Retail Design Strategies – How to Improve Customer Experience

Whether you are opening a new store or changing some aspects in the current one, you need to learn the best strategies to attract customers. Customers have different preferences, but most of them, if not all, will appreciate an appealing retail store design.

Maintaining old customers and attracting new ones requires effective strategies, and one of the best strategies is improving customer experience through store merchandising reset or store design. Store merchandising reset involves reorganizing a store for better product display and more sales. It includes space allotment, categories, shelves, and other compartmentalized sections within the retail store.

Objectives of Designing or Redesigning a Store

When designing a retail store, your choices and plans should aim to fulfill these key objectives:

• Increase customer supply and sales per visit
• Control costs by calculating combined business costs and reducing expenses
• Improve customer experience
• Build the retailer’s brand
• Offer solutions to the needs of the market

How do you redesign a store?

If you are looking to redesign your store completely, there are some guidelines you should consider.

Choose the right layout

The type of layout or floor plan you choose will help you better manage customer supply and traffic. Ensure you select a design that fits the items you want to display, the size of the store, and the potential customers. A good layout can increase sales and give customers a great experience.

Use the appropriate quantity of products for display

Sometimes, you will need to display just a percentage of your products and dedicate a space to keep other products. In this case, try to show a number of products that perfectly fit your store without overstuffing or leaving too many empty spaces on the retail shelves. Therefore, the quantity will depend on the type of store and the brand you want to create.

Apply the cross-merchandising strategy

With the right convenience store design, you can increase sales by using the block placement or cross merchandise strategy. This strategy involves displaying complementary or related items such as clothes with accessories or snacks with plastic containers.

Invest in good lightning

The lightning of your retail store is not only meant to help customers see the products; it should create a contrast with the outside environment for better graphics and improve the customer’s mood. You can use different lighting for different areas depending on what products you want attention on.

Use Clear Signage

It is essential to add readable signs in your store to increase purchases. These are well-positioned graphic elements informing the buyer of specific merchandise, promotions, or new arrivals. Signage can also serve as clear directional signs that help customers navigate the store easily. 

Window Display

Most customers will enter a store based on what they saw from the outside. A good window display will grab attention and attract customers’ flow into your store. Thus, you should combine the best visual effects, proper lightning, and top products to display on the windows.

Types of a Retail Store Layout

There are tons of layout choices for a store design. The following are the most common store layout.

Grid Layout

This is the most common store layout found in pharmacies, supermarkets, and grocery stores designs. The layout uses the model of a long aisle with products displayed on the ends. This layout is ideal for a retail store with a lot of merchandise to display. The best way to use this layout is to place high impulse items in front and staple items towards the end of the aisle to increase the chances of shoppers picking impulse items on their way to staple items.

Racetrack Layout

The racetrack layout, also known as loop layout, controls the customers’ traffic flow along a set path. It is best for manipulating the items you want your customers to see from entry to exit. You can use this layout to increase the chances of customers picking products they would not have otherwise noticed or bought, such as apparel, toys, and accessories.

Free-Flow Layout

With this plan, you get the chance to practice creativity. As the name suggests, it’s free from any strict set layout rules. You control where to display what item. The best way to set up a free-flow layout is to study the common behaviors of customers. The free-flow design is commonly used in boutiques and specialty stores like bakeries.

Tips to Improving Your Retail Store Design

Customer experience is an important factor when it comes to store design. When creating a strategy, remember these tips. 

1. Aim for a fascinating experience

Your store design layout or strategy should not just be about winning. As much as sales are essential, creating a great customer experience is part of the big picture. Try to reach out to customers by evoking their deeper emotions, such as happiness. This might encourage customers to make a purchase even when they did not intend to.

2. Avoid displaying items in the decompression zone

The decompression zone is the area just after the entrance. This area is not the best space for displaying too many items or valuable products as customers tend to miss them when entering the store. Put fewer items in this area and add visuals and graphics that contrast the environment outside the store.

3. Don’t overfill a single space  

Create enough space for all items in your store to give customers ample open space for moving around while shopping. Too many products in one place reduces the chances of sales due to crowds.

4. Change Your Store design regularly

Designing a store with a perfect layout is not a one-time thing. You need to keep updating the merchandise display design regularly to keep your customers hooked. The designs get stale with time hence the need for regular changes.

Why is Store Merchandising Reset Important?

A successful business cares for the new and returning customers by studying the customers’ experience during shopping. Frequently, you will realize that an attractive store layout impacted that experience.

“A moderate improvement in customer experience generates an average revenue increase of $823 million over three years for a company with $1 billion in annual revenues,” says the Temkin Group. The way you design your store will have a direct reflection on your brand. By staying up to date with the latest demographics and meeting customers’ demands, you increase sales and stay ahead of your competitors. 

Summary

No matter what type of retail store you are operating, having the right merchandising plans and design strategies play a big part in your success. For all your products, implementing these design strategies can increase customer traffic and encourage purchases. At Storflex, we understand the uniqueness of each project, and we’re committed to helping our customers adapt to today’s retail environment. Contact us for a consultation with a Storflex designer.