You cannot put up a display case in front of your store without thinking about what your customers want. You cannot let merchandise pile up without having a deliberate store layout that will maximize growth and income potential. Managing a brick-and-mortar clothing store is a little bit of art and science. It involves understanding the psyche of your market. An effective retail store has an organized space that provides the best customer experience.
How are you going to display your merchandise? You should get wooden hangers online so that everything will look symmetrical and balanced. Wooden hangers create a sophisticated and organized look to your store even if you’re selling cheaper items.
Use the Right Floor Plan
There are plenty of layouts to choose from: grid, loop, angular, free flow, straight, diagonal, and geometric. Free-flow floor plans allow the retailer to highlight specific products, while the rest of the merchandise takes up space at the back. Diagonal floor plans are best for clothing shops with lots of merchandise but no products to highlight. Loop floor plans intend to lead customers around the shop so that they’ll see all your products.
Understand Where to Lead Shoppers
There’s a debate as to whether shoppers tend to veer right or left. Some say that they tend to veer right because most people are right-handed. Others say that they veer depending on the vehicle traffic patterns from where they are. This means that in the United States, people tend to veer right because they drive on the right side of the road. In places like the UK and Australia, customers turn to the left because they drive on the left side of the road.
The best thing to do is to test the theory yourself. Track the behavior and movement of your customers when they arrive at your store. Then, arrange the new arrivals and other merchandise according to their directions.
Have Enough Product Quantities in Display
Should you bring out all your stock to the store? Should you have only a couple of items on display? Should you have one item for each size on display? There are conflicting study results. One study shows that customers buy more when there are more products on the floor. Another study shows that they buy less when there are fewer products on the floor, but they have better experiences.
So which is which? If you’re a discount store that wants to make the most out of your space, then pack the floor with items. If you’re a high-end boutique store, keep your items curated and display only a few items for a more specialized feeling.
Make Your Store Secure
Aside from the layout and design of the store, it is also important to invest in a 24/7 security system. This isn’t only for the safety and security of your employees and merchandise but also for your customers’ protection. Making sure that your store is safe from burglars and other criminals will result in better business transactions.
You can make changes to your store layout as you see fit. Always conduct audits and inventory whenever you can. You also need to train your people in designing and displaying the right items.