Retail and the art of the “seanchaí”
There is a word in the Irish language which describes a storyteller. It is “seanchaí”. The author, Frank Rose, has explored storytelling and its effect on human behaviour and decision making in his recently released book “The Sea We Swim In” published by Random House. One of the themes of his book is the role of storytelling in the marketing of products. Telling the story of a product’s journey rather than simply including it in a catalogue, results in increased sales.
This theory is based on the belief that consumers make a purchasing choice based on available product information. When invested in the product’s origin story and journey, they are persuaded to purchase in greater quantities and at a higher price point. Through our retail clients, we see increasing consumer queries regarding the provenance of the goods they are buying and the story of the journey the products have taken to arrive on our shelves.
In recent LinkedIn articles we have provided updates on the great number of retail occupiers who are refurbishing and redesigning the space that they occupy within our centres. In these refurbishments there has been a shift towards lifestyle designs. This allows the retail space to enable and promote the story of the products. Consumers can handle and explore in-store before a potential purchase or online order.
Post lockdown, we have worked with over 20 retailers who have invested in store refits across our portfolio of 50 shopping centres and retail parks. In our recent Retail Pulse Jan 22 / Q4 2021, sales in shopping centres for December 2021 was 6% above the same period in 2019. This shows that there is an increased amount of business available to support this investment in stores.
Consumer behaviour regarding the story, provenance and origin of retail products is also matched by investors’ Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) requirements regarding their property portfolio. In future updates we will highlight case studies on how our current retail stock is being refurbished and redesigned to include sustainability and environmental factors. This may in turn be an opportunity to evolve and harness the consumer movement towards a more immersive retail story telling retail journey.
For now, we at Bannon will continue to be the seanchaí for the Retail Sector in Ireland!
Author: Peter Nicklin, Property Management Surveyor, Bannon
Date: 14th February 2022
