How to plan your retail store’s layout

Although nowadays 60 million businesses in the UK are online, there are still a whopping 300,000 retail stores in the UK. If you’re one of them and want to figure out a way to stand out among the crowd, you might be wondering how best to plan your retail layout. 

If so, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s how you can plan your store’s layout for the best chance of success. 

1. Plan from the ground up

When you’re planning your bricks and mortar store, it’s important to think about the impact your shop has on customers. 

One common mistake that many retailers make is overcrowding the sales floor with merchandise. Although you might be of the mindset that the more merch the merrier, this can be extremely off-putting to customers. 

To avoid a crowded, chaotic space it’s a good idea to plan your store from the ground up. For example, rather than putting everything at eye level, be sure to utilise your vertical space too. That way, you can still display your stock to customers, but you won’t be obstructing the flow of the shop. 

2. Add signage 

It’s not just your storefront that needs signage! Signage helps to communicate various messages to customers. For example, signage helps you display new product launches, shows customers the way to the facilities and even where they need to head to when it comes to paying for their items. 

Without clear signage, customers might feel confused and – worst case scenario – might even abandon their items. 

If you haven’t already sorted your signs, eyebolts could help you display your signage. 

3. Invest in CCTV

Although it’s not nice to think about your precious store falling victim to theft, unfortunately, customers aren’t always honest! 

If you can’t avoid store blind spots, it’s a good idea to invest in a CCTV system. This will help deter thieves from trying to sneak the odd item into their back pocket. 

If you can, it’s a good idea to have CCTV covering key areas. So, your car park, tills, exits and/or entrances and the sales floor. 

4. Encourage extra sales 

Want to increase upselling opportunities without coming across as ‘pushy’? Then it’s time to strategically organise your store. Organising your store layout in a way that encourages customers to pick up added extras on their way to the till can help you increase your profits without having to intensify your sales and marketing efforts. 

Whether that’s placing some small sweets by the tills or strategically placing little trinkets at eye level, every little helps! 

Final thoughts…

How you decide to organise your store is the difference between sink and swim, so it’s important to spend time deciphering what works best for your business. 

But once you’ve got your layout nailed down, the hard work doesn’t stop there. Store layouts evolve, so make sure you keep up with the latest retail trends so you can continuously step up your game.