There are many reasons that draw customers to a store.  Obvious ones like a recognisable name, curiosity, desire, price, proximity, convenience and even hunger!  An advertisement in the press or on television may have enticed them.  Less obvious perhaps may be reasons like a brightly lit fascia, preference for a certain member of staff, or even the taste or quality of a particular product.  An effective window display can also draw people in off the street, for example festive department store windows – like this Royal Wedding window display from Liberty in London – or promotional posters in a supermarket window.

Front of store design and presentation

A cluttered shop entrance may not be appealing to the eye (imagine a prestigious or flagship store with cardboard boxes and pallets in the foyer), yet in some retail environments, where pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap is still the mainstay, customers seem less perturbed (e.g. cash & carry).

Clear retail signage

It could be argued that in the latter scenario, customers are looking for clear, bold store signage, which points out the latest promotions and offers.  However in the former environment, the customer may be looking for the habitual discreet signage, indicating department location.  There are exceptions of course; perhaps a large food retail outlet would seek to promote offers from the front of the store.  Since they possess ample square footage, well tended and strategically placed pallets and boards would not look like clutter in this retail environment.

Good customer service

Knowledgeable staff are a plus point in any retail environment.  A member of staff who is familiar with products in their department is a key asset when making a sale.  In a food retail environment, rapid, accurate and helpful service at the checkouts is invaluable, as is efficient customer service when a shopper has a problem.

Shop floor layout and planning

A well lit, laid out retail department with attractive visuals is very enticing to a customer who may traditionally “sleep-walk” through their regular shopping haunts.  There are many fine examples; a poster showing the latest fashion or item to have; bold department signage to indicate where one section ends and another begins; a well laid out route through a department, with a few “escape routes” so that the customer can take detours at will.

Originally, upon walking through one particular retailer’s vision on the shop floor, the customer was led from department to department, thence to the “marketplace” and finally to the checkouts.  After becoming used to this journey, customers began to want to take detours to departments of choice.  The retailer responded by allowing the customer to start on their creative journey through the store, skipping through strategically placed gaps in the walls, which lead to other departments some several rooms away.  The customer can also enter the store and quickly find the way to the marketplace to stock up on desired items, or just pop in for a cup of coffee.

Market research for your retail store

Staying in touch with customer shopping habits within your store(s) will give clues on how to improve their shopping experience.  Perhaps a customer questionnaire or the use of mystery shoppers can help to shed some light on this area.

Most retailers create a loyal customer mailing using snail mail and email to communicate with their shoppers.  The mailings often contain the latest offers, product related competitions and occasionally the chance to win money or an amount of product spend within the retailer’s store(s). This approach can also help gauge trends in your customers’ opinion, as well as provide an avenue to keep shoppers informed of changes within your store(s).

Retail promotional events

Do customers like to try new things?  Invitations to try something new or different can lead the customer to buy something different in your store.  Trying new approaches to catch the eye of the customer helps revitalise interest.  Some retailers set up tasting sessions (food, wine), while others create promotional events (e.g. fashion shows, pre-sale open days for select customers, literary readings, live music, etc.). These events are often supported with a dedicated area on the shopfloor, this works to enhance the in-store experience, appealing to the senses of customers in your retail environment.

Once, while wondering along Oxford Street (London) one Christmas evening, I noticed that quite a few of the prominent fashion retailers were offering wine and snacks to the passing public.  Some were also offering “goodie bags” to take away and discounts on purchases for the evening.  Certain events were even ticketed, inviting loyal customers to enjoy extra benefits that evening.  Needless to say, the street was a-buzz with people making their last-minute purchases, with many happy to take a break and enjoy one of these retail environments.

On another day, whilst perusing CDs at a large music retailer, a band began to play in the midst of the store.  Customers swayed and lingered to enjoy the music.  No doubt some probably bought more than originally intended.  The music also drew people in off the street – very appropriate in this particular retail environment.

There are many other factors involved in attracting customers to your store, do you think it is worth the extra spend? Share your experiences with us…

Judith

During a recent retail consultancy visit to Dubai, I was looking forward to challenging my preconceptions of retail in the Middle East and finding out for myself what progress looks like. The purpose of the trip was to meet with a major value fashion brand and report back on their in store design, layout and customer journey.

Part of the itinerary was to visit several of the new shopping malls and then take a trip to the Sharjah, one of the neighbouring Emirates, to get a flavour for the high street. The first mall we visited in Dubai was Ibn Battuta, the World’s largest themed shopping mall design that’s named after a medieval traveller who travelled at least 75,000 miles in his quest to visit the lands of every Muslim leader – that’s probably further than my Gran has driven in her lifetime and she has the benefit of a car to assist her, so a themed mall in Dubai can only be a fitting tribute to him. Nonetheless, once you are in from the heat you are transported to a labyrinth of halls representing China, India, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia and Andalusia.

The quality of the shopping mall fit-out is fantastic; the ceilings are painted up as azure blue skies, there’s a serious investment in mood lighting, the walls are clad in a suitable vernacular and the scenes are dressed with palm trees, chandeliers, fountains and mosaics. The Elephant clock in ‘Persia’ is like nothing you’d see in a UK mall and I can only imagine what the costs would have been to erect this 20ft plus piece of visual theatre.

Overall though, I was more surprised to see the dominance of the fashion stores and the regular brands you’d see on any UK high street, such as H&M, New Look and French Connection. Equally amazing and perhaps the real missed opportunity, is that once you pass the threshold from ‘Egypt’ into one of these mega brands, you could be anywhere in the world.

My guess is that it would have been nice to see some investment from the retailers in the drama of the shopping mall design and development, taking the themes in-store to create some real theatre for the customers; what do you think?

More reports from the Middle East coming soon.

Ross