The shop in Tate Modern’s Switch House extension epitomises the growing trend for museums to put more thought into how they do retail.
Matching the 10-storey building’s tastefully functional aesthetic by Herzog & de Meuron, the shop has been designed by the Amsterdam-based agency Uxus, which is also responsible for stores at the Rijksmuseum and the Eye Museum in the Netherlands.
George Gottl, the chief executive of Uxus, says that the Switch House shop aims to be a “best practice destination”.
“One of the first things you do after seeing a good exhibition is go to the museum store to see what you can buy and take home with you,” he says.
“The team here wanted to create something beyond that – for people to come here to pick up gifts and items even when not visiting the museum.”
While the products on sale – including jewellery, books, prints and clothing – don’t differ wildly from what you might expect, there is a high-end feel to them.
The shop uses stackable display units that can be easily rearranged to respond to exhibitions and events. Lighting has also been used carefully to showcase items.
Gottl says the design of the shop is purposeful and is the result of much discussion about the customer journey. Items related to current exhibitions are near the entrance, with premium products closer to the centre. There are small cushioned cubbyholes for children to sit in, leaving adults free to browse.
“It’s about making the experience more elevated in small and subtle ways,” Gottl adds.
He says the store employs purchase-stimulating practices that are common on the high street, but which many museums do not make the most of, such as encouraging spontaneous buys as visitors queue at tills.
“The Tate team has a vision to create the best store possible – that’s best store, not best museum store,” Gottl adds.
Another institution to have refreshed its retail strategy is the Natural History Museum, which last year engaged the design agency Drinkall Dean to refit its main shop and create a new retail space targeting adult visitors (the Cranbourne Boutique), which opened in 2015 and is built around the 3.5-tonne Cranbourne meteorite (see below left).
London’s Design Museum, which will reopen in its new Kensington location in November, is also set to launch two retail spaces. An off-site shop on Kensington High Street opened in July and there will be a shop in the museum itself. Both stores were conceived by architectural designer John Pawson, who has also designed the main museum building.
“The high street venue aims to be a destination design shop with a curated edit of the best in design, including furniture, homeware and books,” says Rebecca Hossain, the head of retail for the museum.
“The shop in the museum atrium will offer a fuller range of stock and books.”
She adds that both shops will feature the same materials used in the museum – grey stained oak, terrazzo flooring and glass – and will be “design statements in themselves”.
With the Cranbourne Boutique, we wanted to create a space that was less hectic than our other shops, where people could dwell. It tends to get lower footfall, so staff have time to engage with customers who want to know more about the products.
We have introduced products with higher price points: we have a range of 3D prints of our most prized objects that cost up to £5,000, and have done collaborations with UK designers.
Our key performance indicators are becoming healthier, although more gradually than we originally anticipated.
Museum retail is upping its game and museum brands are becoming more desirable.”
Rosie Gibbs is a buyer for the Natural History Museum, London
Matching the 10-storey building’s tastefully functional aesthetic by Herzog & de Meuron, the shop has been designed by the Amsterdam-based agency Uxus, which is also responsible for stores at the Rijksmuseum and the Eye Museum in the Netherlands.
George Gottl, the chief executive of Uxus, says that the Switch House shop aims to be a “best practice destination”.
“One of the first things you do after seeing a good exhibition is go to the museum store to see what you can buy and take home with you,” he says.
“The team here wanted to create something beyond that – for people to come here to pick up gifts and items even when not visiting the museum.”
While the products on sale – including jewellery, books, prints and clothing – don’t differ wildly from what you might expect, there is a high-end feel to them.
The shop uses stackable display units that can be easily rearranged to respond to exhibitions and events. Lighting has also been used carefully to showcase items.
Gottl says the design of the shop is purposeful and is the result of much discussion about the customer journey. Items related to current exhibitions are near the entrance, with premium products closer to the centre. There are small cushioned cubbyholes for children to sit in, leaving adults free to browse.
“It’s about making the experience more elevated in small and subtle ways,” Gottl adds.
He says the store employs purchase-stimulating practices that are common on the high street, but which many museums do not make the most of, such as encouraging spontaneous buys as visitors queue at tills.
“The Tate team has a vision to create the best store possible – that’s best store, not best museum store,” Gottl adds.
Another institution to have refreshed its retail strategy is the Natural History Museum, which last year engaged the design agency Drinkall Dean to refit its main shop and create a new retail space targeting adult visitors (the Cranbourne Boutique), which opened in 2015 and is built around the 3.5-tonne Cranbourne meteorite (see below left).
London’s Design Museum, which will reopen in its new Kensington location in November, is also set to launch two retail spaces. An off-site shop on Kensington High Street opened in July and there will be a shop in the museum itself. Both stores were conceived by architectural designer John Pawson, who has also designed the main museum building.
“The high street venue aims to be a destination design shop with a curated edit of the best in design, including furniture, homeware and books,” says Rebecca Hossain, the head of retail for the museum.
“The shop in the museum atrium will offer a fuller range of stock and books.”
She adds that both shops will feature the same materials used in the museum – grey stained oak, terrazzo flooring and glass – and will be “design statements in themselves”.
The Natural History Museum ups its retail game
“The NHM does a lot for kids, but we weren’t doing as much as we could to target adult visitors.With the Cranbourne Boutique, we wanted to create a space that was less hectic than our other shops, where people could dwell. It tends to get lower footfall, so staff have time to engage with customers who want to know more about the products.
We have introduced products with higher price points: we have a range of 3D prints of our most prized objects that cost up to £5,000, and have done collaborations with UK designers.
Our key performance indicators are becoming healthier, although more gradually than we originally anticipated.
Museum retail is upping its game and museum brands are becoming more desirable.”
Rosie Gibbs is a buyer for the Natural History Museum, London