Following the festive period, the high street tends to retreat into a form of hibernation. As shoppers take a brief moment to reel in their spending habits, retailers use the new year to replenish and refresh their stores. Typically, and with the intention of selling surplus stock, encouraging greater spending, or making room for new product lines, stores will also hold sales. Regardless of the reason, January is a month of retail reevaluation.
The efficacy of this month is, as with any other time of year, dependent on retail design. Many retailers, however, fail to adapt their store’s layout and retail to the change in pace and demand. Residual design and furniture choices, those which were appropriate for a busier period, no longer keep their relevance. This goes against the flexible qualities that successful high street retailers embrace.
So, as we near the festive period, we’re sharing the retail design changes that every store should make in January, those that will support your sales and redesigns, while also allowing you to rethink and replenish for the year ahead.
Rethink Flow
During the December busyness, your store furniture and shop shelving arrangements likely became more accommodating to the increased number of customers. Greater floor space is made and products typically rise vertically as shelving stacks higher, allowing more stock to be displayed without creating congestion. However, once the footfall has dissipated, it is crucial that this form is reverted.
During quieter periods of custom, stores benefit from horizontal displays, those that customers can more easily interact with. More vertical space also allows for visual elements and cues to be created. Such visual elements, like posters and signs, can replace diminished stock levels with effective advertisements and branding, while an increased number of cues allow for easier navigation.
Slower Pace
While the number of customers during January might be fewer than in December, there is a potential benefit to be found in a different, slower pace of shopping. With resting areas, or those of interactivity, customers can be encouraged to spend longer in a store, something that isn’t possible during busier periods.
By encouraging customers to spend more time in-store, such as with the inclusion of seating, shoppers will feel less stressed, spend longer to browse, and with a greater likelihood of spending more money. Other retail design features, such as statement walls, can also be established to encourage product photoshoots and social media shares.
New Branding
The period of respite that January allowed retailers should not solely be focussed upon increased sales or shifting seasonal stock. In fact, the space reduced custom allows can be hugely beneficial toward a store or business rebrand. Stores can be repainted, redecorated, and filled with fresh shop furniture that better complements a business’ new direction.
Fix And Repair
Busier periods of custom tend to highlight flaws in a store’s layout, as well as occasionally reveal potential hazards. If this occurred within your store, the month of January should be set upon fixing and repairing your store’s design, ensuring that issues are quickly resolved.
