In store design and product placement, we live by the nine-square grid rule. There are areas in your wood flooring store that are premium selling spots and other areas that are nonproductive zones. You want to ensure your top product categories are highly visible and the items or displays that are weak are removed from prime real estate.
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In store design and product placement, we live by the nine-square grid rule. There are areas in your wood flooring store that are premium selling spots and other areas that are nonproductive zones. You want to ensure your top product categories are highly visible and the items or displays that are weak are removed from prime real estate.
Figuring out prime selling spaces versus poor selling spaces is actually quite easy. Based on numerous studies, we know that most customers follow a specific route when browsing a store. Armed with this knowledge, designing a successful store layout is a snap.
Steps to Retail Layout
Following these simple steps will put you on your way to creating a dynamic, moneymaking space:
1. Use the nine-grid diagram. Place a piece of paper with nine equal squares on top of a rough floor plan of your store (see diagram). These nine squares represent different selling areas. Note that this diagram can be applied to any store, regardless of shape or size. If you have multiple rooms/spaces in your store, apply this diagram to each space.
2. Determine selling spaces. It goes without saying that your top-selling categories should be placed in prime selling areas in order to drive the most revenue. The average spot to the left should be reserved for functional applications, such as your cash area. (You definitely don’t want to put your cash counter in a superior selling spot.) We are a right-handed society, and traffic generally flows to the right, so don’t obstruct the shopping experience; keep it flowing.
3. Use the back of your store correctly. This is the Average Selling Space in the diagram, and it is typically a poor selling area, so the best-selling items shouldn’t be located there. However, you can use color and large, visually interesting elements to encourage customers to venture there. Note: If your cash counter is located in Average Selling Space 1, then Prime Selling Space 2 is a great place for a display of last-minute items, such as maintenance kits.
4. Consider focal displays. Beyond placement of products, focal displays are another integral component of store design. Plan on having five, seven or nine focal-point displays throughout your space. These should be lifestyle displays that promote end-uses to the customer. Superior Selling Space 1 is a great place for a stunning, over-the-top lifestyle display.
5. Determine fixture height. Ideally, your fixtures should gradually increase in height from the front of your store to the back. With this configuration, the entire space looks open and inviting and helps influence movement through your store.
6. Ensure adequate lighting. Your lighting must provide adequate light to all corners of the store. Special attention should be given to focal display areas and front windows.
7. Consider colors. The colors in your store should be soothing and not clash. Your product should pop.
Your Turn!
I’ve listed the nine selling spaces below in order of importance. Write in your best-selling categories in the Superior Selling Spaces, the runners-up in the Prime Selling Spaces, etc., to start planning. You can end up with several categories in each space or department. Evenly divide what you carry and the space you have.
#1 Superior:
#2 Superior:
#3 Superior:
#1 Prime:
#2 Prime:
Average:
Average:
Non-Productive:
Non-Productive:
A Fresh Look
It would be nice if you could start from scratch and plan a brand new environment for your store with an unlimited budget, but you are most likely working with an imperfect retail space; perhaps the start-up budget for your store was so tight you could not make major changes, so you made do. Or you may be one of the many retailers who inherited a family business with a dated store design.
Whatever your circumstances, major store design changes should occur at least every five years. A strong store design will encourage customers to stay in your store for a longer period and enable them to see your products more effectively, which encourages more buying decisions. Statistics show that the longer a consumer is in a store environment, the more likely they are to connect with something and buy it.
Look around: Are your store fixtures an eclectic mix of colors, shapes and styles picked up along the way? Are you noticing customers who come into your store and do not stay? Do they walk all around to all departments, or do they make a quick dash in, around the front and out? Do you know what you like in other stores when you see it, but you are not sure how to transfer that information? Does this sound familiar?
You can start making changes today. It all starts with you, the owner and decision-maker. Make a commitment to re-think your store design when things are slower in the year, and don’t forget to involve your staff.
Updating Checklist
What needs immediate attention? What can be put into a longer-term plan? Go through the following and see how much work you have ahead of you.
• Windows: Are the display windows effective? Do people come into your store after they stop and look at your windows? Have your display windows been changed in the last four weeks? Are your props and display-aids in good shape? Are you bringing the window display to the passerby’s eye level?
• Ceiling: Have you looked up at that ceiling lately? Tiles missing or dirty vent grills? Have any of these items seen a cleaning lately? Does it need painting?
• Traffic flow: How does traffic flow through your store? Do you have a logical traffic pattern, or are the fixtures scattered? Remember, your job is to make customers stay in your store and go through it easily so they can make more buying decisions.
• Storefront: Are the storefront windows clean? Do they need replacing? Does the storefront need attention?
• Signage: When was the last time you updated your signage? Keep your sign well-lit, both day and night. Can customers tell what you sell by looking at your sign?
• Lighting: Does your lighting system provide light to all corners of the store, and is there a lighting system that supports the focal-point displays in your store? Lighting is one of the most important elements in your store design and the one most frequently slighted in budgeting. You want lighting that is bright and clean. Halogen quartz lamps do an excellent job here—place halogen track system on the ceiling, 3 to 4 feet in front of any display. If your ceiling is more than 10 feet high, you will have to install extension bars to drop the track. Each fixture should be washed with a halogen light track. Do not forget your focal area display—each should have a dedicated halogen track. Your windows need track lighting that points down from the top and upward from the ground into the display. Keep window and key focal display lights turned on throughout the night. Your store windows should work for you after-hours while also providing security.
• Cash counter: Is your cash counter at the correct height for what you need to provide there? Do customers have space where they can comfortably put their belongings while they finalize their business with you? Remember, this is an area where your customer will make further purchasing decisions. Is there impulse merchandise around? Are visual promo messages well displayed?
• Colors: Are the colors soothing, or do they clash with each other and the merchandise? Have you picked colors that are complementary to the merchandise you are selling? Are the colors consistent with all the design elements in your store, including flooring, ceiling, walls and fixtures? Always err on the side of neutral or low-tone colors for your overall store design elements. Then use trendy colors on the focal walls. These areas can be easily redone overnight or in a weekend, keeping them current and lively.
Shop Around
Your responsibility is to create an environment where the store becomes a backdrop for the merchandise. If you are not sure how to approach this, visit other retail stores to do much-needed research. Plan to watch home fashion and décor TV.
The list above includes some of the most important points as you mold your retail store into the sort of place that draws customers, makes them want to linger and polishes your company’s image. With a determined effort, the change you can effect in just a few months’ work—both in the environment in which you and your customers interact and in your profit level—will amaze you!
