If it wasn’t already suffering before the crisis, a nationwide lockdown has plunged the UK’s high street into dire straits. Headlines proclaim the death of bricks and mortar while footfall is down significantly year on year and month on month as lockdown takes a catastrophic toll on the high street. 

In order to appeal to a new era of shoppers, brands are having to be smarter about how they sell and communicating why consumers should visit them in store when they could simply order what they wanted online. The answer has become a sort of hybrid experience, one which is more experience hub, rather than a transactional  store, something that Holland & Barrett’s latest shop embodies.

The store in Chelmsford in Essex has been designed by Barrows to resemble a wellness hub for the local community rather than a traditional shop. It is the first from the brand to feature an in-store consultation room where trained nutritionists can hold free consultations with customers either in person or via video link.

The store has been designed with technology and sustainability at its core. Digital screens provide information and wellness tips; refilling stations encourage zero-waste shopping and all the store fit-out materials have been ethically sourced and are 100% recyclable.

As Nick Ridley, Head of Formats at Holland & Barrett explained: “We have created the first fully connected customer experience in Chelmsford that showcases the very best of our physical & digital capabilities.”

Hubs like Holland & Barrett’s arguably signify the retail concepts of the future, stores that are not simply for purchasing but that can totally immerse the shopper in the brand’s world. As an experience-deprived nation moves into a period of ‘new normal’ and retail continues to feel the brunt of the extended lockdown, smart creative store design is going to be integral to the high street’s survival and reinvention. This redesign hints at bright shoots for this fledgling new era of customer experience.