Fostering a sense of community in hyperlocalised retail design for global brands

To differentiate themselves in a competitive market, global brands are establishing hyperlocalised stores that provide spaces, services, and experiences that are neighbourhood specific, while asserting global brand identity. These enmeshed spaces generate and leverage community attachments to both brand and place. As hyperlocalised retail stores are a convergence between brand and place, their design may contribute to a sense of community that enhances brand connections while serving the needs of people in the district. Branding literature defines brand community as possessing an underlying motivation of conspicuous consumption and explicitly rejects geography as a condition for community definition. Place literature encompasses retail as part of an urban fabric that constitutes place, with a broad perspective on community; however, there is limited focus on the influence of branding on local community. As hyperlocalised stores exist at the intersection of brand and place, there is a gap in the discourse to develop a consolidated understanding of community in physical retail stores. The study asks: How does sense of community influence the design of hyperlocalised retail stores for global brands? Furthermore, the study asks: How can the theoretical attributes of brand and place-based community be developed to inform hyperlocalised retail design practice? Using a constructivist grounded theory protocol, the researcher conducted 18 qualitative interviews with global retail designers. The findings were saturated using a theoretical sample of 20 hyperlocalised retail stores for four global brands. The study develops knowledge on the influence of community attributes on hyperlocalised retail design, resulting in practical design implications.