Store planning and design is one of the top tasks retailers must do well in order to be successful. Merchandise will sell itself when a store’s design is good, but when it’s not, even the best product can sit and gather dust. The purpose of a store’s design is not merely to look pretty; it’s to attract customers, entice lingering and encourage spending. It’s a tall order, but easier than you think. That’s because much of store planning is a time-honored science. Professional store planners know that every single square foot of your sales floor has a specific job to do; you will too after reading these tips and hints from retail experts Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender. So whether you are opening a brand-new store or perking up your existing one, let these ideas keep you on the right track.

Inside the Front Door

The first thing shoppers notice in your store is the decor. All the elements—walls, flooring, primary and accent colors, fixtures, signage, wall striping, etc.—must work together to tell a single story. Two kinds of colors are used in store decor: neutral/primary colors and bold/secondary colors. Neutral colors are used in 80 percent of the store’s decor to create a relaxed shopping atmosphere. Secondary, or accent, colors are used in 20 percent of the store to make it pop. Think of accent colors as attention grabbers. A retailer once asked us to look at photos of his newly remodeled store. Instead of a store planner, he hired an interior designer with wild ideas, and the entire store was red. The problem is that so much exposure to a dominant color makes most people antsy. We asked the retailer to spend two weeks watching how long customers stayed in the store. As suspected, customers didn’t stay any longer than they had to, and the retailer had to redo his entire store to get sales back on track. 

Attention! Right Turn Ahead!

We Americans shop the way we drive—we have a tendency to turn right when we enter a store. About 90 percent of customers will do this, traveling around your store in a counter-clockwise pattern. So it’s important to merchandise the area directly to the right of your store entrance with care. This is where you’ll want to place your top profit-making products. 

Lakefront Property

Some areas of your sales floor are more important than others. Think of them as prime lakefront property. After shoppers walk past the front door, they should be surrounded by products—this is not the place for the checkout counters or other service areas. Store planners know that if you mis-merchandise these areas, it will cost you in sales. When customers first enter your shop, let the store decor and product selection alert them right away that they are in for a delightful experience. 

Look to Your Right—It’s Your First Power Wall

Immediately inside your front door is the decompression zone. Just after that zone, look to your right, and you will see the first Power Wall. That right-side wall is another one of those key merchandising areas because it’s the first wall shoppers see after entering the store and naturally turning to the right. The wall is a perception builder, and if you use it to house basic product, you are making a mistake. Put your best foot forward by using this Power Wall to display important merchandise, show off new and seasonal items, create vignettes and feature high-profit items. (Note: Your store has more than one Power Wall. Stand in various spots and look around; the walls that stand out are your Power Walls.)

Deciding the Right Layout for Your Store

All store layouts are affected by the shape and size of the sales floor, but the common goal is to expose shoppers to product and to gain maximum traffic flow. Three layouts are typically used in store design: grid layout, loop (racetrack) layout, and free-flow layout.

In a grid layout, fixtures run parallel to the walls, so customers typically grab a shopping cart, start in a front corner and walk each and every aisle. Grid layouts are easy to shop because they offer clean sight lines throughout the entire store. Another plus: grids allow for maximum end feature exposure. Grid layouts can be found in grocery stores, but you will also find them used in large craft and general merchandise stores.

A loop layout offers a clearly defined main aisle that circles through the store like a racetrack. Fixture placement in a loop layout differs in different parts of the store. The perimeter fixtures run perpendicular to the wall, and the center fixtures run parallel to the side walls. In a loop layout, shoppers typically flow to the right and move up and down the aisles in a serpentine manner. Loop layouts offer maximum product exposure because the perimeter walls are just as important as the end features—the layout leads customers to the wall each time they go down an aisle.

Specialty retailers typically use a free-flow layout because it allows for the most creativity. In a free-flow layout, there are no set aisles or straight lines. Instead, fixtures are placed at angles, encouraging shoppers to easily move throughout the store, where they will find new merchandise displays at every turn. This layout offers many opportunities to romance the merchandise and create lifestyle display vignettes.

If you already have a blueprint of your store, then you are ahead of the game. If you don’t have one, don’t worry! Get a large piece of paper and draw a schematic of your own. Measure both the sales floor and non-selling areas, carefully noting all the nuances, including columns, doors, fixed walls, bathrooms and storage rooms. Next, mount your schematic to a piece of foam-core board and overlay it with transparent tissue paper. Now you will be able to merchandise and re-merchandise your sales floor on paper before you ever touch a fixture!

A Word about Store Fixtures

When it comes to store fixtures, keep this in mind: it’s dangerous to fall in love with your store fixtures. Remember that the true purpose of your fixtures is to house merchandise; you aren’t supposed to see the fixtures, so don’t make them the star of the show. Fixture placement will depend upon your layout choice. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires a minimum of 3'6" between fixtures. That amount of space makes sense; anything smaller and shoppers will be uncomfortable. Grab a stroller or wheelchair and maneuver through the aisles. Can you do it easily? If customers can’t comfortably shop, they can’t buy.

The Decompression Zone

The decompression zone (DZ) is the space that’s located just inside your front door. The size of your DZ will depend upon the size of your sales floor, but it’s generally the first 5 to 15 feet inside the front door. Its purpose is to give shoppers a chance to transition from whatever happened in the parking lot, to your store—it refocuses the customer on shopping. Your DZ needs to be open, inviting and easy to navigate. Understand that shoppers will miss anything you place here; that’s why the DZ is not the ideal place for shopping baskets or sign-up sheets because customers will blow right by them. Instead, place these items just outside your DZ where shoppers are more likely to see them.

Speed Bumps

Just past the decompression zone is where you place fixtures known as speed bumps. These merchandise displays work much the same way as speed bumps in parking lots work—they slow customers down. They also grab their attention and introduce them to the cool products for sale in your store. Specialty fixtures, such as four-way gondolas, make great speed bumps. Small tables work well, too. Use speed bumps to feature new and seasonal items, and to tell product stories. Rotate the merchandise on your speed bumps at least once a week.

Don't Put the Checkout Counter There!

A common mistake in store layout is placing the checkout counter at the center front, or right front of the store, smack dab in the middle of your lakefront property. Your checkout should be located at a natural stopping point in the shopping experience: the left side of the store, close to the front. And your checkout counter should be designed to sell! Embrace these four rules: 1. Provide shoppers ample space to comfortably complete their transaction; 2. Showcase an interesting display behind the counter so customers can continue to think about product while waiting; 3. Keep your policy signage inviting, polite and positive; and 4. Load up the counter with “I have to have this!” impulse items.

Strike Zones 

Strike zones are fixtures placed in high-traffic areas of your store where customer traffic flows naturally. You will typically find strike zones at the ends and intersections of main aisles. Locate your store’s strike zones on your schematic, and then place feature racks or tables in these areas on your sales floor to introduce shoppers to new departments, or to feature seasonal and/or highly profitable product. Take advantage of the places in your store where shoppers naturally stop while contemplating their next move!

Merchandise Outposts

Next time you are in a grocery store, keep an eye out for product displays that are placed near or in the aisles. These fixtures are called merchandise outposts, and their sole purpose is to encourage impulse purchases. Merchandise outposts make shoppers think, “I need that!” They provide the perfect opportunity to cross-merchandise. Department stores jump-start sales by loading up the aisles with merchandise outposts. You should, too!

Putting It All Together

After you read this article, take a trip to your local mall and study the bones of each store. You will see how these universal store-planning truths have been tweaked for each application. And they will work in your store as well. Whether you are gearing up for a new store, or just in need of a sales floor shuffle, remember that you are not alone. If you’re not sure what to do first, give us a call, or e-mail photos and we’ll share ideas to help get you started. We’ll even pay for the call!