The focus of this year's conference was technology, shopper demographics and experiential shopping.
"We are not architects. We are not traditional store designers, nor a traditional agency nor a marketing company," says van der Merwe. Instead, he believes that his Design Partnership team is a combination of all of the above. They are "retails curators".
Van der Merwe's aim is to construct environments, based on human behaviour and customer needs. He believes that successful curators stitch disconnected objects together seamlessly in order to tell a cohesive, and engaging story that is also human-centric. "As retail curators, we marry science and art, balance form and function and are sensitive to where head meets heart," says van der Merwe.
This is achieved by understanding the consumer, their user behaviour and what makes them tick. The core is to understand people and more specifically how they engage naturally within space and with objects.
"For us, research lies in the trenches," says van der Merve, "part of the solution is to spend time in the retail environment and to observe how people behave. Why they do things is less important than what they do. We cannot change how people behave, but can certainly tap into this and maximize good design in retail spaces."
It can be argued that this approach not only creates a human-centric environment, that is appealing to the consumer, but it also helps to maximize the brand offering and further extend value within the retail space.
After spending the past 20 years in the industry, van der Merwe reveals five key lessons that he and his team aim to apply in all of their retail projects.
Man-made objects are incomplete until someone creates a use out of them. As designers, we not only have the job of creating aesthetically appealing forms, but also need to consider the needs of the target audience.
Success lies in identifying the things that our audience finds appealing. It is important to understand what catches their eye and piques their interest. No matter how gorgeous a design, it is imperative that the message translates to the audience, and is in line with the brand identity.
As economic conditions continue the world over in a permanent state of flux, it is essential that the buying decisions and experiences of all customers are addressed at every possible level. When it comes to store design inside and out, it is overwhelmingly evident just how inseparable consumer behaviour and design decisions have become.