Think about your customer base
When deciding how to lay out your floor plan for your retail store, one of your first considerations should be your customers. Are they in a hurry when they are purchasing? Or do they prefer to browse and take their time to consider your products?
If you sell higher ticket items, your customers are more likely to spend more time considering their purchase; we’ll recommend a shop floor plan for this later, so keep your eyes peeled.
Layout design and impulse purchases
Do you want your customers to pick up impulse purchases as they navigate the store? You must incorporate different display merchandising equipment in retail, such as dump bins and stacking baskets.
Typically, these are displayed at checkout to reduce a customer's consideration time before purchasing. If you want to entice customers with impulse buys, try and make space at the checkout or till to include these. Many grocery or convenience stores use this space to entice customers to purchase sweets, chewing gum, gift cards and other lower-ticket items.
Another way that you can encourage customers to impulse purchase with your store layout is by cross-merchandising products that work well together. An example would be placing wellies next to umbrellas or alcohol next to fizzy drinks. One way to utilise your floor plan is using mannequins or grid wall mesh displays to showcase products that work well together.
Think about your stock quantities on the shop floor
Whilst showcasing your offering and available sizes is important for customer convenience, studies have shown that customer happiness declines when a store feels cluttered. Finding a balance between showing your range of sizes and products and creating a messy store can be difficult.
You can get around this by displaying signs around your store stating that more sizes are available and contacting a sales representative for more information. This will also encourage customers to engage with your staff, who will be able to provide them with more information and close the sale whilst offering a valuable in-store experience.
Consider the flow of your store
There are two schools of thought regarding how to lead customers around your store. The first states that most people are right-handed and will instinctively turn right when they enter a store and will want to explore your store anti-clockwise. Another thought is that those in the UK drive on the left side of the road and are more inclined to explore a retail store clockwise.
This leaves retailers with the choice of how to structure the flow of their stores. We advise testing out both flows and seeing which works best for your customers.
Types of retail shop floor plan
There are many different types of retail shop floor plans that you can use within your store; here are some of the most common shop floor plans used within retail stores:
Free Flow Plan
The free-flow floor plan offers you many options and freedom with your store layout, as there is no fixed movement flow that users need to stick to. Shoppers will feel encouraged to explore the store as they wish and can browse in any direction. If you opt for the free-flow retail floor plan, train your staff in product knowledge to assist customers when they enter your employee's section.
Straight floor plan
One of the most simple floor plans that retail spaces can employ is the straight floor plan. Position your shelves or clothes rails in straight lines to create a linear flow that is most frequently used in supermarkets or large retail spaces.
Loop floor plan
A loop floor plan consists of wall fixtures that users can interact with in a loop motion of your store. This layout encourages users to walk through the store in a circular motion and is best suited to smaller spaces, such as boutiques.
Angular floor plan
Angular floor plans are typically utilised in premium stores and showcase a few lines instead of their whole stock offering. Giving a sense of sophistication, the angular floor plan reduces the number of displays available, but retailers will make the displays they do have prominent and high-end.
Equipment to use when planning your retail floor plan
When deciding on your retail floor plan, consider the display equipment you need to create your vision. Some of the key pieces of display equipment you can use include:
- Clothes Racks
- Storage Furniture
- Free Standing Display Cabinets
- Counter Top Display Cabinets
- Display Counters
- Shelving
- Mannequins
- Retail Display Stands
Put your retail floor plan into place with Displaysense
Now that you know the different types of retail floor plans, you can put them into practice. Decide the floor plan you think will work best for your store and find the retail equipment, clothes storage and storage furniture available at Displaysense to roll it out. Remember that your floor plan isn’t always set in stone; if something is not working for your customers or you feel like it needs to be switched up, take your customer feedback on board and implement a change.
For more information and advice regarding the retail sector, check out the advice and inspiration hub, which provides a wealth of resources to help your retail efforts. From our sector hub to buying guides, you will find relevant information, such as our 5 Easy Ways To Increase Footfall To Your Retail Store, to help you provide the best in-store experience for as many customers as possible.
