Intimo più mare n° 204 - Luglio 2016

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
them were working for Augusto’s uncle, the well-known designer of
swimwear. Bringing together their different experiences and skill
sets they were able to come up with a fresh, playful collection,
evoking happy times such as playing in the water, laughing at the
beach, sipping colorful cocktails as the sun sets into the blue ocean
and, of course, the trendy night spots of Miami’s South Beach.
The look of the collection, for which Luli Fama quickly became
famous well beyond the borders of the USA, is a perfect mix of
Latin chic and US pop culture. It is especially appreciated for the
simple, modern styling of the swimsuits and the prints, which
celebrate carefree holiday moods and situations. For Luli and
Augusto the exclusive designs of the fabrics are fundamental when
it comes to imbuing the collections with allure. This is why they
have decided to collaborate with various disfferent artists in order
to come up with the unique, customized patterns that literally tell
a story. When it comes to Luli Fama collections the buzzword is,
indeed, originality. The brand’s customers are drawn to it for this
reason and are crazy about its whimsical, free-wheeling spirit. The
garments themselves are also exclusive, including one-piece suits,
bikini models, beachwear and clothing items that are quite amazing,
thanks to the carefully conceived designs and the selection of the
prints. The sophisticated spirit of the styling also distinguishes Eye
Candy, the new collection of sunglasses, wonderfully coordinated
to go perfectly with the beachwear. Like all successful collections,
Luli Fama can boast a host of celebrity fans, beautiful woman,
the likes of Beyoncé Knowles, Shakira, Jennifer Aniston and Kate
Hudson, not to mention such discriminating super-models as Adriana
Lima, Bar Refaeli and Marissa Miller. The obvious know-how and
consummate creativity of Luli Fama have also been recognized
by a major fashion trade show, Mode City, which during the July
edition presented Luli and Augusto with the prestigious Creatore
dell’Anno 2016 Award. The haunting rhythms of the Carabbean
and the exciting, glamorous night life of South Beach and Doral
– the Miami suburb where Luli Fama is headquartered along with
the firm’s single-label store – have served as the inspiration for the
fabulous 2016 collection, a veritable explosion of brilliant colors,
from warm tones to the seductively cool nuances of the sea and
the night, illuminated by starry skies and magical moonlight. The
tropical vegetation, Italian mosaics, tie & dye patterns and romantic
vintage maps of the Caribbean are the motifs that have been selected
for these distinctive designer items, capable of transforming any
woman into a magnificent mermaid.
STRATEGIES on page 158
SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
Tips from the experts, recommendations from the manufacturers
and stores for improving the shopping experience
A store works well when people who wander in just to have a look
end up deciding the stay for a while, taking interest in something
and, in the end, perhaps buying it. This whole process frequently
depends on the eagerly sought after shopping experience which by
this point in time seems to be the stores’ only possible response to
shopping over the Internet and the advance of the big chain operations.
But just how is one to create a compelling shopping experience
that serves to entice the shopper, if not to return to the
store, at least make a purchase? For starters, it’s possible to have an
influence on the shopper right in the retail space. Patrizia Amantini,
Group Account Manager of the TNS research institute explained the
techniques at the Retail Now symposium in Milan, The store as a
medium: opportunities and strategies for field marketing, organized
by Paola Gallas Networking.
“A purchase decision is not always made in the store itself”, explained
Patrizia Amantini at the Milan meeting. “The decision is often
made outside of the store. Shoppers are increasingly connected,
every more savvy and informed. They learn about the brands before
even coming into the store”.
At what point during this process, then, should the retailer invest
and what should he do to influence a shopper?
“In the store, first and foremost, it’s important to understand just
who the shopper is and how he behaves in a store in order to selection
the most effective forms and means of communication”
explained Patrizia. “A retailer has to understand the nature of the
shopping mission of the people who wander into the store, as well
as their purchase trigger. These two factors determine the behavior
of a shopper in a store”.
PAYING ATTENTION TO STIMULI
According to the analyses of Patrizia Amantini the act of shopping is
based on and revolves around research and missed opportunities.
“The process that leads to a purchase begins with planning (20% of
the items planned on don’t end up in the shopping cart)”, Patrizia
was quick to point out. “It continues with searching (people who
engage in shopping spend 90% of the their time navigating the Internet),
the actual selection (people who engage in shopping spend
10% of their time in a store interacting with the products in order
to make a final selection) and, finally, it’s time to make the actual
purchase (30% of those who engage in shopping leave the store
or a shelf without ever buying anything). There are two kinds of
consumers at the time of shopping and they behave in two different
ways pursuing different goals”.
During the process of displaying and organizing the selection of
products, the stores should focus their efforts on those who already
know what they intend to purchase. According to the findings of the
Kantar Wolrld Panel, fully 69% of shoppers buy the same brand in
the various different product categories and while shopping have
already decided what to buy and which brand.
Many consumers are decided, regardless of the categories. Their
objective is to find what they want, not engage in shopping in the
sense of evaluating different options.
“People tend to disregard the vast majority of visual stimuli”, explained
Patrizia. “Practically 99% of them. Of the remaining 1%,
only 5% is processed by the brain, which means that only 0.05%
of all visual stimuli. And for consumers engaged in shopping there
are all sorts of visual stimuli. But they deliberately disregard brands
and products in order to reach their intended goal. Distracting them
to keep them as long as possible in the store is a mistake. It’s necessary
to help them get to and select what they are looking for in
order for them to have some spare time in which to notice other
brands and products. Research has demonstrated that they look
at the packaging of a product for just a mere fraction of a second
(0.29 in the case of soft drinks, 0.34 for records and CD’s, 0.48 for
medicines, 0.65 for toothpaste, 0.79 for food but 0,90 for wine) and
so the labels and packaging should be limited to a minimal amount
of precise information”.
People engaged in shopping don’t even see the major part (85%) of
the promotional material and props developed for the retail outlet.
“Communication within the context of the store, both that of a promotional
nature and company-based initiatives, simply fails to even
be noticed by shoppers, becoming literally invisible when the consumers
are busy looking for a specific product. In general, we don’t
see what we are not looking for. Shoppers don’t read while they are
busy shopping (at the most eight words) and tend to rely on iconic
brand signs based on color and shape in order to locate a particular
category of product”.
The quest for a product represents a negative experience because
it is based primarily on a process of exclusion. Positive emotions