As anyone in 21st century America can attest, retail shopping has become
more than the search for a desired product; it is a lifestyle activity,
part leisure, part business and all encompassing. We define ourselves
by the places we shop, the brands we consume. With this level of retail
identification, it is as much the personal/psychological experience of
a particular store as its merchandise, which keeps customers coming back.
Here are a few guidelines to help make your store a destination.
Windows
Take your time. Don’t leave window displays for the
end of the day when you’re tired and ready to go home. Do your research:
check out the competition’s windows and try to go one better. This doesn’t
necessarily mean spending more; an imaginative display using the materials
at hand can be all it takes to set your store apart.
Keep it fresh. A window display that never changes makes
your store look like a graveyard. At a minimum, you should change your
windows with the seasons. Don’t remove part of a display unless you replace
it with similar products. A cannibalized window sends the message that
things are desperate within.
Keep it simple. Unnecessary clutter creates the impression
of a bargain-basement outlet. Use similar shapes and colors to create
balance and lead the customer’s eye across the display—and into your store.
Foot Traffic
The right turn. Most right-handed people (roughly 90
percent of the population) will turn right when entering a store and move
through the space in a counterclockwise direction. Placing the cash wrap
to the right of your entrance creates an impediment for the newly arriving
customer. It also serves as an up-front reminder that anything we look
at in your store is going to hit us in the wallet—short-circuiting the
all-important denial factor required for carefree spending. A better choice
would be to set up a welcoming lifestyle-oriented display to the right
of the entrance, with a few featured products displayed in a setting familiar
to your customers: a child’s bedroom, bookcase, play room, etc.
Room to move. Aisles should be big enough to avoid traffic
jams, but not so wide as to allow customers to quickly pass by merchandise
without a glance. You want them to notice what’s on the shelves wherever
they wander; so make aisles narrow enough to slow, but not stop, traffic
in your store. As in window displays, too much clutter on the floor gives
the impression of a bargain basement, as well as being aesthetically unwelcoming.
Let them linger. Unlike the fast-food industry, retailers
profit by having customers spend time in their stores rather than just
buy what they came for and head for the parking lot. However, too many
people lingering near the front of a store can be a claustrophobic turn-off
for prospective customers. For that reason, it’s better to place high-density
fixtures in the back of the store, encouraging customers to linger there
while keeping foot traffic moving through the front doors. The back wall
is also a good place for round fixtures, where circumambulating customers
won’t wind up pointed toward the door.
Let There be Light
Set the mood. The right lighting can be used to create
a soothing, welcoming feel to your store, or to generate excitement for
a featured product. New energy-efficient lights make it easier to show
off your merchandise in a setting that will make customers want to return.
Venture Brand Metal Halide Bulb
Metal Halide Lighting: Available in low-wattage 35,
70, or 100-watt bulbs, metal halide lights provide a high lumen output
and make colors snap. A single 35-watt metal-halide lamp generates as
much light as two 100-watt halogen lamps. The drawback of higher-cost
installation for metal halide fixtures is balanced out by their extended
life: 10,000 hours vs. 3,000 hours for tungsten or halogen.
Improved Flourescent. Traditional fluorescent lighting
is a lackluster, though cost-efficient way to light floor-space. It does
not highlight merchandise and can even distort colors. But for little
extra cost, retailers can upgrade to Specification Grade or the better
Professional Grade fluorescent lamps. Both of these improved fluorescents
will highlight merchandise colors, with lower color temperatures (2700K-3000K)
resembling incandescent light, and higher temperatures (3500K-5000K) resembling
the blue-white of afternoon sunlight.
Writer's Bio: Tim Connolly has a degree
in film production from the University of Texas at Austin and writes screenplays
when he isn’t test-driving remote control speed boats in his bathtub.
