As a business owner, it is only natural to wonder how to improve your sales floor. With careful placement of merchandise and the right position of products, you can potentially make the customer spend more in your store. Other owners are pretty good at hiding the secrets of their trade, so where can you go to learn more about good retail store layout?
To start, look around the stores of your competitors to see what works. Compare that to your store, looking for choke points and the natural flow of your clients. It will also work to understand the basic terminology behind retail store layouts to discuss if you decide to hire an expert.
In the rest of this article, we will specify other ways to learn about the best retail layout. We will also share some common methods of success.
Observing Customer Flow
The two most important areas you can learn about common store layouts are the obvious ones: at other retailers. Those with experience in the design of retail spaces continue to garner success. As a business owner, it is your job to figure out why they may be.
Below are a couple of things you may notice as a standard among these stores:
They Have Pleasent White Space Between Products
First, start small by looking at the space between the sold items. There is typically an ample amount of white space available on store shelves when it comes to premium items. Their design emphasizes things that they most likely want to move. This strategy also emphasizes the importance of having beautiful store displays.
They Want Their Customers To Be Comfortable
Good retail stores prioritize the customer experience. An open sales floor allows them to move through a pleasant space quickly. You need to remove narrow aisles that will force guests to squeeze through each other. The more comfortable they are, the more likely the customer will buy merchandise.
Their Layout is Strategic
It would be best if you considered a strategy to sell merchandise properly. Good layouts strategically place and position their inventory based on proven methods. Popular methods include the diagonal method, the grid method, and the geometric store method.
Online Research
The internet has a wealth of information you can use to find out what customers want. By searching for your competitors, you don’t even have to look in their stores to find the details. You can also find innovative ways they do it in international locations.
Books on Visual Merchandising
Visual merchandising is the act of aligning your inventory so that it is present to view. Contrary to what the internet may have you believe, books exist on designs that work for the best retailers’ products. Do some reading on the topic to learn about the basics.
Final Thoughts
The importance of customers finding a natural flow through the sales floor is key to moving merchandise. If your customers are uncomfortable, they won’t be able to appreciate your product display. Good retailers know this.
Through unique store displays and good flow, your customers will be able to guide themselves through with great ease. With design in mind, beautiful areas will create a fantastic customer experience.