Our Tips For Aspiring Shop Owners
--
Having been in the shop fitting industry for sometime now — we have paid attention to the shops that make money and stick around and those that disappear. Clearly, a shop needs to make sales in order to create revenue and thus profit. As your shop fitters serving Glasgow and other regions of this beautiful country, we want to come to you with valuable information we have learnt over the years.
As the creators of your shop we are more than just handymen. We can help you to layout your shop in a way that other shops in the same industry have had success through. It’s no good putting 0 thought into your shop layout. Look at how each Apple Store is laid out, for example. There is a reason they are all like this. The layout of your shop is paramount to its success. That is not to say that there are not other factors — but if you cannot get the setting right for your shop then you have failed before you have even begun.
It is no easy feat to get everything spot on the first time. There are lots of considerations to get right. We have listed them below for you to look at should you just be using this as an information article. For anyone that works with us you can expect any kind of support that you need in making your shop as excellent as possible.
Just remember, the ideal goal is to get people into the shop, to feel good about your shop (be it a commercial, a restaurant, a clothes shop etc.) and browse around or sit in and consider your products and or services. From there you want them to buy, feel good about their purchase and want to return.
Lets have a look at key considerations for getting your shop right below!
1. Signage and promotion
People need to know about your shop in order to go in and buy from you. Having a shop is about sales and sales requires promotion, promotion and promotion. You need to promote your shop from the outside by using attractive signage, colours and branding to make people want to walk through your front doors.
2. Accessibility
You need your shop to be accessible. People will see your shop through the signage and whatever promotion you do, then you actually need to get people through the front door. For a retail environment you should strongly consider having automatic doors. This will help disabled people, mothers with pushchairs and anyone else with mobility problems.
3. How you lay your store out
How your position your shop will have a big impact with how people interact with it. People have timescales so they don’t want to get into a maze. The shop needs to be easily navigable and simple for them to find what they want. This is why you see massive retailers like Tesco with signs down each and every isle. You need to do the same in making the shop as easy as possible for the customer to get what they want and get out quickly and easily. Everything needs to be easy. No one wants to go into a shop that gives their brain a headache because they’re having to think everything through. Make everything easy and your customers will thank you for it.
4. Equipment
Depending on your shop you will need very different things. For a retail shop that wants to sell food, for example, something refrigeration is going to be really important. Perhaps spending a bit more than average will benefit you here. While most of your competition go for unreliable refrigeration that breaks, costing them time and money in the future — you can get excellent equipment that lasts. Also, think of things like the whirring noises that poor refrigeration or air-conditioning would make. We will make sure to work with you in picking out the best equipment according to your target market, your budget and so on.
5. Lights
Lighting is an interesting one in the shop world. The lighting in your shop is paramount in getting the look and feel of you want. Lighting is a key factor in the ambiance of any setting. That is why you could be in a house that is totally normal in the day, but turn off the lights and walk through the home and you are scared for your life. Most shops are just going to need some good honest lighting that keeps the whole place bright and visible. Again, work with your fitter to get the best equipment according to your budget and target audience.
6. Place to pay
Your counter, tills or wherever the customer pays is important. You can’t have some scruffy old desk. You need space for customers, space for your team and space for the things the customer is buying. This is the centrepiece of the shop and you want customers to be confident in and around here. This is the place that they exchange their money with you. Make them feel good about it. Again, we will help you decide on the most optimal counter according to your business and needs.
7. Safety
A lot of people forget about something like safety until it is too late. Consider getting CCTV and alarms so that you are protected in the instance that someone tries to rob you. You will not regret the expense compared to the massive expense not having CCTV could be.
Hopefully this has been useful for you. Whether you want to open a boutique, shop, retail store, workshop, restaurant or whatever it is, these considerations will help you indefinitely.
Originally published at 1stForFittings.co.uk.
