Planning Your Store Design

The purpose of retail store design is to create is to create a comfortable environment that is unique in the mind of your customers.

1.    What type of retail store format do you plan to operate?
2.    What category of merchandise will your retail store sell?
3.    What is your target segment of customers your retail store will cater to?

Your retail store might sell food, general merchandise or might be a specialty store. Your retail format might be a hypermarket, super centre, supermarket, superstore, department store, wholesale club, or it may be a franchise, or a themed store selling a single brand, or a single line of merchandise.

When you have defined your store type and your target market, you will need to decide on the elements to establish your store identity:

1. Layout
2. Décor
3. Fixtures
4. Colors
5. Lightning

The goal of any retail store design is to make the customers feel good the moment they enter, and to increase the time they spend browsing in your retail store. The elements of a successfully designed and executed retail store design will influence your shoppers’ behavior.

It is important to understand that a retail store design must evolve to remain relevant to your customers, and to reflect their lifestyle. Retailers who are not ready to remodel or change their store design in keeping with the current trends will be left behind. Successful retail store designs and concepts produce more sales and higher profits, and enjoy higher customer loyalty.

When the retail store design has been established, the next step is to focus on your merchandising. The type of retail store format determines the merchandise mix. Depending on the store format and size, you might be selling anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 different merchandise. Known as SKU, each SKU will be assigned a PLU (price look-up) code. This will enable your POS system to track your sales per unit of merchandise and your inventory levels.

The layout of your retail store will direct the flow of customer traffic when they shop. Using strategic placement of merchandise categories, shoppers will be exposed to the merchandise you sell. The placement and arrangement of your merchandise plays a vital role in achieving a profitable retail operation. The merchandise placement from various categories should flow together seamlessly. Shoppers are directed to merchandise from different categories, but are considered related.

The arrangement might look something like this; home décor, bed sheets, blankets, pillows, floor mats, curtains, window shades, bedside lamps, wall clocks, bathroom accessories. The merchandise from various categories can be organized in ways that uses suggestive selling to your shoppers.
The height and density of the display, use of POS materials, contributes to your profitability. Consider the type of display and fixtures to use in your retail store:

• Block displays
• Showroom style
• Shelf or gondolas
• Offer bins
• Check-out displays

Your merchandise and merchandise displays have to be visually appealing, organized and properly stocked. It should be well maintained and cleaned. Changing your feature displays often will increase the entertainment factor when shoppers visit your store.

The way your retail store is designed, and the way you display your merchandise to complement your store layout creates your unique identity to your shoppers. By cultivating a store identity, it gives your store a personality, and increases repeat patronage.