Retail Customer Experience: Five Signs a Retail Store Needs a Makeover
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from Retail Customer Experience, a daily news portal devoted to helping retailers differentiate the shopping experience.
When a store first opens, everything is fresh -- the paint, the signs, the racks and all of the merch. Now, however, many years later, the store may be still chugging along, but that once shiny layer of paint is now faded, the shelves are chipped, the merch isn't all fresh.
As new stores have opened over the past several years, they have upped the bar, and although an older store may still be completely functional, it may be turning off potential customers. Here are five questions retailers need to ask themselves to see if their store needs a redesign.
Question 1: In terms of organization, how do you conform to customers' natural traffic patterns? In North America, people walk into a business and turn to the right, walking counter-clockwise through a store. If the cash wrap desk is on the right, in front, customers constantly have to cross against other customers. This limits and degrades the shopping experience for all.
Question 2: Does your store lack consistency? Are some signs in color, some hand written, some black and white? Elements like paint colors, fonts on signage and overall look should show consistency throughout a store because it shows an attention to detail.
Question 3: Does your merchandise scream sensory overload? If everything is stacked to the gills, all on shelving, all lit the same, nothing will stand out. The store could be overwhelming customers who are trying to figure out what to look at. Information overload will prevent sales because it trips the "I can't figure this out, I'm an idiot" switch and they leave.
Question 4: Does your store look old? Just like hairstyles, jean styles and lapels, styles change, and so do stores. Whatever style a store was in '03 probably isn't what's hot right now. Since great retail is like an idealized home, a store can take its cues from magazines, TV shows and even the majors who have spent a lot of money trying to figure out how to look "new."
Question 5: Are your display areas the same as they've always been? Eighty percent of sales tend to come from the first third of a store, so all the "wants" should be highlighted at the front and all the "needs" in the back with the sale stuff.
Discussion Questions: What are some signals that a store needs a makeover? What are the most common design issues in older stores? What questions do think stores need to be asking themselves when exploring a redesign?