These days, everything is available on the internet, and often at unbeatable prices, but this doesn’t mean that running a brick-and-mortar store isn’t lucrative. When it is done right, you can’t beat it. The key to a successful store is creating an experience for your customers. You need to make retail experiences that keep customers coming back. There are a plethora of ways to do this, but the most important is knowing what you are doing with your shop fittings. You need to find the balance between eye-catching creative designs and functional convenience. Although the internet is full of great places to buy products, people still want the in-store experience. So, today we will share some industry secrets on creating the perfect retail space to enhance your customer’s experience when they visit your store.
A unique and alluring shopping experience
When customers encounter an immersive product display, they will naturally gravitate towards it. This can be a themed display for the particular product you are selling or creating a unique store-wide experience for your shoppers. Bold and quirky displays will leave a lasting impression on shoppers, making it nearly impossible to forget your store. This can be done in several ways; here are a few ideas.
Festive and seasonal displays – Keeping up with the seasons can create a wonderful experience for shoppers. For example, Christmas displays will make people feel cosy and want to buy wintery products, whereas spring and summer displays will encourage people to purchase those holiday essentials.
Product-specific displays – If you have a big product launch, it is best to consider a separate display. You need a bold statement that will bring people towards your product so that they can get a close-up experience. These displays work with anything; for instance, you might want to include a display using barrels, amber lighting, straw, and wooden crates for a new wine, or you might wish to have a backdrop of the Himalayas if you are selling heavy-duty raincoats. These adjustments to your store can work wonders in creating a fun and interactive time for your customers.
Mood setting displays – It is good to consider the mood of your customers, depending on what you are selling. Again, mood-setting displays create an interactive and immersive experience. You need to consider a few factors with displays to enhance people’s moods. Colour coordination, lighting, space, décor, and product placement are just a few. Whatever the product is, it is much more likely to sell if you put the shopper in the right mood to buy it.
Creating a comfortable setting – More and more stores are putting a lot of effort into creating comfy and cosy spaces for customers to take a break while shopping. This is a great idea, as it encourages them to stay in the store and ponder the products that they have seen. However, if you are going to incorporate this into your store, it is best to have seating that faces product displays so that they stay in the shopping mindset.
Product placement planning
When it comes to product placement, there should be a lot of thought that goes into it. For example, one of the time-old techniques is placing products with the best markup at eye level so that the customers instantly notice it or placing products that go hand-in-hand next to each other, but there is so much more when it comes to brilliant product placing.
Let shoppers handle your products – This is one of the most critical aspects of traditional in-store retail experiences. Though ordering online might be easier, customers still crave a chance to physically handle your product to get a feel for its quality. This ranges from clothing to technology; customers will never truly know they want a product until they have a feel for it.
Encourage incremental purchases – This is also known as cross merchandising. It is where you create a display containing products that aesthetically go together but are actually from different categories of the store. This can encourage shoppers to buy additional items they didn’t plan to purchase.
Last minute purchases – When planning your displays, it is important to use every bit of space that you can without obstructing your customers. This means the queuing area too. There is no better place to get shoppers to add some additional odds and sods to their basket than when you have an attractive display of low-cost but useful goods on offer as they are waiting to see the cashier. Most large department stores take advantage of this moment, but it is amazing how many shops leave it blank.
Easy access – Although you might want to have everything on display, it is essential to make sure shoppers have easy access to everything. If a shopper sees something they might consider buying, the thought might leave their head if they can’t get to it immediately. Giving easy access to every part of your store will encourage customers to make impulsive decisions.
Think about the lighting
Although we could go on for much longer, the final vital thing we will mention is your in-store lighting. Traditional shops like to keep it bright, but the lighting will make all the difference if you have a particular theme or mood you want people to feel. When creating a retail space, you need to create an experience that will enhance the shopper’s mood to buy your product; lighting is possibly the best trick in the book.
Have you been keeping up to date with your in-store shop fitting?
If you feel that your shop fittings aren’t cutting it and giving people the desired experience, get in touch with 360 Shopfitters today. We are a leading shopfitter in Melbourne with an eye for detail you simply can’t beat. Our experienced team will be able to advise you from the get-go, and we will be there every step of the way until your vision comes to life.
