Planning Interiors works with corporate clients, medical professionals and solo business owners with brick and mortar locations. We’d like to spend time discussing the last in this list, retail stores who hire us to help increase their bottom line. They realize that the longer customers want to stay in their space, the more likely their dollars will bump up your bottom line.
When working with business owners, it’s helpful to ask questions to determine areas in need of the most attention.
- Can your customers find what they need? In some spaces, you question whether the owner businesses would prefer you wander around so maybe you’ll magically remember something else you didn’t know you needed.
Perhaps, but for everyone else who values efficiency and has places to go, they will become annoyed items are not in some kind of logical order. Imagine walking into a wine store and instead of bottles being organized by growing region they were stocked A-Z by the name of the winery. Unless you are a sommelier, this deviation from the norm would cause most customers to give up and leave. To test whether your current set up is adequate, remember to ask customers, “Did you find everything you needed?” upon checking out.
- Is it too cluttered? Are you stocking too many items in an effort to maximize space at the expense of sales? Tell tale signs are you are constantly re-arranging items, customers are frustrated they cannot find things, and people are dropping inventory. If you think your space is too cluttered, you’ve probably answered this question in the affirmative.
Do you respect personal space? ADA law states that displays should be at least 3’6’’ apart. Don’t overlook that many retail shoppers are busy moms bringing their little ones with them so make sure they can maneuver around with a stroller. On that same note, consider including a a lounge or sitting area for the uninterested shopping companion. If your business is popular with kids or parents think about how you can keep kids placated so parents can shop with fewer distractions
Your most loyal customers are a great source of feedback but also be able to handle criticism of your space. After all, if making a few changes can help ramp up sales, isn’t it worth it to listen?
Retail spaces hold great potential to create a place people want to spend time. Considerations how to stage the floor so people are drawn to move throughout the store. IKEA is legendary for their yellow lined mouse maze – but no one would argue it doesn’t work in their favor.
Call Planning Interiors today for a retail consultation. Your retail store can benefit from commercial interior design and we’ll show you how.