Impact of Retail Store Design & Layout on The Customer Mind

Impact of Retail Store Design & Layout on The Customer Mind

With the advent of globalisation, interconnected economies and highly reduced barriers for trade, competition has shifted from the national arenas to international levels. Every mall, supermarket or departmental store seems to stock similar (if not same) brands. And yet, some stores command whopping sales while some languish to even break even! There could be many factors at play here, but one overwhelmingly important factor is the store design and layout.

 Retailers should use the store design and layout to influence their customers’ behaviours. The ways in which a store layout could be used are as follows: 

  1. Determining Shopping Patterns: Positioning the most essential products at the back end of the store and welcoming the customer with the most visually appealing ones are classic ways to ensure that the customer enters the store, spends more time (and money) there and indulges in impulse purchases. Grouping and displaying complementary products together (like shower gel with loofah), increases the customer’s meaningful purchases. 
  2. Influencing Impulse Purchases: While grid layouts emphasise on speed and convenience, freeform layouts allow greater exploration by customers. The Gruen Effect is something that all successful stores employ. It is about creating a layout meticulously to deeply engage the customer so that he/she forgets the original intentions of coming to the store and engages more in impulse purchases. The display should arouse the customer because research at the successful IKEA stores shows that 80% of purchase decisions made there aren’t based on needs but emotions. 
  3. Optimising The Retail Space: The right design and layout will ensure that each brand/product is allotted space according to its sales potential. Also, luxury items need to be given more space to emphasise the premium aspect compared to lesser ticket items. You will be surprised at the boost in sales that can be achieved by a simple rearrangement of the merchandise. 
  4. Enhancing Buying Atmosphere: Lights, displays and store design can be used to subconsciously steer customers towards certain areas which look ‘scenic’. You can extend window shopping into the store and convert it to actual shopping too!

 Creating a perfect store set up is best left to experts who have been in the field for years. One such quality-driven Indian company designing and manufacturing retail fixtures and  furniture is Autumnwood. With architects, designers and contractors who are all connoisseurs in their own right, you can rest assured that apart from being economical, your retail store design and layout will be of the finest quality.