When it comes to encouraging customer satisfaction in physical retail, you need to consider the entire customer journey from when they first park their car to when they pay. In this post, we’ll trace this journey together and identify some of the ways in which you can improve the customer experience (while also potentially encouraging them to pay more).
Before they enter your shop…
Your shop needs to be easy to find, and it needs to look attractive from the outside. Fail to achieve these two things, and you may struggle to get customers.
Start by thinking about signposting – invest in large salient signage that grabs the attention of passers by. Meanwhile, creating a Google Business Profile will allow you to advertise your location on Google Maps.
Next, you need to consider where people can park in your area. It’s likely that you won’t have your own car park, but consider where customers will be coming from , and taking your goods back to. Ideally this should be welcoming to visitors and well-designed so that there are enough bays without causing congestion. Make sure it is well-lit and ask the owners to take steps to avoid flooding by considering drains or permeable pavers.
Optimising the entrance
Your shop needs to entice visitors in. Playful shop window displays and posters advertising deals and exclusive products can be a great way to pull in customers.
Make sure that the entrance is accessible and that there is an empty space inside for customers to get their bearings (known as the ‘decompression zone’). When it comes to choosing products near your entrance, consider eye-catching and unique wares like luxury items, seasonal in-demand products or new arrivals.
Finding the right product
While some customers may just be in there to browse, others may have a certain product in mind. It’s important that you make it easy for customers to find this product.
Use high visibility overhead signage to point customers towards different categories of items. Think about products that are commonly bought together and display these near each other to maximize joint sales.
You can use other tricks like lighting and massive signage to draw attention to high-profit items. In supermarkets, a common trick is to place budget low profit items on the bottom shelf and high profit mid-priced items at eye level – consider whether you could use this strategy in your store.
For small stores, consider encouraging a pathway around your store that eventually leads to the checkout. Most customers turn right and move counter-clockwise, so bear this in mind when designing your store layout.
Checking out
Check-outs are often placed at the back of a store, but can also be placed near the front to the right (this helps to complete the counter-clockwise circle path that many customers take).
Make sure that there is enough space for customers to queue and think about ways to occupy customers while they wait – this could include displaying LED screens with slideshows of deals or placing novelty impulse purchase products here that capture customers’ intrigue and encourage extra sales.
Self-service checkouts are becoming more common in stores and can help reduce queues, however some people still like to be served by a human – so consider offering both checkout solutions.
As a shop owner there is so much you can do to make your shop unique and inspiring, but I would also encourage you to visit the other shops in the area you are located, to get a feel for the vibe of your location. Shops in small villages might be different from shops in city centres, and different again from shops in retail parks, or in tourist areas. Make sure that you are providing the aambiance that your potential custoemrs will be expecting from that location.
