SKU’d Thoughts 35: How can brands become a third place?

Last month, I attended a panel discussion about creating new retail experiences. The panelists, who were all founders of emerging brands, all spoke about striving to be the third place. The third place was a concept coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his book “The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community” to describe the social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home (“first place”) and the workplace (“second place”).

Major retailers like Whole Foods and Starbucks have been actively striving to establish their outlets as a third place. New York City’s Bryant Park Whole Foods is an excellent example of this, with restaurants, bars, and lots of seats for patrons. Starbucks has long been a place where most people felt they could lounge and work for hours. In fact, Starbucks issued a third place policy after the coffee-shop chain came under national scrutiny for a Spring 2018 incident that resulted in the arrest of two black men who were simply waiting for a friend at a Philadelphia Starbucks.

So, how can brands create an environment that people will deem a third place?

More than just commerce

Every time I walk into the Apple Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the place is buzzing not only with customers coming to pick up the newest Apple gadgets but with people there simply to charge their phones, wait around for a friend, or in some instances taking in a workshop that is happening right on the sales floor. I think the latter is the key to making a location third place-worthy. Brands have an opportunity to recreate that experience in their locations and have it align with their overall brand message. There is a wide range of value-add programming that brands can activate within their spaces. For instance, mattress brands can offer mindfulness and meditation workshops, food and beverage brands could host cooking classes with well-known chefs or panel discussions on the future of food and nutrition and so forth.

Friendly staff

A friendly and inviting staff is key to creating an environment that makes people want to spend their time there. When brands hire friendly staff to be helpful not only to customers who are actively shopping but also to those who are window shopping, it goes a long way with building brand equity with future customers. Grocery shopping is not an activity I particularly enjoy (I don’t think many people do) but going to Trader Joe’s makes the experience much more bearable because of the pleasant staff. The popular grocery chain’s president, Bryan Palbaum, revealed on a podcast that a big part of the hiring process is finding people who have “outwardly nice” personalities.

Free Wi-Fi and space to sit

I just got back from vacationing in Italy and before eating at any restaurant, my wife and I would not only search reviews of what the best meals were but also if the place had Wi-Fi. We both didn’t have cellular service so we figured if we were going to spend some time at a place, we might as well go somewhere we can be connected. This same thought process holds for any space that is vying to be a third place location. Starbucks became the de-facto third place location because they provide free Wi-Fi and space for people to park and do work or just simply kill time. As DTC brands move into physical locations its a wise move to offer complimentary Wi-Fi and a space for people to lounge and experience brands first-hand. As an added bonus, the process of logging into the Wi-Fi is a chance for brands to collect valuable data on potential customers.

Brands have to be deliberate about creating an experience within their locations that brings in people not solely for the purpose of buying products. A combination of the recommendations above can move brands closer into the minds of consumers as places they can spend their valuable time outside of their home and workplace.

Cross posted on Medium