and the coffee company’s precipitous success was, in turn, imitated by many other retailers. Today, from Apple stores and Borders bookstores to countless independents, the third place concept permeates the retail landscape.
Primarily, the third place strategy is employed by midrange and high-end retailers, which are particularly focused on atmospherics in executing the in-store experience, says Theresa Williams, director of Indiana University’s Center of Education and Research in Retailing.
“They are going beyond the focus on price as the main reason for shopping their stores,” she says.
But in a weak economy, does a third place strategy make sense? In fact, retail experts argue, justifying the expense of
premium products and services means the strategy is more important than ever.
Boston’s Achilles Project was originally conceived as a boutique, but given its location across the Fort Point bridge, the owners knew they needed something
special to draw in customers and make them regulars.
“Clothes alone wouldn’t do it,” says co-owner Michael Krupp, “so we brought in the bar and restaurant. With a bar, hanging out comes naturally.” They also wanted to attract patrons who would appreciate the business design sense, and with many Boston architecture firms occupying Fort Point, Achilles attracted a crowd naturally.
According to Oldenburg, third places comprise mostly regulars who weave a trip to the meeting place into their daily routine.
“The third place idea isn’t so much what the owner supplies,” he says, “it’s what the group supplies for one another.” Regulars encourage other people to come in and set the tone of conviviality, he adds, “but they don’t tend to spend very much.” The perfect example of this is lovable barfly Norm Peterson on Cheers, who’s always good for a laugh but never pays his tab.
Another way to create in-store experiences is literally to add water. For years, high-end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue have been giving customers bottled water. Doug Fleener, president and managing partner of Lexington, Mass.-based Dynamic Experience Group, even encourages handing out lollipops, citing research that suggests people relax when they have candy to suck on. He’s also a proponent of in-store seating. “A women’s store, like Brighton, may have seating and the newspaper from that day for the guy while his significant other shops,” he says.
And the third place retail strategy has most recently spread to drugstores looking to regain that neighborhood feel by capitalizing on healthcare’s high costs and inaccessibility. For example, CVS offers MinuteClinics in more than 525 locations throughout the country, and competing drugstore chain Walgreens operates at least 400 of its Take Care clinics nationwide. These in-store wellness centers are staffed by board-certified nurse practitioners who can treat minor illnesses, prescribe certain medications and provide common vaccinations.
It’s a smart investment, says Williams. “Healthcare is a something that goes beyond wants and desires and is a need, so I think that’s somewhat
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