Why are retail floor plans so crucial to a store’s success? They can actually make or break profits for the retailer. If customers enter the store and either don’t know what to do or can’t see enough of the merchandise, they are likely to walk right back out. Here are some tips on creating effective retail floor plans using a variety of fixtures:
- First Impressions – They do count. When customers enter your store, don’t have a tall display blocking their view. Create an eye-catching display with bright signage that will welcome shoppers and make them want to explore more. Use round bins filled with colorful merchandise, or short shelves with cubbies that can display items on top and hold inventory in the cubbies.
- Right, Right, Left, Right – Guide customers to the right of the store. Studies show that people tend to look left first when they enter a store, then look and move right. Draw them to the wall with slat wall in black and merchandise that “pops” from the hangars.
- Create shorter aisles with breaks by using gondola shelving pieces. A long aisle isn’t interesting to shoppers unless it has a few breaks or eye-catching signage. The long aisle should take the customer somewhere – perhaps to an end-cap with a special sale item.
- Position your check-out lanes so that you can see what’s going on in the store, and so that you’re close to the entry/exit door. Cash registers that are in the back of the store tend to be hidden, so it’s difficult to be at the check-out counter and spot shoplifters. In addition, shoplifting is more likely on the way out of the store since the customer already has a bag and has seen what’s in his or her path to the door.
- Use round or square bins open on all four sides and some slat wall to create a path to the register. While customers wait in line, the merchandise in the bins or hanging on the slat wall may result in impulse purchases.
