Interior architectural branding: the implementation of the brand identity at the point of sale by means of interior design

Today it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate brands from competitors. A strong brand identity is a prerequisite for achieving this differentiation. Existing research concerning the Point of Sale has focused primarily on the influence of store design on sales and consumer buying decisions, but not on its influence on brand perception. To fill this gap, we developed an explorative study design focusing on one exemplary brand. We first examined how the brand personality is expressed in stores, second, we analysed the influence of the store design on the consumer perception of the brand with a representative online survey. Our study shows that interior design elements are well suited to express the brand personality.