In today’s era of e-commerce, having a physical store is a huge advantage in the sense that it promotes actual interaction with the customer. Regardless of the budget, retailers have the opportunity to highlight their brand identity inside their shop space. Every detail should be accounted for and the aesthetics should create a story that resonates with your brand image. This is what online stores lack and thus, fitting out your shop correctly, is extremely important.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to fit out your shop. In fact, smaller spaces and smaller budgets are easier to work with. You can let your imagination run wild to maximise the space as much as possible. And while it takes a little bit of creativity and resourcefulness, you can achieve customer flow inside your shop if you put your mind to it.
Perhaps the most important thing is for your shop to reflect your brand’s authenticity. This requires careful planning from the design stage all the way to executing the idea. Here are four key considerations that you should keep in mind when fitting out your retail store.
Create an illusion of space
Using colours and mirrors strategically can help create an illusion that there’s plenty of space inside your store. When your shop is quite limited in terms of space, that doesn’t mean you should limit your creativity as well. Achieving a timeless and spacious fit-out design is all about using a minimalist approach that’s sprinkled with a bit of effort and sophistication. You can use wall fixtures that enhance the visual height and space of your store. Complementary interior palettes like neutral tones and whites are an ideal choice for wall finishes since it reflects more natural light, thus enhancing the visual space of your shop.
Opting for a minimalist design has plenty of benefits, including the fact that it’s cost-effective and allows for a much simpler re-decorating process should any changes be made. The products are easily highlighted the store will look much more spacious than just cramming every design you can think of. Customers will surely appreciate the timeless appeal the moment they walk inside the store.
Elevate the shopping experience
You can play around with the available space in your retail store and plan your merchandise placement accordingly to enhance the buying experience of your customers. One of the biggest challenges retailers face is finding enough product display solutions. You want to showcase all your stock which benefits both the store and the customer. A well-designed fitout utilises the available space in a smart and efficient manner, like using the vertical space to attract eye-level attention to the merchandise.
Custom joinery and shelving solutions can help you get the most out of the space your retail store has. If you’re unsure about how to design your shelves, you can hire an expert shop fitter and have them create the perfect design for your shop that houses custom-built cabinets and stand-alone counters. You can then offer a wide variety of products that take center stage and garner the attention of your customers. Make sure the corners and central pillars are used for nuances like decors and smaller items to enhance customer experience and complete the look of your store.
Let ample amount of sunshine in
The more natural light your store has, the more brighter and spacious it’ll look in the eyes of your customers. You’ll often encounter small retail stores with large windows and glass shop fronts to allow more light in and enhance the visual space of their store. What’s even better is that you can save up on electrical bills and your merchandise will look fresher and more appealing as a result. Consider using glass windows as much as possible when fitting out your retail store.
If letting the sun’s rays is quite a challenge, there’s always the option of using flat-panel LED lighting to replicate natural light.
Maximise your floor space
A straight floor plan allows your customers to navigate freely around the shop and is a great example of making the most out of your available floor space. A well-thought store layout involves planning the flow of customer traffic and designing a floor plan that caters to your specific audience. Grocery stores for example, benefit greatly from displaying multiple products all at once whereas clothing and cosmetics stores work best with a free-flowing sales floor. The best floor plans find a healthy balance between a complete customer experience and maximum sales for the given selling space.
If you want a minimalist approach on your floor plan, you can start with a clean, wide aisle where you can contemplate how your customers might feel as they browse through your products. Or, you can use walls and fixtures to establish small spaces inside your shop which is an economical way to implement your store designs. Large, custom-built shelves that are built for designated aisles can help organise your products and make it easy for your customers to navigate inside your shop.
By implementing these 4 key considerations, you’ll be able to own an aesthetic retail store that’ll undoubtedly boost your sales. If you’re a Melbourne business, you can take your store fitout to the next level by hiring a professional shopfitter in Melbourne. We have a team ready to help with everything from the design phase all the way to the finishing touches. If you’re looking to maximise your shop space and have an aesthetic-looking store, contact 360 Shopfitters today.
