You might think that online shopping has made the in-store experience absolute. However, 48% of consumers still prefer using brick-and-mortar shopping over digital checkout.
This means that your store layout is just as important as the functionality of your website. Therefore, investing in the design of your shop is essential to selling your products.
If you are wondering how to use your store layout as a marketing tool then there are a few important things to consider.
Read on for the top layout design tips to boost your customer interaction and sales.
Choosing the Proper Floor Plan
Design planning begins with a basic floor plan for your store. The one you choose depends on the size and function of your space as well as the types of products you sell. The way your customers prefer to shop will also influence your decision.
Here are the most common floor plan layouts:
- Loop Floor Plan
- Grid Floor Plan
- Diagonal Floor Plan
- Free-flow Floor Plan
- Guided Floor Plan
- Angular Floor Plan
Let’s go into more detail about when to use each of these designs.
Loop Floor Plan
This type of floor plan is exactly how it sounds as it creates a circular path around the store. A loop is efficient for small shops that need to utilize wall space. It also helps organize your products into large groups, which is perfect for stores with bigger inventories.
Grid Floor Plan
These floor plans are mainly in grocery stores or other large shops like hardware or home goods establishments. Grids allow for tall storage shelves, which is suitable for stores with busy shoppers and continuous foot traffic.
Diagonal Floor Plan
For stores that thrive on customer service and that have limited employees, a diagonal floor plan promotes visibility. This makes it easy for the staff to spot shoppers and interact with them as well as the products. You will see these floor plans in electronic and cosmetic shops.
Free-flow Floor Plan
This floor plan is similar to a diagonal one, however, it is not as uniform. It may include diagonal displays in the center and then parallel smaller ones on the outside. However, there is no set of rules as long as it allows for customer movement.
Guided Floor Plan
The best store design to ensure all your products get noticed is a guided floor plan. However, it should not be used for all types of stores. Customers like to be guided when browsing is part of the shopping experience. Therefore, it should be used for furniture stores and showrooms that require difficult decisions rather than quick impulse buys.
Angular Floorplan
Another special shop floorplan is angular. This type displays rare items to limited customers. They are used more showcases rather than fully stocked shelves seen in smaller stores, typically for designer or curated collections.
Directing Shoppers
No matter which layout design you choose your shop should always keep the customer shopping experience in mind. You want to direct customers according to their natural instincts. For example, many shoppers walk as they would drive. So, they stay to the right when they enter a shop.
Use this pattern to your advantage by displaying certain items that you wish to sell first on the right side of the store. This could include products for sale or ones that are in high demand.
Interacting with the Senses
Your store planning design should also appeal to your buyer’s senses. Using interactive retail displays helps draw people in while offering a fun way to describe your products.
Include sights such as colorful signs and lights, sounds like music, touch to encourage testing, and even smell, in some cases, to provoke the memory.
Displaying the Right Product Quantities
If you are a new business you might want to put all of your products on the shelves, thinking this is the best way to sell your inventory. However, displaying too much or too little can give the wrong impression.
Too few products reduce the value of your brand, making it look like you do not expect to sell many items. But, too much on display may appear that your product is not selling at all. Be sure to look stocked but offer space in between products so it looks more appealing to buyers.
Enticing Impulse Buys
Layouts should also promote impulse buys by placing related items together and putting essential ones near the checkout. This method requires some thought as you need to understand what your customer may need and what items might induce an additional purchase.
A smart example is matching outfit items at a clothing store. By placing a top and a bottom together, you make the customer feel as though they need both pieces rather than just one.
Your sales will steadily increase as you use customer impulses in your design layout.
Changing Layouts Often
Returning customers like consistency, however, they also want something new. Accommodate both requirements by changing the layout of your store.
You may keep regular items in the same section but create an exciting new display. Also, add new products and keep them front and center rather than hidden in the back. This will attract customers who may walk by your store regularly but never go in. Once they see new displays or a change in the layout they will automatically assume that something improved.
Store Layout Options Make Sales
The bottom line is that your store layout can make or break your sale numbers. That is because the design welcomes your customers, helps them locate items, and entices them to buy more.
Check out our Business section for more tips to help your small business grow.