Many a times looking sharp is not enough. No matter how good an outlet may seemingly look but it’s the aesthetic use of functional aspects in commercial designs that can contribute in improving sales figures along with an exquisite customer experience. Therefore branding your retail outlet is not just improving its façade but it has a lot to do with the clever use of designs to create an impressive impact on customer’s mind. Let’s just begin with a simple point, the design of an outlet no matter how brilliant, if it is not personable then it will only work as a showroom and not a retail sales outlet. There are numerous malls that are designed so ultra-exquisitely that customers perceive them as possibly overly-priced. Yes this is very important, on the contrary look at IKEA- the prices at the store are not less than any other major furniture franchise, but it’s the easy going walk-in atmosphere and the easy functional outlook of its furniture design that has made IKEA a household name. A name is considered pioneer and synonymous for DIY (Do It Yourself) designs, a design for which you don’t need a carpenter but just a little bit of logic and common sense.
We’ll discuss couple of handy tips that might raise your interest toward smart designing: Fascia: From communication and commercial design perspective- the fascia of an outlet speaks volumes about the customer profile. From the geometrical patterns to colours to the typeface, people can recognize and they love their favourite brands. Everyone remembers the Swoosh of Nike, Levis trademark, Mc Donald’s M, Colonel of KFC and fonts of IKEA. All these brands are the results of the extraordinary brilliance, penetrability and inspirational dimension of their commercial designers. Their outlet insignia also corresponds well (due to their recall/registration value) with their interior theme based on similar geometrical patterns and colours.
Window Display: The window display elements whether they are mannequins, food, furniture, computers, electronics, jewellery etc. play a major role in luring the customer in. That means at a watch outlet it shouldn’t have to be the most expensive Rolex on the display, because lot of people might scare away thinking everything else also belongs to the same price tag. Instead try use the most selling item, that’s right there is a world of uncontrollable factors in the environment that influence the perceptions and ultimately the buying behaviour of our customers, obviously no one can scan it all. We can’t track them completely as well, instead just find the best selling item and gauge the response.
Merchandise Display: Once the customer is in, the in-design of your store theme starts working. Now the best selling items shouldn’t be stalked together, or else nothing else will sell. The interior merchandising theme should remarkably be different from the display or window. A good idea that works all over the world is to arrange merchandise in from of categories. Let’s just say in case of watch outlet- Sports watches together, strap watches together, ladies watches together, designer watches together, kids watches together. Similarly for apparel, they should be arranged in ladies, gentlemen and kids (which you must have obviously seen everywhere). Sometimes when we are working hard to push our retail set-up we often overlook these obvious basics. Similarly in a pastry shop dry cakes together, frozen cakes and pastries together, éclair and donuts together. You must have witnessed it at 2nd Cup, Subway or Dunkin Donuts sandwiches are kept away from sweet items and likewise soups are away from tea and coffee although all are served as breakfast but they are set differently or distantly because they are targeting, catering and satisfying different customers with different mindsets visiting your outlet for the same purpose. In a shoe outlet, sports must be kept together in respective ladies, gentlemen and kids sections. Office shoes must be aligned together, while you must have noticed slippers together and leather sandals stacked next to them. These are all techniques of keeping customer’s mindset away from confusions of choice and as a result walking over without a purchase.
Colours: When we talk of colours we include in it light direction as well as shadows, highlights, brightness and contrasts too blended with the colour scheme. Light is nothing but accentuation of colours of the merchandise and the interior. And remember it is not particularly necessary to keep the outlet well lit. A candle light dinner restaurant never looks like a fast food restaurant. Similarly Nike or any other sports accessories outlets are well lit in white light and they don’t have gloomy yellow light atmospheres like that of CK, Gucci, Versace or Armani’s formal designer outlets. Shadows, highlights, brightness and contrasts next on the list are also vital to create definition and visual value with recognisability/registration of your items in customer’s eyes and visual reference memory. Ever seen Levi customers recognizing their favourite cuts from distance? That’s a million dollar commercial design wonder, developed and conceptualized over decades.
Music: The music being played in your outlet can suggest your customers many things subconsciously. Jazz music will suit well to candle light or dress code restaurants decreasing the cardiac tempo instigating repetitive order for drinks etc. While pop, hip hop and R&B will cater most to fast food outlets instigating fast action and thus a high turnover. A bar on contrary will play rock music that gives a trip to beer drinkers and other liquor lovers-offering only hard drinks against hard rock. Music hits these rockers hard and they stay there till morning (in countries such as Thailand) another exceptional example to read and bias consumer behavior. Karaoke music attracts parties and casual occasional get togethers which are easy to get along and inducing hefty collective group billing. Smell: Smell of your interior, merchandise and that of your staff also dictate a lot in your sales progress. Like music this aesthetic element also goes un-noticed and sub conscious but has dramatic effects. Infact this one works a lot better, because our brains are highly receptive to pleasant scents and may force us to give favourable response as an impact of these good odours. Ever noticed smell of bakery items on airports and malls, but you can’t seem to find them right around you, if you keep walking few steps you’ll find one a bakery soon, displaying just what you though these items would be. They diffuse such smells on purpose at distance and then preparing your mind for these items; in other words creating guaranteed sales. Summing it up, the artistic application of commercial design theories goes a long way when they are functionally entwined with your retail outlet theme. It seems like very obvious that high investments can garner good sales response, where as it is quiet the opposite according to recent research and studies. It is the smart execution in accordance with your customer’s mindset and the way he relates to your product that creates the ultimate magic.
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