stores feature designs that are decades old, and what was correct at that time doesn’t align with today’s needs and expectations. Changing product assortments, new fixture capabilities and amenities all play into the right-sizing formula and process.

Today’s fixtures enable stores to house more SKU’s on the sales floor, as opposed to the stockroom, thus reducing required square footage in the stockroom. By right-sizing the stockroom first, and not the sales floor, customers don’t realize much of a difference in their shopping experience, with the exception that the sales floor is more abundant with product. And, that product is presented and merchandised more appealingly.

Our team works directly with the world’s two largest fixture fabricators. We train with these groups to write in-house quotes for our collegiate retail projects, and in turn, the fabricators allow us to sell to our industry with zero markup to our clients. The fixtures we specify are manufactured right along with fixtures for Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Hard Rock Hotel, Hollywood Bowl, Harley Davidson and Whole Foods Market, to name a few.

Finally, what do you expect to see from a Campus Store Design perspective this year?

Randy: What our team is seeing is that there’s really no one thing. Collegiate retailers are doing what’s right for their campus brand, whether that’s adding a team store or spirit shop to their stadium location, local mall or downtown, or creating a grab and go market in a high-traffic satellite location. We’re also seeing some reconfigurations of the point-of-sale area for a more on-trend look and feel and improved functionality.

 —

Campus Store Design helps stores achieve their true traffic and revenue potential through store and planning design services. Learn more and view their portfolio at campusstoredesign.com.   

California State University Long Beach has become the first educational institution tooffer campus-wide phone chargers-to-go to its students, faculty and staff through a partnership with Electron-to-Go.

Having a dead battery was recently confirmed as one of the top 10 stress contributors for millennials by Daily Mail News, nestled between slow Wi-Fi and forgotten passwords. The 49er Shops at CSULB saw the issue first-hand through their dining services and the university bookstore. Students were often heard asking to borrow a charger, seeking an open outlet or complaining about their dead phone. A solution was found when Electron-to-Go approached 49er Shops management. Electron’s Supernova Stations work for both iPhone and Android devices. Units are now conveniently placed at five locations at CSULB so individuals can grab, use, and return portable charger’s throughout campus. Many system users charge as they head to class or the office, eliminating the hassle of having to find a spot to sit and charge.

Pricing for the service starts at as little as $1 for 24 hours of unlimited charging. Electron-to-Go also offers longer terms at discounted rates. This includes $10 for unlimited monthly access and $35 for a semester subscriptions. “The best feeling was getting our first annual subscription only one week into installing our first Supernova Station in the University Bookstore,” said Mark Sutton, VP of Business Development. Co-Founder Nasim Muabbat followed with “The launch exceeded our expectations. We are so thankful that CSULB saw the vision for what this program could offer students and faculty alike.”

“Students are seeing the value and convenience offered by the portable chargers,” said Steve Espinosa, Customer Service Manager with the 49er Shops. “Many have said that they wish we had this service on campus earlier.”

Electron offers universities two program options including one built as a revenue sharing partnership with FREE equipment. They would love to meet you at C3X in Phoenix, Arizona.

Source: NACAS West

There are many means to an end in the software development process, just like in any process focused on bringing a product to market. But, the main goal should be to deliver value to customers in a timely manner. Subscribing to an Agile mindset accomplishes that, which is why we’re dedicated to the Agile mindset at PrismRBS.

When evaluating system providers, including your current partner, it’s important to understand the process their team follows. During your evaluation, ask: Does the team follow an Agile or waterfall process? How often are they delivering new features, fixes and products? Are the features they’re delivering useful and necessary now?

For PrismRBS, the Agile framework allows us to be flexible and deliver useable, bite-sized features to our customers throughout the development of the full product. A waterfall method doesn’t allow for adjustments, instead delivering a complete product – and value – much later (years versus every month).

Our customers benefit from our Agile practices in three ways:

1. They receive value more frequently.

Practicing the Agile mindset allows us to release new features and fixes monthly instead of quarterly or three times per year. Our product and development teams work on a two-week sprint schedule, rather than developing one behemoth of a product over the course of months or years. It can be thought of as delivering value faster, rather than delivering a product faster. In the two-week time period, our focus is to develop useable features that can be implemented and improve customers’ processes right away.

One way to think about it is in terms of building a car. Instead of building an entire sedan and then delivering it to customers in two years, we’ll build a skateboard and deliver it in a month. Then we’ll use customer feedback to determine the next need and deliver it. By the end, we may actually deliver a convertible instead of a sedan, because along the way, we figured out that’s what customers need now.

2. They are an active part of the feedback loop.

Gathering and applying feedback is an integral piece of our Agile model. Through feedback from customers, developers, product managers, customer experience teams and sales teams, a project is guided through the development cycle. This is how we figure out that customers actually need a convertible instead of a sedan. After delivering a product or feature, feedback helps us determine what the real need is instead of making assumptions. Our Agile practices allow us the flexibility to use feedback to make adjustments to the end product.

3. Their feedback is seen in new features, faster.

Delivering new features in a short timeframe is the hallmark of the Agile mindset. Our customers have continuously evolving needs. Their business operations don’t stop because we haven’t delivered the car. What we do instead is continue providing new skateboard features until the product evolves into the convertible. And, we’re committed to doing this on a monthly basis. Customers know and trust that we’ll deploy more applicable, useful features on the third Sunday of every month. Teams abiding by a waterfall method don’t deliver features on an ongoing basis; they only deliver the sedan, despite the customers’ desire or need for a convertible.

Do you have questions about our process or want to learn more about how you can benefit from it? Contact us at info@prismrbs.com