It is a well-known fact that most customers that walk in to your retail store make a decision whether or not they will stay to browse and look based on the physical look of the shop. Therefore it is highly recommended that you ensure that the ambiance of your store is warm, welcoming, clean, efficient, and obviously beautiful. There are a million and one ways to optimize the in-store environment of your store, but since most of us don't have a million and one dollars to spare to even consider a complete (and expensive) overhaul, here are a few creatively strategic ideas to help you spice up your retail space. You can maximize profits by making more sales and by lowering costs with these helpful ideas.
1. Update Your Illumination
A swift and inexpensive method of revamping the out-dated look of your store is to replace the light fixtures and the light bulbs. Lighting is one element of a store design that is sadly overlooked by most retailers. Have you ever notices how brightly lit strip malls are? The brightly lit spaces are a good way to garner consumer response since it makes it easier for them to check out the quality of your merchandise easily. Lighting is also a great way to set the ambiance of the store. There are many creative options to light up your space. Shop lights, Edison lights, Bay lights, spotlights, track lights, strip lights can all be used separately or in combination to illuminate your space or even to highlight and draw attention to special deals and promotions. There are many options to choose from at https://www.lepro.com/led-strip-lights. If you update your lights to LED lighting, you will also cut down on your power bills. LED lights consume approximately 75% less energy and last approximately 25 times as long as the traditional incandescent light bulbs used in the olden days.
2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
One quarter of all small new businesses fail within the first year of operations. One man's trash can surely be another man's treasure. Keep an eye out for going out of business sales and auctions. You can procure many retail fixtures, store paraphernalia, general display paraphernalia or even stock at a low price. Put on your creative thinking hat and think of how you can repurpose these items creatively to suit your store design. With a little bit of ingenuity, some DIY, and some basic tools, there are no limits to what you might be able to create.
3. Create a sensory feast
In addition to what your store looks like, think of all the ways you can appeal to the other four of the five basic senses. Soft thematic music is one obvious choice, appealing to the sense of hearing. Another option is using sense diffusers or aromatic candles to create ambient scenting. However, great design moves beyond the senses of just sight, smell and sound. A great store design by virtue should make your customers FEEL great too. So pick your displays, your music, and your smells such that they all blend coherently and seamlessly together for the perfect combination. This will have an obvious impact on your customers purchase decisions, as studies have proven that the right mix of product and sensory stimuli boosts sales by impacting the customers' moods.
4. Design a Feature Wall
A feature wall must be bold and eye catching enough to catch the customer's attention as soon as they stroll into the store. An effective feature wall should be the first thing customers notice when they enter your retail store so naturally this is the spot where you should display your feature merchandise like New Items, or hot sellers.
5. Create some Speed Bumps
Just like a speed bump on the road serves to slow you down, so does a retail speed bump. You want to have some fixtures in your store that will slow down the swift passing through of customers. You can achieve this by creating something that grabs their attention, and engages them, such as small table displays or discounted sales racks. Speed bumps allow for a more leisurely perusal of your merchandise leading to more sales.
In short, there are many ways to improve your store design without blowing your budget. Just always keep in mind that the more comfortable a customer feels in your store, the more time and money they will spend in it.
