As retail enterprises compete in a market that is becoming increasingly competitive, they must modify their shop layouts and designs to meet customers’ evolving needs. Although the retail industry is transforming as technology continues to impact the consumer landscape, the core objectives of a solid retail strategy remain the same: Deliver value throughout the supply chain and develop an exceptional client experience. After years of digital influence and economic difficulties, the comeback of retail establishments is achievable if retailers can successfully compete for their consumers’ attention and earn their loyalty in exchange.
In this article, we will be going over the best way to make your product pop on the shelf so you can adapt your store layouts to meet your customer’s ever-changing needs!
What exactly is a retail store layout?
The layout of a business is one of the critical components to ensure it’s a success. Therefore, a significant amount of time, effort, and labour should go into providing the essential elements of an excellent retail layout. Retailers affect customer behaviour through the design of the store’s flow, merchandise placement, and atmosphere. Moreover, layouts assist retailers in determining how much income they generate; with this knowledge, they may examine the strengths and shortcomings of the products on the shelves so they may adjust their layout accordingly.
Ways to make your product stand out on the shelf
- Keep up with the ever-changing tastes and styles of your customers
Frequent changes in customer preferences and trends prevent most retail markets from becoming stale with the same product offerings. Keeping up with the rapid shift of what your clients desire from your collection will enable you to adapt your stock accordingly and be prepared for any substantial changes. Keeping in touch with your client base is the simplest method to keep your finger on the pulse. Depending on your time and resources, this can range from simple conversations with customers to conducting in-depth market research.
- Making the most of your store’s window display
A potential customer’s first impression of your store may be formed by what they see in the windows. In addition to being a crucial element of other store displays, it may be a great way to draw customers’ attention to your product or service. You have to contend with the likes of other local businesses as well as national chains. Good window displays can attract more customers inside and set you apart from the competition. Displays in a store’s window can be used to introduce customers to the brand and garner interest from passing shoppers. The correct window display can entice customers to stop, gaze, and enter your store, where you can interact with them and hopefully make a sale.
- First impressions are crucial
Having the optimal layout is vital to enhance the profitability of your retail space, but a grasp of customer behaviour is essential to comprehend your overall design approach. According to research, shoppers prefer to browse the floor of a retail store that is closest to the entrance. Utilising stairs, elevators, and escalators to navigate a store hinders client flow. Planning for a single-floor store will enhance your customers’ experience. There are exceptions, such as downtown locations with expensive real estate and significant department shops with multiple product categories.
Moreover, shops should consider the customer’s first impression if they are luxury retailers, as consumers frequently equate multi-level stores with high-end establishments. Before picking a store site, evaluate your overall retail strategy and layout design. Customers connect single-floor store layouts with more affordable products and services. Taking into account the preferences of first-floor buyers, you should stock the first floor with your best sellers or specialty items if you are an establishment that has many floors.
- Understanding Customer Flow
Creating a seamless flow of customers throughout the store is unquestionably one of the key goals of developing a good store layout. To do this, it is necessary to strike a balance between fast and seamless customer flow while having a suitable space provision. Creating a seamless client flow is essential for establishments with a high customer visitation rate. This can be accomplished through well-organised routing and appropriately wide aisles. The main downside of having a very smooth customer flow is that it may speed up their shopping.
If a consumer is accustomed to going through a store at a particular pace, it is essential to consciously, efficiently, and gradually slow down this pace. This can be accomplished by employing certain ‘tools.’ It does not necessarily require a reconfiguration of the available area. This can be accomplished through a unique product selection or eye-catching retail features. Customers need time to make a purchase decision, so having a light and stress-free atmosphere influences them to take their time when choosing which product to purchase while leaving an overall good impact on their shopping experience.
- Make the shop a pleasant place to be in
To reflect the same feelings about the products they want to purchase, every store wants their customers to feel relaxed and at ease while they shop. The store’s design can significantly affect the mood created when shopping. A store’s layout may make or break the shopping experience for customers, regardless of how excellent the store’s interior may be.
A customer’s shopping experience can be greatly negatively affected by things like improperly placed or excessively high shelves. Aisles that are too tight or too congested might make shoppers feel trapped, while aisles that are too large can make them feel bored and uninspired. However, if the store is organised correctly and the products are easy to find, customers are less likely to become confused and will likely spend more time browsing.
- Make the most of your store’s available space
Due to the high costs associated with renting or buying retail space, a store’s sustainability needs to make the most of the space it already has. With the proper store, design, and floor plan, merchants can make sure that each brand gets the amount of real estate it needs to maximise sales.
To boost sales in low-performing sections, stores can simply rearrange their products. A high-priced game console, for instance, might be paired with its corresponding accessories that cost only a few more dollars. Here, premium products will be given prime real estate, while bargains will be shown in close proximity to a neighbouring fixture.
What are the benefits of employing a good store layout?
- Boosts business by encouraging more sales
To take advantage of your store’s layout, you can group product categories together so shoppers can find various goods in a single spot. Equally crucial is the layout’s capacity to maintain complimentary products or similar brands nearby so that customers will be more likely to purchase related products. For example, grouping summer caps, shorts, and sunglasses together in the same aisle is an effective technique to generate additional cross-category or cross-brand sales.
- Preventing any shoplifting inside your store
The layout design of your store also serves a preventive function. The more disorganised a store is, the more opportunity shoplifters have to capitalise on the ambiguity. The store’s layout should also discourage theft and shoplifting. Some stores hide their more expensive merchandise in the back, behind locked showcases. Stores should beef up security around displays and sections housing small, easily stolen objects. The layout of some stores makes it more difficult to escape the premises with stolen goods since the exit is located past security or involves an additional manoeuvre. When designing the layout of your store, procedures that make it more difficult for shoplifters to steal goods can be adopted.
Examples include:
- Not installing the shelves as a poorly organised maze.
- Altering the height of the shelves.
- Placing theft-vulnerable merchandise in plain view of sales personnel.
These are only a few instances. Regardless, both preventative measures and a deterrent strategy can lessen the possibility of a negative cash balance.
- Promotes a good shopping experience for your customers
Every business wants its consumers to feel at ease and comfortable when shopping, so they will have the same feelings about the products they intend to purchase. A store’s layout can have a direct effect on the emotions evoked during the shopping experience. Even if a store has beautiful decor, a poor structure can impair the shopping experience for customers.
Too-high or too-low shelves, for instance, might make a customer’s shopping experience highly unpleasant. Similarly, aisles that are overly packed or too narrow might induce feelings of claustrophobia, whilst aisles that are too vast can leave individuals feeling uninspired and bored.
On the other hand, a well-balanced layout where merchandise is readily visible can prevent customer confusion and encourage them to stay longer.
- Affects your customer’s decision-making when shopping
It is an established truth that the layout of a store has a substantial effect on clients’ buying habits. The longer customers remain in a store, the greater their likelihood of making a purchase. Therefore, retailers take every available chance to boost purchase duration. For example, most retailers place essentials like milk, butter, pastries, and eggs in the back of the shop so that customers must traverse past other products to get them. Even the positioning of elevators, arrangement of fixtures, and department placement can alter a store’s customer flow.
Moreover, an appropriate arrangement can generate a good flow of products for customers. Customers may choose to shop elsewhere if merchandise and aisles are cluttered and disorganised as a result of a lack of attention to store layout. Therefore, retailers strive to design a store layout that allows customers to see all the products and keeps them moving at a pace that will enable them to pursue products they may desire.
Conclusion
The layout is a crucial component of a store’s longevity. Retailers affect customer behaviour through the design of the store’s customer flow, merchandise placement, and atmosphere. Additionally, layouts help predict income per square foot and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a company’s merchandise mix. When the layout of a retail business is planned out on paper, it will be able to reach its full potential. Before installing a single display unit, determine the building’s specs, product positioning, and your customer’s expected pathways. By carefully arranging your store’s interior, you can create a layout that is optimised for success and encourages people to browse and make a lot of purchases before they leave your store.
If you are in need of a shop fitting professional in Melbourne, then 360 Shopfitters is the team you need to get in contact with! 360 Shopfitters can assist you in transforming your space into the ideal business atmosphere. 360 Shopfitters, which has experience in the shopfitting industry, specialises in commercial fit-outs, office fit-outs, and retail fit-outs. We have the expertise and experience to make your business idea a reality. We take pleasure in being more than mere contractors; we cultivate deep ties with our clients to ensure we can build a good relationship with them.
