The Benefits of a Well-Thought-Out Layout & Design Strategy

Good retail design is everything when it comes to customer experience and the overall success of your store. Based on a combination of physical layout and interior decor, the way you design your retail space can make all the difference between a store that’s forgettable and one that’s unforgettable.

In today’s highly digital world, the way a retail space looks and makes customers feel is more important than ever before. That is why retailers need to transform their stores, creating a space that is both enticing and interactive — it’s all about customer psychology. The goal is to get creative, using design and layout to represent who you are as a brand. When good retail layout and design are considered, the benefits can be far-reaching. Here’s how your store and overall brand can begin to benefit, starting today!

“People are always going to go shopping. A lot of our effort is just, “how do we make the retail experience a great one?”

Phillip Green

Boost Sales

As reported by Entrepreneur, redesigning your store can lead to a 50+ percent increase in sales. The ultimate goal here is for your design to be both attractive and functional, driving positive customer experience. After all, people rarely remember the details in a store. Instead, they remember how a store made them feel. When a customer feels good in your store, they’re more inclined to browse longer and in turn, purchase something.

This relationship has been studied in the 1960s, particularly in terms of store atmospherics — which are a set of controllable layout and design, point-of-purchase, and human characteristics that influence the internal states of shoppers. The following variables then influence sales.

• Space design and allocation
• Placement of products
• Grouping of merchandise
• The placement of equipment and cashiers
• Waiting and dead areas
• Traffic flow
• Racks and cases
• Furniture

Your store environment will also allow you to physically market your brand, supporting your long-term success. The design and layout of your store should capture who you are as a brand and what it is you offer. If you tell the right story, the next time a customer needs whatever it is you sell, they’ll think of you. At the end of the day, attractive stores draw in customers and customers equal sales.

Increase Brand Awareness

Your brand should tell a story, and that story should be apparent during a customer’s shopping experience. Your goal as a retailer is to connect with your audience and prospective customer base. After all, 64 percent of shoppers build relationships with brands because of shared values.

Developing a strong brand identity is crucial, mainly because it separates you from your competitors. In that sense, retailers are no longer just product supplies. To be a memorable retailer, you must create a unique shopping experience.

The way you design your store will make all the difference. From signage to music, lighting to your color scheme, all of this plays a role in your brand identity. When developing your retail design and layout, keep this goal in the back of your mind. Your retail space should tell a story, reinforcing your brand each time a customer visits.

Better Showcase Your Products

This ties into the two benefits above, because when your products are thoughtfully displayed, an increase in sales and brand awareness follows. The way you design your retail space will allow you to merchandise products with ease. For example, it should be easy for your customers to observe the products you offer. To achieve this, you’ll want to create a path that enhances the browsing experience. The last thing you want customers to do is to navigate around displays or awkwardly.

In relation to fixture placement and traffic flow, the layout of your products is sure to impact your bottom line. If you make browsing a pleasant experience and display products in a strategic manner, customers will likely spend more time and money in your store. After all, if products aren’t visible, how can they be found and purchased? This was apparent within an extensive study that looked at the impact of in-store marketing on attention and choice. Visibility is the precursor to choice. Yet more than 65 percent of store shelf offerings are not seen by shoppers during a typical shopping trip.

Here are five tips for impactful displays.

In certain stores, such as large garden centers or department stores. you can use multiple layouts to differentiate between various brands. This will help you create the feeling of different shops, which are all cohesively located under the same roof.

Improve Customer Experience

When a customer enters your store, they should feel at ease. In that sense, everything needs to be considered. Ask yourself, how easy is my store to navigate? Is my store’s design inviting and representative of the brand? Do feature areas grab the customer’s attention? Does my store offer more than a simple shopping experience — are there ways that I can make their visit more interactive?

Related: Tips for Using Retail Fixtures Effectively

The better the customer experience, the more they’ll trust your brand. The goal here is to develop lasting relationships with your customers while attracting new ones. In addition to connecting with your customers in-store, to enhance their experience. you’ll need to think like your them. This means you should leverage the available research regarding shopping behavior. For example, have you heard that 90 percent of people turn right when they walk into a store? Based on that information, the majority of your customers will naturally veer to the right, providing you with an opportunity to create a big impression.

From common layouts (i.e. grid vs free-flow) to exterior signage, you need to consider each and every detail.

Want to learn more?

If you’re ready to take action, improving the layout and design of your store, be sure to check out the following webinar: Strategic Layout and Design for Garden Centers. The tips, tricks, and philosophies included will translate across a wide range of stores, including garden, hardware, and grocery stores. Watch the webinar now.