The big retail chains have a wealth of strategies to get consumers interested and keep them that way until they buy.
Employing a variety of tactics, they get into shoppers’ heads to discern consumer need and answer it. But there are several secrets common to the big retail chains we can share with you here.
These are the 5 layout secrets of the big retail chains and how you can employ them at your brick and mortar store.
- Windows tell a story.
The retail outlet window is where the sale experience begins. Here’s where you tell your brand story, convey its value to shoppers and establish the worthiness of your outlet.
Cluttered windows signal that your store isn’t offering a premium experience. Displaying a few items well is more likely to interest potential customers. Sticking to a color theme is another indicator of quality. These colors should echo your branding and integrate what the window is saying to consumers with that branding.
- First impressions.
Once shoppers have made the decision to come inside, the first thing they should see is a display that’s eye-catching and arresting. Slow them down. Grab their interest and watch them spend more time in your outlet, making them more likely to buy.
Seasonal interest and special promotions are what to place just inside the entrance to pique the interest of people making it through the front door.
- Helpful guidance.
Studies have shown that when shoppers enter a retail outlet, they routinely look first left, then right. But how to guide them? Common consumer impulse is to strike out to the right and then move around the store, to the left. Because this is a natural way of approaching the consumer journey, retailers can present consumers with a wider aisle to the right side of the entrance.
To the right, your outlet should also display items which induce a sense of pleasure in the shopper. Flowers evoke memories of special occasions. Seasonal displays have a similar effect.
- The aisle to nowhere.
A common error is to create layouts in which some aisles lead to either a blank wall, or the stock room. Any blank wall in a retail outlet is an error to begin with, but your aisles should lead shoppers to something of interest. Whether that’s a compelling POP display, or a promotional offer, interest at the end of the aisle is key.
- Give them a break.
The retail experience can be an exhausting one (especially with kids in tow). So, give your customers a break. Create cross aisles that break up the monotony of what can be oppressively long aisles.
It’s been demonstrated that product in the middle third of long aisles is more difficult to move, due to shopper fatigue, because long aisles overwhelm consumers.
Contact Clip Strip Corp. to find out more about the 5 layout secrets of the big retail chains and how our POP supports can optimize them.