The design of your store matters as much as the merchandise you sell. No one wants to navigate a confusing area while shopping. More importantly, too many vacant or congested spaces inside a store are not attractive. There’s an art to figuring out store layouts, and it might take a couple of trial runs to find one that works for you and your customers. Here are some tips to effectively utilize your retail store layout.
Decide the Store’s Purpose
What are you selling inside your store? For every product, there is a recommended floor plan. There are aisle floor plans, straight floor plans, free-flow floor plans, and angular floor plans.
There are a few more on the list, but these are the standard ones. Think about product placement inside the store and arrangements. Additional decorations might affect the type of layout you choose as well.
Lead the Shoppers
Lead the shoppers to where you want them to go. Every store and business owner wants the customer to dive deeper into the store. The further they travel, the more likely they are to purchase something.
Some stores don’t need to work as hard because customers arrive there with a clear purpose. This statement mainly holds true for grocery stores. But even they must work on flow and empty space and find the right location for sign holders.
Keep It Uniform
Don’t make things too mismatched. Creativity is okay, but only if it makes sense. Having a little structure in the store is good. People won’t want to return to an unorganized store. Set up a basic structure, and try not to deviate too far from it.
Freshen up the displays daily, and create enough space between the products and fixtures. The fixtures should grab the customers’ attention but not take away from the product it showcases. There is a delicate balance between the two, and you need to find what works for your store.
Create Open Spaces
A full store looks nice, but a congested store does not. The space does not need to be congested to look full. Don’t feel the need to fill every open and available space inside the store. Leave room for customers to walk around and rest if necessary.
You want to create space for customers to not bump into each other. Elongate and widen your aisles. People will appreciate the additional space because they can shop in peace and not feel so claustrophobic.
Utilize your retail store layout to improve customer experience and see continuous business.
