5 key considerations when fitting your store

Whether you are fitting or refitting your store, it is essential to keep the customer experience in mind during the process. Companies try everything they can to get customers in the door and celebrate their success when they do. However, whether or not you get those customers to stay around long enough to make a purchase will really determine your overall success. Having the right ambience, layout, and price ticketing can all improve the conversion rate of browsers to buyers. Here are five key components to consider when shop fitting:

Store and display lighting

Choosing the correct lighting is a little more complicated than some store owners know. Firstly, store lighting will contribute to the overall mood of your store and brand. Secondly, lighting can be used to illuminate particular displays to draw the customer’s attention and guide them through the store. Using brighter lighting around or above specific displays can entice a consumer to discover the products that are placed in an arena of lights. Consider, for example, jewellery stores and their use of down-lighting in their wall displays; not only are consumers attracted to these bright displays, but the lighting also enhances the appearance of the product. Thirdly, choosing the correct colour and intensity of lighting will allow customers and employees to have a more enjoyable experience in the store. People can be highly sensitive to overly bright lighting. Bright fluorescent and incandescent lights are known triggers for headaches and migraines in light-sensitive people. Consider leaving these lighting options aside when fitting your store to ensure higher customer retention and an enjoyable and more productive workplace for employees.

In-Store Price Ticketing

Transparent pricing is a must have! It cannot be emphasised enough how vital ticketing is to a store’s sales. Consumer behaviour studies show that we live in a society of impulse buyers, with roughly 80% of all shopping decisions made in-store. A progressively anti-social environment and increasing labour costs often mean that ticketing is left to do all the sales talk. Clear and consistent ticketing for prices, product information, discounts, bundle deals, and other offers will increase impulse purchases and add-on purchases, and help to consolidate purchases by customers who may have been ‘on-the-fence’. How you display the ticketing is just as important; banners hung from the ceiling, shelf labelling, plaques, or even stands may be used. Pick the option that compliments the stores aesthetic and allows customers to quickly and easily identify the product and the price.

Store Layout

It’s essential to have a store layout that will entice customers to discover the products and be easy enough for customers to move from one section to another without having to jump over products and shimmy through tight isles. Some of the more critical features of your store will be the counter/cashier placement, large displays for important products, and the front of store windows/displays. Placing the counter/cashier closer to the entrance/exit of the store will ensure a friendly face upon a customer’s entrance and exit to the store. It can act as the first and last point of sale. This is also an excellent loss prevention method to deter thieves or catch them before they can get away with your goods. Ensure a degree of visibility to the other sides of the store when positioned in any corner. If customers can see a product they like in another section of the store, then they will be inclined to venture to that part of the store. This is where lighting and larger displays need to be carefully considered to entice customers to explore more of your store and buy more of your products!

Inventory Storage

Businesses that carry a lot of inventory will often have large store-rooms to accommodate comprehensive product catalogues and high turnover items. It is important to plan how you intend to stack your stock in the store-room in a way that does not damage the products, and that also ensures it can be efficiently allocated. Inventory can also be stored within secure cabinetry on the sales floor. A display of individual items may have new stock securely locked in a drawer underneath it. Consider which option is most appropriate for your products, and which will enable the most efficient sales process.

Shelving Height

So often you walk into stores where products are high up on the walls or placed on the top shelf, entirely out of reach of the customer. Where floor space is not limited, keep shelving lower in height so customers can grab items at will to maximise impulse purchases. Consider single item displays to save space where possible, and reduce the quantity of stock of lower turnover items on the sales floor to condense the space required to display all of the products.