As online businesses become all the more popular physical retailers have their work cut out for them. The rising competition between an online shop where things are a click away and a retail store where you can touch and feel things before making a purchase is intense.
However, as a business owner with a shop, you have to keep the positives in mind when altering your space into a creative retail store. Remember that your store’s main advantage is the in-person experience for whoever walks into yours.
One of the best ways to do this is by creating a storefront display like no other while being aesthetically appealing. It is the first thing a customer sees while they stroll by. Therefore, make sure you’re inventive with it and making it an unforgettable one. A storefront also allows you to adequately give attention to the small items in your store and space for you to display them tastefully.
Before you jump in, ask yourself, how exactly would you make your retail store stand out? What ensures that there are walk-in customers? Have you identified your crowd and what appeals to them? Are you cluttering your items resulting in confusing customers? Have your small items in the store gotten lost in the loudness of the others? What are you doing to make sure there is attention on them?
If you’re ready to put time and creativity into enhancing the small, albeit important items in your store and building a creative retail store, we’ve identified tips below that can help you make it happen.
First, Don’t Chase the Trend
Don’t disregard what customers are more attracted towards. Instead, take the trend and give it a twist that will turn heads. Creating a product like a best-seller can be a sure win because it will generate sales in the short term.
However, if you keep using this one tactic, you might lose your business’s personality and become a generic supermarket brand. It will not be a lasting business. You’re going to be just another business doing the same thing everyone else is. A consistent branding tone can convene more than personality, but also trust and loyalty.
When you create a similar product as that of your competitors, market it differently. Maybe you can make your product follow a different theme. Run some research on your items, see the possibilities, and add to the sea of possible market ideas. The result is a desirable product to the market and one that remains unforgettable.
Place Products at Eye Level
The best way to display small merchandise is by making sure it is eye-level with the customer. If it is too high up or too low, there is a high chance your customer will not notice it.
If there are specific products you want to sell faster than any other, work out an eye level that you can see even through your shop window from the outside. You can also display your best and newest products that are less noticeable because of size, increasing the likelihood of customers’ interest.
The smaller items should be in the foreground. This is your shop! A creative retail shop means adding interesting layers and levels to your display shelves to keep things divorced from monotony.
Lighting Is the Key
You have probably heard this often about furniture stores in particular, that lighting can go as far as impacting a customer’s buying decision. The right lighting can make a big difference to your items on display.
You can install overhead lighting, spotlights, or accent lights to make your products stand out and look aesthetically pleasing. This is especially great for smaller items as it draws a customer’s eye directly to the object.
You can also light up your display at night to make the most of your display at all times. This will get a potential customer’s attention, especially from those who you might miss during the day.
Take Steps Towards Minimalism
In recent years modern and minimalistic designs have become all the rage. Negative space is being thoroughly appreciated in all art forms. What is to say you can’t do the same for your store-front or the items inside your shop?
Incorporate tasteful amounts of white space with a handful of intentional center-pieces that are striking enough to catch an onlooker’s eye. This is where you can use different shapes and sizes in your product range to juxtapose them.
Remember, a cluttered countertop with too many things on display will reduce the products’ perceived value, especially when small items are in question. While creating a minimalistic storefront, add depth with lighting and shadows to the small items being displayed. That seeks to add value to them and give them the same attention a rather large object would get.
Creative Retail Stores Sell With a Story
Create an immersive experience for a customer by adding depth to your selling item. You can add customer reviews and interactive displays to get a customer’s attention. Storytelling is a compelling way to sell your merchandise and a journey towards a creative retail store.
Add an element of relatability to the item you are selling, especially if it is an expensive but small product. People, regardless of its worth, are likely to overlook a small item if not marketed properly. As a seller, you ought to create a narrative surrounding the item to generate organic interest and add value to it.
An easy way to put small items on the high spot is through digital signage displays. Modern, animated, and eye-catching content can immediately elevate the small items with its creativity.
Use Digital Signage
Digital signage has proven to be a great way to create an impact for customers and presents even more opportunities for you as a shop owner to customize your branding. Digital signage comes in the form of any content you can display in and around your shop using LED, LCD, and other TV displays as the medium.
While artfully displaying small items will get them the right kind of attention, the only way a customer’s curiosity is satiated is to provide a short and sweet description of the product. Display key product features, special promotions, ratings, or reviews through digital signage for your shop. This is also a great way for you to create an interactive experience for your customers about the products.
You can hire professionals to devise a good plan for you and give you ample options to create a great store-front display using digital signage.
Ensure Deploying Tasteful In-Store Layout
For a creative retail shop, you need a space your customers will never want to leave – at least for a while. How will you manage that? Make important adjustments to your layout. Spark curiosity in your walk-ins and make it easy for them to browse and shop.
You can plant surprises in corners or create an interactive display for people. While designing interesting aisles and shelves is one thing, creating a harmonious and fluid in-store display does wonder for your customer traffic. Maintain a clear route but make it more interesting. Play with lighting, images, and textures, as well as color combinations. If you have or are thinking about incorporating digital signage display, they can play an important part
Place signs that invite people and make them feel welcome. Adding seating or a cozy nook will also make them stay longer and make them feel at ease. Take advantage of the seasons to create relevant displays and weave a story that makes your small items relevant to the seasons.
Have an Interactive Social Media Presence
You have to admit, regardless of your efforts towards a creative retail store in person, you need to make the most of social media, especially because it is there, ripe for picking. Do a thorough research of Instagram’s shops, Facebook marketplace, and so on, see how you can make your business digital to promote in-store traffic.
You can seek help from professionals to design a layout, focus on retail design, and strategize your marketing plan. It has been identified that those who visit a brand’s Instagram handle have a 37% chance of visiting the retail physical location.
Adding shoppable media creates extra layers of engagement while being another shopping portal for your shop. It also allows you to create a personality for your brand, a color scheme, and freedom to market in ways you might not be able to do in person.
Creative Retail Store: Last Words
The best way to a creative retail shop is to optimize your storefront. This requires thorough research on customer comments, in-store traffic, or your digital presence. The goal is to make your shop stand out through a brand identity that occupies your customer’s mind. Be consistent with your attention to detail and think like the customer when you decide to transform your layout.
For more tips and help boost your retail foot traffic, contact Kuusoft Corp for digital signage for retail businesses.
You can learn more about NexSigns’ Digital Signage solution and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube to get the latest info on digital signage!
