Within the complex commercial structure, there is one factor that should never be forgotten, and that is the human factor.
We work for and with clients with senses, needs, and concerns. What both our clients and potential clients have in common is that they react to the environment, and if it is conducive, they will go from being potential clients to clients, and from clients to ambassadors of our business.
Complete Guide to Laying Out a Commercial Space to Increase Your Sales
Next, we’ll focus on aspects that will boost your revenue. More than just a magic idea, Ouxion offers you a set of tips that, when combined, will improve your sales.
Using one of these may not guarantee optimal or instant results; however, the combination of all of them, along with up-to-date facilities and a decor and atmosphere that matches your brand image, will work wonders.
The Importance of Strategic Design
Store layout says a lot about your brand, your business, and also your customers. This design should be the result of a balance between what you are, what you offer, and what your customers are like and what their needs are.
In other words, offer what they’re looking for; become the solution to their needs, even those they didn’t even know they had. Because sometimes it’s in our own hands to create a need in the first instance and then meet it.
Just as user experience (UX) works on a website, tracking how users move around, how often, and even how long they spend reading certain content, the circulation principle predicts your potential customer’s behavior within your business.
Within these circulation principles, based on your potential customer’s behavior, several elements stand out that, based on Ouxion’s experience, we believe are fundamental.
Circulation Principles
The aim of the circulation principle is to make potential customers feel like they’re not just looking at a commercial space, but rather strolling through elements that capture their interest and curiosity.
This will allow customers to move freely, albeit within a certain pattern. Depending on their needs, they will choose one path or another within your commercial space. The elements displayed are not predetermined; they are based on their needs.
Having a fluid circulation will create clear paths. At Ouxion, we recommend that they be wide, easy to navigate, and free of obstructing elements. However, each business has its own style and model, and at Ouxion we know how to unite the essence of the business with the needs of the client.
Having clearly defined entrances and exits at all times during circulation is another very positive aspect, because this way, the customer won’t feel trapped, but rather has the option to exit quickly and easily.
If you have a good circulation system, it will be much easier to identify your retail location’s hot spots. These spots are those that, for various reasons, attract the most customer traffic. Spaces that receive the most visits and glances, or for the longest periods of time.
Being able to identify this location is key, as you’ll be able to display or present there the product you most want to showcase or the one that most needs to be seen. Whatever the case, identifying the hot spot is essential for both proper circulation and increased sales and revenue.
Advantages of the Circulation Principle
The first advantage of the circulation principle is the most obvious and the one sought from the outset: increased sales. Receiving more is key to business, but it’s not the only element.
For sales to be successful, we need a chain of tasks to be performed satisfactorily. If this isn’t the case, the slightest change in that chain of work can have a very negative impact on the final result.
One of the great advantages of having an optimal circulation principle is the ease of correctly maintaining an inventory. The placement of items isn’t random; it’s based on facts, and this will help you maintain more rigorous and accurate control of your merchandise later on.
Furthermore, proper circulation is a good image. Not only for the business premises themselves, but also for your business’s brand image. A well-distributed, orderly space that doesn’t look cluttered even when the premises are full of people will have a very positive impact on your business.
Identifying and Implementing Hot Spots
To discover your retail space’s hot spots, you need to observe your customers’ movement and behavior. Furthermore, it’s not an exact science, and you need to conduct small field tests to verify your theory.
At Ouxion, we’re experts in retail space layout, and therefore, these years of work have allowed us to more easily and quickly identify the hot spots within your retail space.
Generally speaking, products are like people; the first impression says a lot. Placing star products or products that we want to be seen right at the entrance is a very common and successful option. The first few seconds inside a retail space can determine what will happen in the following minutes.
You can also attract customers’ attention instead of waiting to see how they behave. You can be the one to draw them in, using focused lighting in certain areas or even eye-catching furniture, as long as it doesn’t disrupt the brand’s image.
By nature, we’re drawn to corner locations and central areas. We’re drawn to these spots to observe what’s on display. We unconsciously associate these locations as hot spots, and if there’s something in that area, it must be important.
