Kiss Your Empty Store Goodbye: 9 Tips to Turn Your Layout Around

May 02, 2023

Running a successful retail store relies on far more than just stocking great products. If customers can’t easily find and buy what they’re looking for, they’ll get frustrated and abandon their purchase — or just avoid setting foot in your store altogether. 

But get your store layout right, and shopping becomes easy and enjoyable — boosting both customer satisfaction and sales. From the flow of foot traffic to where you place your best-selling products, every detail counts. 

How can I optimize my retail store layout for increased sales?

From eye-catching displays to sleek modern hardware, here are nine tried-and-tested ways to optimize your store layout and get those cash registers ringing: 

1. Keep the layout simple

Nobody wants to battle their way around a cluttered, haphazardly organized store, squeezing past teetering displays as they struggle to spot what they’re looking for.

Keeping your store layout simple — e.g. circular or a grid — makes the overall shopping experience easier, faster, and more pleasant. By minimizing clutter and creating clear sight lines, customers can easily navigate your store, find the products they want, and buy them.

2. Optimize customer flow

Pay attention to the way customers move through your store. Where do they head first? Where do they linger? Are there any bottlenecks?

Make sure your store’s layout is intuitive and easy to follow. Use clear signage, attractive displays, and savvy product placement to guide customers through the store and encourage them to make purchases. 

For example, place complementary products near each other, such as socks and shoes, wine and cheese, toothbrushes and toothpaste — encouraging customers to buy multiple products.

3. Prioritize your best-selling products 

Identifying and prioritizing your best-selling products can boost sales and keep your customers happy. 

Make sure your top-performing products are prominently displayed and easy to find. Try placing them at eye level, or getting extra-creative with your displays. Putting them in high-traffic areas can help drive impulse buys and ring up more sales.  

4. Create a visually appealing, inviting environment     
         

Step back and take an objective view — how attractive and inviting does your store look? 

Creating a visually appealing environment can help draw customers into your store and keep them there for longer. 

Modern retail store aesthetics are all about creating a clean, minimalist, and cohesive look that emphasizes the goods for sale. Typically, this includes bright and clean lighting, minimalist design, and inviting colors. 

Eco-friendly materials such as bamboo and recycled plastic are popular among brands targeting environmentally conscious consumers.

5. Set up eye-catching and interactive displays

Once you’ve nailed your store’s overall look and feel, focus on keeping your product displays fresh and appealing. Eye-catching displays draw customers’ attention to specific products, and increase sales. 

Be bold and creative when choosing colors, layouts, or props. What will make shoppers look twice? How can you surprise, delight, or dazzle them?

And think beyond the eyes to the other senses too. Free samples and interactive displays that allow shoppers to try before they buy are always a hit, whether you’re selling funky makeup, sleek smartphones, or tasty snacks. 

6. Optimize the customer experience

With customer expectations higher than ever, you can’t afford to slack off on giving your customers an enjoyable and memorable experience. This is crucial for attracting more customers, building their loyalty, and encouraging them to return.

Today’s shoppers want personalized, efficient service, a welcoming environment, and knowledgeable staff. Make sure your systems can collect, store, and analyze customer data including past purchases, so you can use this info to provide tailored recommendations and personalized service. 

7. Make checkout easy

A fast and easy checkout process will keep your customers happy and coming back for more. Use modern point-of-sale (POS) technology and optimize your checkout process to reduce wait times and make the checkout experience as seamless as possible.

SuitePOS is a fast, flexible, modern POS system, fully integrated with NetSuite and Salesforce. Its user-friendly interface enables retail staff to focus on serving customers quickly and efficiently. Using SuitePOS also helps retailers achieve a sleek, modern look, due to its minimalist hardware — no more cluttered checkout desks.

8. Leverage technology

Take advantage of modern technology that helps retailers optimize store layout, streamline operations, and improve customer satisfaction. 

A modern, integrated POS system is a must, to manage inventory and collect customer data, as well as processing transactions both in-store and online. Use analytics tools to gain insights into customer behavior, sales trends, and inventory levels, which can help you make data-driven decisions to finetune your store layout and product offerings. 

Digital signage, interactive displays, and mobile apps all help you offer a smooth, engaging, and enjoyable customer experience.

9. Stay flexible

Optimizing your store layout isn’t a one-and-done event. Get in the habit of regularly evaluating and tweaking your store layout to adapt to changing market conditions and customer preferences. 

Use sales data, customer feedback, and market research to spot areas for improvement, then change things up. Don’t be afraid to try new things and experiment to see what works best for your store.

Designing a store layout that boosts sales

Getting your store layout right can mean the difference between empty aisles and sluggish sales on the one hand, and throngs of happy customers and a healthy profit margin on the other. 

Modern, efficient, and customer-friendly store layouts are central to today’s thriving retail businesses. By following the nine tips outlined above, you can optimize your store layout to create a shopping experience that delights customers and keeps them coming back for more.  

To learn more about how SuitePOS can help your business offer a faster, slicker in-store experience, get in touch.

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