You have fantastic merchandise, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a beautiful retail space. But what about the layout of your store? Does it encourage sales, make the most of your square footage, and create a good shopping experience for your customers?
The store layout is one of the key factors of success and if you need to do it right. Check out these 5 common store layout mistakes so you know exactly what to avoid to keep the customers coming.
1. Inadequate Interior Store Lighting
The quality of store lighting is vital for an excellent retail store or supermarket design. Lighting helps to create an atmosphere and works to enhance the appeal of products on display. A poorly lit store with dim lighting not only creates a gloomy environment but also doesn’t highlight your merchandise.
Of course, lighting will depend on the mood you’re trying to create. However, giving serious consideration is important. Use lighting smartly to set the mood, enhance display areas, and highlight signs.
2. Overcrowding Aisles
Having adequate space in aisles is important to support the smooth flow of traffic and create an enjoyable shopping experience for your customers. Aisles that are crowded with displays or narrowly spaced shelving make customers feel overwhelmed and frustrated.
Avoid using overbearing displays that take up a lot of space and work to keep the aisles clutter-free. Ensure that there’s enough space between aisles for traffic to flow freely without obstacles.
3. Complex and Disorganized Layout
Are you displaying sale items in a logical way or is everything grouped together in a system that makes sense? A confusing or complex layout only works to leave customers feeling frustrated when they can’t easily find what they are looking for.
If your customers feel like they’re in a maze, constantly asking support staff where things are, then it’s time to rethink your store design. Consider your floorplan in a logical way and improve signage to ensure seamless navigation of your store.
4. No Design Cohesiveness
An attempt at being creative can often end up as a muddled mess. The design of your store is part of your brand image and should be cohesive. While some fun ideas and variations can improve the ambiance, there should be overall cohesiveness in the design of your store.
Stick to using a color palette with a few select colors, and make design choices that represent your brand.
5. Inflexible Store Design
Have you had the same store layout for years, with everything in the exact place you first set it up? This is a no-no when it comes to successful store design. Be dynamic and flexible with store layout ideas rather than remaining completely static.
You can do this by changing displays, using new display features, and mix-and-match features. Switching things up every once in a while will keep customers interested and works wonders for highlighting new or on-sale merchandise.
Are You Making These Store Layout Mistakes?
Are you guilty of any of these store layout mistakes? If you are, there’s no time like the present to get your ship in shape and turn your store layout into one of the key factors of your success. Use lighting, space, and logical design to improve customer experience and sales.
Now that you know how to make a killer store design, why not check out the rest of our site for more business tips and tricks for success?
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