Customer and Shopping Experience as a plural practice. The Natuzzi case between local tradition and the internationalization of Made in Italy

The paper presents the current state of progress of the MICS – Circular and Sustainable Made in Italy research project and refers to the subproject “Cultural value chain. From local traditional production districts to a new country of origin effect”, specifically to the section “A3 – Shopping experience in physical stores. New paradigms for user engagement”, curated by the author. The research, whose initial phases have been presented in other national and international contexts, here focuses on customer and shopping experience seen as a plural practice, and on a specific case study: Natuzzi S.p.A., the founding company of the Murgia Upholstered Furniture District. The objectives concern the analysis of Natuzzi’s user engagement strategies (as a research partner) within both web and store contexts, in order to assess their potential in terms of social interaction and cultural enhancement—both of the local contexts of reference and of Made in Italy as a whole. The adopted methodology involves a historical framing of the Murgia District and Natuzzi as its leading company, followed by an examination—through websites, online platforms, and existing literature—of the ways in which the company develops actions aimed at strengthening the relationship between design thinking and user interaction.

Il contributo presenta uno stato d’avanzamento della ricerca MICS – Made in Italy Circolare e Sostenibile e fa riferimento al progetto “Cultural value chain. From local traditional production districts to a new country of origin effect”, la cui Sezione “A3- Shopping experience in physical stores. New paradigms for the user engagement” è curata dall’autore. La ricerca, le cui prime fasi sono state presentate in altri contesti nazionali e internazionali, ha qui un approfondimento sulla customer e shopping experience intesa come pratica plurale e su un caso studio specifico: la Natuzzi spa, azienda fondatrice del Distretto del Mobile Imbottito della Murgia. Gli obiettivi riguardano l’analisi delle strategie di user engagement della Natuzzi (azienda partner della ricerca) nei contesti del web e dello store, al fine di valutarne le potenzialità in termini di interazione sociale e di valorizzazione culturale sia dei contesti locali di riferimento sia del Made in Italy in generale. La metodologia adottata prevede di inquadrare storicamente il Distretto Murgiano e la Natuzzi in quanto sua azienda leader e di esaminarne poi su siti web, piattaforme on line e attraverso la letteratura esistente le forme attraverso cui essa mette in campo le azioni di potenziamento del rapporto tra design thinking e user interaction.