The average shopper might not notice it, but your average store layout is the product of considerable thought and analysis. It’s all designed to make customers want to spend more time and money shopping at a location. By learning how to layout a retail space to maximize sales, any business can increase foot traffic, customer retention, and profit often with very simple modifications. Experienced commercial construction contractors like MLM Incorporated can make the modifications necessary to take full advantage of any space.
One very common trick that plenty of stores use these days is to put their most sought after items in the part of the store farthest from an entrance. This can be the back of the store or anywhere that maximizes the amount of time a customer has to spend getting to and from the location. Grocery stores do this by placing eggs, milk, and cheese in the back left corner. Liquor stores usually keep the beer in the back for the same reason.
New retail spaces can use simple commercial construction fixes like shelving or display cases that place the impulse items closest to the entrance/register. Starbucks uses this method by placing their CDs right at the place where people already have their cash or card in hand. A CD is not what most come in for, but at the moment the impulse strikes they are ready to act on it. Additionally, people are conditioned to look to their right when they enter a store, so promotional items are best positioned immediately to the right of the entrance, ideally within fifteen feet.
Another commercial construction tip to keep people engaged and spending time in a retail space is to have sales associates moving on the floor rather than stationed behind counters. Registers, counters, and other barriers create a sense of “us and them” between customers and staff. Boutique clothing stores did away with department-style counters to encourage customer interaction.