About two years and multiple cross-disciplinary skills (twenty or so partner companies were appealed to): that is what it took the multidisciplinary teams at Alfonso Maligno’s firm - trend observers, designers, architects and graphic designers - to conceive and develop the “Pharmacy 3.0” concept. They mainly aimed at generating purchase pleasure in a place consumers most often go to because they have to, and not because they want to.
Counting on sensoriality
The starting point is pretty simple: it is essential to generate purchase pleasure to develop customer loyalty and make pharmacy attractive and engaging. “Consumers will be much more tempted to buy and come back to a retail space where they have felt support, interaction, pleasure and well-being,” explains Alfonso Maligno, founder of the firm.
And so it is the ambience that the firm has first chosen to work on, by favouring natural and cosy materials, with an autoclave-treated oak wooden floor, wooden and steel shelves, or raw metal coated with water varnish. The firm has not hesitated to create vegetated areas, with planters lit with UV lamps to renew with the tradition of medicinal plants. The rest of the place is lit with LEDs, which offers the double advantage of saving energy – 6 watts per square metre, that is, five to ten times less than traditional lighting – and providing softer, less aggressive light than traditional neon lighting. The cosy, relaxing atmosphere is reinforced by the dark grey paint on the walls and ceilings, which also shows up the white lacquered, laser-cut sheet metal for display signs, whose graphics evoke the 1950s.
“Our research has revealed the steady progress of a movement in favour of green, environmentally friendly buying places that know how to preserve authenticity”, emphasizes Alfonso Maligno.
The Pharmacy 3.0 concept by Alfonso Maligno’s firm is also focused on sound, with a choice of 165 relaxing or lively ambiences, and scents, with two original fragrances – Norway pine and mango – designed by two experts in sensorial marketing, and spread out in the atmosphere of the office with aroma diffusers. This is the end of medicine smell, for sure!
A new approach to consumption
Another key element with “Pharmacy 3.0” is the customer experience. Again, the aim is to maximize purchase pleasure, by facilitating strolling and product testing and touching.
At the Pharmacie de l’Aquarius, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, the central island is built around a herbarium of aromatic and medicinal plants, which thus puts the latest cosmetic launches and offers forward, in a mingling of wooden display stands and benches. The island guides customers as they walk towards the shelves standing against the walls and the counter of ethical products. In the end the modest, but newly arranged 80 m2 area now offers a longer linear surface, while avoiding the various displays that used to obtrude both path and sight.
Some products are exposed on wooden tables, as can be found in latest generation bookshops. “Horizontal display makes purchasing easier, and creates small universes that are naturally attractive”, says Alfonso Maligno.
In addition, Alfonso Maligno’s firm proposes to integrate an area dedicated to brand sales leaders, skincare and personalized tips to the pharmacy.
The firm teams have done their best to reduce building costs by designing architectural furniture and accessories, and a lighting system that can be manufactured in batches, or even in series. The total cost thus amounts to around 1,200 euros per m2, apart from wiring and air conditioning.
“Pharmacy 3.0 is a project that was built around consumers, with the possibility to make them interact with the product by creating “discovery and testing islands”. It stands out with the alternation of display structures, multifunctional interaction islands, and consultation areas used by chemists to help patient-customers throughout their 360° health and well-being experience,” sums up Salvatore Maligno, the main initiator of the project. According to the architecture firm, about 15 projects are currently underway.
