Interior of a store: what to focus on

Creating the right atmosphere of a store is one of the key factors, which stimulate customers to purchase. It is important for shoppers to feel good already when they enter the store and to feel positive emotions. Customers perceive the atmosphere using all their senses. It is not just about the known factors, as for example pleasant lighting, optimal volume and style of music, fragrances, temperature and many more. Unified design and concept of a store also very positively influence customers.

There may be also fundamental how easily shoppers can orient within a store and find what they look for. Long searching without success does not create positive feelings. That is why it is, especially in large stores, appropriate to create an easy-to-understand navigation system, which will ideally be also a design element. Uniform recipe how to choose the right atmosphere of a store doesn´t exist, it is necessary to know many other aspects, such as store size, focus, customer target group and so on. In general, however, the goal of each store should be evoking pleasant, joyful feelings of customers who enjoy the time they spent shopping so that they would like to come back.

Simplicity and natural wood are in the lead

Nowadays, in most interiors there still prevail metal shelf systems, which are, of course, very efficient, but unfortunately most do not represent a design element of a store. Especially in small, more luxury stores, there are suitable clean, simple, glossy, not re-combined shelves giving very elegant impression. A store can also be designed all in natural wood. There is a simple rule: to stylize the design, materials and the overall concept of a store in accordance with offered products or services.

Renovation can fundamentally help

It is always necessary to consider a renovation thoroughly and ideally search advice from professionals. If a store gives an unclean, chaotic, disorganized and faded impression, it does not evoke pleasant emotions of shoppers and threatens the credibility of such store in their eyes. When clients don’t feel comfortable in the environment, they would aim to do shopping as quickly as possible and buy only the most necessary items, or they could eventually change their mind during their stay in the store.

Proper P.O.P. materials increase sales

Especially in large supermarkets, we can see a great variety of P.O.P. materials to support sales. Many of them are used only to “slip” a specific product to shoppers, especially in the cases when a customer doesn´t prefer any brand and doesn´t want to spend time choosing. In such a case he/she would buy just the product which differs from the rest of products and which is just at hand (usually in some cardboard display). With P.O.S. materials, we can of course communicate much more, for example introduce a new product, highlight its benefits, draw attention to discounts. One level above, there are various permanent displays made of all kinds of materials or their combinations (wood, metal, plastic materials,…) within the sales promotions. They will attract attention, motivate customers to buy, inform about a product, but they can also greatly complement the atmosphere of a store. Also interactive elements are very positive for customers, whatever makes sound and moves in a meaningful way, everything unusual. Also elements where you can touch the product are suitable. An ideal sales promotion, especially for children, is some form of play or experience. Thanks to the ever-evolving modern technologies in today´s world, nothing is impossible, it´s all just a matter of finance that a company wants to invest into sales promotions.

The basis is customer knowledge

In addition to the product quality, it also depends on the form and the way of presentation at the sale. In times of a strong competition, it is crucial to think about the target group and do everything to make clients to feel good in the environment where we offer our product and to be happy coming back. Knowing customers’ needs and preferences can be the key to success and sustained prosperity of the business. Satisfied customer does not represent only one-time sale. He/she can create unwavering preferences for the product and the point of sales, give recommendations to his/her family and friends. All this gives a competitive advantage, which could have been the beginning of the redesign and remodelling of such store.

Ing. Anna Brůžková
Project manager DAGO, s.r.o