Complete Guide for Organizing Your Retail Store

The design of your shop is indeed an art and a science; it necessitates imagination, psychological ideas, and testing.

In this blog, we'll look at several typical methods you might use while organizing the layout of your store. Examine them all and see if you can apply any of them to the layout and marketing of your store.

1. Use the proper floor plan

Your floor layout is essential for controlling store flow and traffic. So, before going to the shopfitting suppliers, you might want to understand which one is best for you. This can be determined by various factors, along with the size of your business, the products you sell, and, most crucially, your target market. Also, the shop systems of your store may play an important role as well.

What kind of people are your customers? Are they in a hurry to shop or can they take their time? Do they choose self-service options, or will your workers show them around the store? Do they want to get exactly what they're looking for quickly, or are they willing to discover goods along the way?

These are a few questions you should consider while choosing a floor plan.

2. Make sure that your product quantities are adequate

The question of how much stuff to have on display is critical — and the answer is not simple.

On the one hand, more products on the sales floor have been shown to enhance sales. Dollar General extended their shelf heights to 78 inches, which increased sales per square foot from $165 to $201.

Meanwhile, as Walmart lowered its inventory, sales fell significantly, so the firm rebuilt its locations to replenish the supply. Hence, it all depends on the particular shop systems each store has.

What's intriguing is that, while Walmart's revenues fell at that time, customer happiness rose. In other words, customers were happier, but they didn't spend as much money. Customers "liked the experience" of having less merchandise on the sales floor, said William S. Simon, then-CEO of Walmart's US division, but they also bought less.

Too many goods on the sales floor can lead to a drop in brand perception, especially if you're attempting to represent yourself as a boutique or high-end business.

Hence, ask your shopfitting suppliers to provide the equipment that fits and suits all your requirements and attracts your customers into the store.

3. Allow sufficient gaps between products and fixtures

It's fine to have crammed shelves with stuff (if that's your goal), as long as you still allow your buyers their personal space.

You would like to avoid the butt-brush effect, which under hill describes as a phenomenon in which shoppers quit a display or goods they were looking at after being nudged once or twice from behind.

4. Make use of your layout to encourage impulse purchases

Your store layout and shop systems are an effective strategy for increasing sales. With the correct merchandising, you can place crucial things on your customers' radars and promote impulse sales.

Supermarkets are particularly adept at this. Most supermarket chains use their checkout to display popular impulsive buy items like gift cards, chocolates, and other items.

Another strategy to encourage impulsive buying is to cross-merchandise your displays with complementary products. Many clothing stores do this by presenting clothes items alongside matching accessories.

5. Refresh your displays regularly

The regulations for how frequently you should replace your displays will differ based on who you're talking to and the kind of store you own.

Having said that, most experts recommend updating some aspects of your store once a week. Every week, for example, you may alter the costumes of your displays or showcase a new up sell.

For obvious reasons, you'll want to change up your marketing whenever new products arrive.

6. Keep track of and evaluate your efforts

Last but not least, constantly consider whether you're making the best floor plan, design, or arrangement choices. This is crucial for ensuring that you're putting the best strategies in place.

You and your employees should pay close attention to how customers behave in your store. Take note of where they go, where they stop, and what they do when inside. Inquire about what they thought of your store and what you should do to improve it.

In conclusion Store visitors, time duration, and sales, among other things, are directly affected by your store layout and merchandising. That is why you must invest the time and resources necessary to ensure that the appearance of your stores is spot on. Also, keep in mind that when it comes to designs, presentations, and merchandising, your work is never done. So keep looking for new trends and concepts, and continuously look for ways to improve your game.

I'm Preben Paulsen and working with Planova and they are leading manufacturer and supplier of Shelving solutions, shop fitting, retail store displays and best space planners in Europe.