retail store layout,design and display

Store layout, design & Visual Merchandising

Objectives

• Critical issues retailers consider in designing a store

• Advantages/Disadvantages of alternative store layout

• How is store floor space assigned to merchandise and department

• Best techniques for merchandise presentation

A well designed store…

• Entrance: creates expectation and offers promises, store front should entice ,a single message – positive store image

• Clutter at the start- can create confusion and disorientation, uncomfortable feeling

• Inside the store: leads the customer through the store journey-using lighting, signage, display leads customer – through path of discovery

• Checkout : store visit conclusion

Store Design objective

• Implement the retailers strategy• Influence the customer buying behavior• Provide flexibility• control design and maintenance costs• meet legal requirements

Store Design and Retail strategy

• Primary objective: to implement retailers strategy

• Design- consistent and reinforce the retailers strategy by meeting the needs of the target market and building a competitive advantage. Eg Sam`s-price sensitive- floor design and racks – metal and concrete to reinforce the brand image

• Flooring and shelving also affect retailers image: glass-elegance

Influence customer buying behavior

• Store design- should attract customers, enable them to locate merchandise, keep them in the store for as long time, motivate them to make unplanned, impulse purchase and provide them with a satisfied customer experience.

• Buying behavior-influences store design: rise in nuclear families-limited time

• e.g. P&G: “first moment of truth”- first 3-7 seconds, customer notices an item on the store shelf . Mkt research – customers do not walk down one aisle and up the next. Park at the end of aisle-walk partway to pick the product and return to the cart. Hence puts its best selling brands at the middle of the aisle

Flexibility

• Dynamic business- what may work today, may not be applicable tomorrow- need to change the merchandise mix- need to change layout

• attempt to design stores with max flexibility.• Two forms: ability to physically move and

store the components, and the ease with which components can be modified

• Book stores

Cost

• Cost of implementing the store design and maintain the store appearance

• Free form design – costly- can encourage the customers to explore and increase sales

• More lighting- expensive jewelry and other merchandise• Good lighting- can make the merchandise look better

and increase sales• Store design – affect labor costs- traditional dept stores

with diff depts – comfortable shopping, but require one person constantly to provide service

STORE DESIGN

Layout • Need to determine the basic layout of the store• Use signage to guide customers through the store and assist them in

locating and finding info about merchandise• variety of approaches used to feature specific products• layouts- method of encouraging customer exploration – present them

with a layout which facilitates a specific traffic pattern.• Eg Toys R us uses a specific layout which forces customers to move

through a sections of inexpensive impulse purchase products to larger more expensive goods

• 3 types of layouts- Grid- Racetrack- free form

Grid layout

Bakery

Fruits

Vegetables

Clothing

Electrical & Electronics

OfficeEntranceExit

CheckoutsCarts

Grid layout

Grid layout

Has parallel aisles with merchandise on shelves on both sides of aisles, Cash registers located at the entrance/exit

Well suited for shopping trips in which customer needs to move through entire store and easily locate the products they want to buy. Eg grocery – supermarkets.Cost efficient, less wasted space, all aisles are of same width.Use of shelves- more merchandise on sales floor.Low cost standardized fixtures

Not visually exciting design customers not exposed to all of the merchandise

Racetrack/loop layout

Racetrack layout

Provides a major aisle that loops around the store to guide customer traffic around various depts. To direct customers through the stores, aisles

must be defined by change in surface/color. cash register stations are typically located in each dept bordering the racetrack

Facilitates the goal of getting customers to see the merchandise available in multiple depts and facilitate impulse purchase. Customers forced to take diff viewing angles.

Customers forced to take diff viewing angles.

Free form layout

Display

Display

Checkout

Offi

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Roo

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Win

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Dis

play

Free form layout

Free form layout

Boutique layout, arranges fixtures and aisles in an asymmetric pattern. Use in small specialty stores or

within depts of large stores

Provides an intimate and relaxing environment that facilitates shopping and browsing

No well defined traffic pattern, customers are not drawn towards the store naturally. Personal selling becomes more important . Layout sacrifices some retail storage and display space to create a more spacious environment

Signage and Graphics

• Help customers locate specific products and departments, provide specific information, and suggest items or special purchases

• Graphics- can add personality, beauty to the stores image

• Location: use to identify the location of merchandise. Large stores display directional signage to guide customers around the store and from one area to another. Hanging signs from the ceilings – to enhance visibility


• Category signage: used within particular dept or sector of the store, smaller than directional signs. Purpose- to identify the types of products offered-located near the referred goods.


• Promotional signage: Signage displaying special offers may be displayed in windows to entice customers into the store.


• Point of sale: placed near the merchandise they refer to so that customers know its price and detailed information. Help to quickly identify special offers


• Lifestyle images: use various images such as pictures of people and places to create moods that encourage customers to buy the products.

Signage can be more effective if:• Coordinate signs and graphics

with the stores image: should act as a bridge between merchandise and target market. Color, tone, graphic should complement the merchandise. For eg formal display – not for childrens section. Color combinations should appeal to specific target audience – primary colors for kids, hot vivid colors- teens etc

• Inform customers: Informative merchandise- make merchandise more desirable

Effective signage

• Use signage and graphics as props: using signs that masquerade as props, is a great way to unify a theme or merchandise for an appealing overall presentation

Effective signage

• Keep signs and graphics fresh: should be relevant to items displayed . New signs= new merchandise

• Limit text on signs: signs with too much copy wont work.

• Use appropriate typefaces on signs

Digital signage• typically developed and produced at

corporate level and distributed to stores.

• Visual content is delivered digitally through centrally managed and controlled centrally.

• content = video clips to price of merchandise

• superior in recall and content• enhance stores environment and

atmospherics• can be customized according to the

strategy .• ensures timely output, and

decreases promotional cost

Feature Areas

• are those areas within a store designed to get customers attention

• include freestanding displays, end caps, promotional aisles, windows ,cash wraps or point of sale areas and walls

Free standing display

• Are fixtures or mannequins located on aisles designed to primarily attract customers attention and bring them into the department.

• Often display and store most newest, exciting merchandise into the dept

Cashwraps• POP counters or checkout

areas are places in stores where customer can purchase merchandise.

• Go to these areas and wait in the line to make a purchase, often display impulse purchase

• reduce customer complaints for poor checkout service,reduce staff and increase customer convenience

End caps

• displays located at the end of aisle

• products sales increase dramatically.

• Use for higher margin, impulse merchandise

• to communicate promotional offer

Promotional aisle/area

• Is a space to display merchandise that is being promoted

Walls

• limited retail space, use walls to store, display and present a message

Windows

• can help to draw customer into the store

• provide the visual message about the type of merchandise offered and type of image the store wishes to portray.

• should be tied to the merchandise and other displays in the store

• should display shopping mood for a season or holiday

Space management

• space within store- is a scarce resource• allocation of store space to merchandise • location of departments or merchandise

categories in the same area

Space allocated to Merchandise categories

• Factors which retailer consider when deciding how much shelf space to allocate to merchandise category and brands are:

- Space productivity- Inventory turnover- Impact on store sales- Display considerations


• Space productivity: rule of thumb: to allocate space on basis of merchandise sale. If a particular item represents 20% of store sales, the 20% of store space allocated to it.

• Two commonly used measures for that: sales /sqfoot, and sales/linear foot.

• Eg apparel retailers-display on freestanding fixtures- use sales/sqfoot, and super markets= sales/linear foot


• Inventory turnover: inventory turnover and gross margin contribute to GMROI, Thus merchandise with higher inventory turnover- should get more shelf space. fast selling merchandise- more shelf space

• Impact on store sales: need to consider allocation impact on the entire store. Objective: to maximize profitability of the entire store

• Display considerations: physical structure of the store and the availability of fixtures

Location of departments or merchandise categories

• Location of merchandise also determines how a customer navigates through the store

• By strategically placing demand or impulse merchandise throughout the store, retailer-increases chances that customers will shop the entire store and will focus attention on stores .

• Entry area/decompression zone: Introductory displays welcome and educate the customers . Making adjustment to the new environment and developing a visual impression of the new store

• Strike zone: after decompression zone, they often turn right and observe the price and quality of the first items they encounter. Critical zone as it makes the first impression of the stores offering. Hence- most compelling merchandise-place here

• Right hand side of the store: Most heavily trafficked and viewed area- prime area for displaying the GMROI merchandise. Eg supermarkets- produce area- fresh fruits and vegetables is an appeal

Location of departments or merchandise categories

• Impulse merchandise: products which are purchased without prior plans. Eg magazines, perfumes/cosmetics are located at the front of the store. Also placement in heavily trafficked areas such as the entrance, right side of the store, cash wrap etc

• Demand/promotional merchandise: often placed at the back,left hand corner of the store. Placing in this area- pulls customer throughout the store, increasing the visibility of other products on the way. Eg staple merchandise such as milk/eggs – supermarket

• Special merchandise: in lighter traffic areas, where decision making takes time

• Adjacencies: often complementary products are clustered together to facilitate multiple purchase

Location of merchandise within a category- use of planograms

• Retailers devote considerable amount of time to location of specific SKUs within a category. For eg private brands to the right of national brands, so when consumer sees the product, he will see the higher priced national brand first and then the store brand.

• To determine where the items should be located within a category or department, retailer generates maps known as planograms.

• Planogram is a diagram that shows how and where specific SKU s should be placed on retail shelves or displays that will increase customer purchase.

• Locations can be illustrated in the form of photos/computer output/artist rendering.

Planogram• In developing, retailers need to make the category visually

appealing, consider the manner in which the consumers shop and achieve the retailers financial and strategic objectives.

• Planogrammer must be able to balance both art and science .Art ( visual impact and presentation) and science (financial analysis).

• Use of technological software's to prepare.• Use analyses of historical sales, gross margins, turnover, size of SKU,

retailers design criteria-software determines the optimal shelf space and location for each SKU.

• Planograms are designed, tested and changed in a virtual shopping environment

• Also useful for those merchandise which does not fit into the shelf nicely

retail store layout,design and display

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