What if a store did more than just sell to consumers? What if it created an experience...built a fantasy world...enveloped the consumer's senses? Anthropologie does just that. The company has successfully created a transcendent brand experience in each store. Artfully decorated, the stores stimulate the senses, from sight to smell to touch and leave customers with the desire to explore this magical world.
What this experience has created is a longer customer commitment to the store. Customers stay in the store on average for 70 minutes! This is clearly not a transaction-based interaction, but real involvement with the brand.
What I find interesting about Anthropologie is that they don't use any "pull" marketing tactics, and build their customer-base through discovery and word-of-mouth. The company is also very strategic and conservative about its expansion strategy. They want to stay elusive and exclusive versus ubiquitous in every mall across the country. This speaks to identification with their customer base who want a unique and special shopping experience, not one to be had by everyone.
It's evidently working for them - they were one of the only retailers with positive growth in the past year!
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