As a store owner, you might not be concerned about the way your store
looks and might fixate more on the merchandise you display. However, for an
absolute success of your retail store there are numerous other aspects that, as
a store owner, you must consider. The art of selling something is an intricate
sport that requires several components, merchandise placement, and store layout
to go hand in hand. It is a well-proven fact that upgrading your retail store
design and shop systems from time to time can boost your sales. Consider the
following shopfitting solutions for optimizing your store design and
increasing your customer base:
1. Familiarize Yourself with Your Store’s Traffic Flow
Most of the store owners pay attention to their displayed merchandise as
one of the shopfitting solutions but what they don’t pay much attention to is
where the shoppers wander after they enter the store and before they check out.
It is crucial that you pay attention to the pattern in which your customers
choose to move. Tracing this pattern can help you place trending and ‘hot’
merchandise on strategic places and installing upgraded shop systems. Doing
this can maximize your sales.
Numerous studies have already been done on retail traffic flow. These
studies have proven that shoppers pick their direction of movement on the basis
of road traffic direction in their native country. From this we come to a
conclusion that countries that have right-hand driving are most likely to move
in a clockwise direction. On the contrary, customers native to left-hand
driving countries will move in an anti-clockwise manner. This fact may seem
arbitrary at first, but being familiar with the route that your customers are
going to pick can be used as a shop fitting solutions in the store
layout, designing and merchandise placement decisions.
2. Avoid Placing Extravagant Merchandise Up Front
The space between the entrance of your retail store to the next few feet
is termed by the retail experts as the ‘Decompression Zone’. This zone is
primarily the space that entering shoppers can use for adjusting to the aura of
the store. Your retail store might have a different lighting, temperature, or
music as compared to outside which is quite natural. Therefore, shoppers might
need a few seconds to make themselves comfortable in the new surroundings
before they actually start looking around. Despite the changed surroundings,
shoppers would not stop for the adjustment and walk past the merchandise and shop
systems that are displayed at the front of your retail store without even
noticing them.
3. Boost Your Store’s Q-Line Potential
Some big and popular places have a ‘Q-Line Area’ in their layout which
consists of a place where the shoppers or customers can wait to be served in
case there is a queue. The potential of the Q-Line area is often overlooked by
business or store owners and they do not exploit the opportunities of impulse
buys. There are two things we know to be true, whenever a shopper or a customer
is waiting to be served:
- They’re
willing to spend money.
- They’re
killing time and will be more keen in their surroundings.
Combining these two factors can create an ideal aura for a customer to
impulse buy, which is what makes the Q-Line area as one of the many shopfitting
solutions. It would be unwise to display high-ticket merchandise and shop
systems in this area; cheap and small merchandise would be the best fit for
this area than anywhere in the store. As the customer has already made a decision
to spend money on some items and they are waiting to pay for it, they wouldn’t
mind spending a few extra bucks for a small, useful product.
An ideal Q-Line area is filled with affordable and useful things that
are appealing to all kinds of audience. Some of the picks for this area can be
undergarments, socks, toiletries etc, in a fashion store; snacks, cold drinks,
etc in a convenience store and supermarkets.
4. Dodge Cramming
Paying for their retail space by the square meter, every store owner is
tempted to use every inch of space available to display products and shopsystems. Whilst it may seem to many business owners like a great tactic to
boost sales, overfilled retail stores are proven to put off potential shoppers
from buying items, or in few cases prevent shoppers from even entering the
retail store at all.
A well-organized store is likely to appeal more to potential customers. It is important to know about the taste of your customer while doing the layout of your retail store. Choose your merchandise wisely, display them neatly, and provide your customers enough space to maneuver and breathe. This can prove to be one of the most useful shopfitting solutions and can help to boost your sales.
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