Chapter 18 Store Layout, Design and Visual Merchandising

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Retailing Management, 6/e Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter 18

Store Layout, Design and

Visual Merchandising

18-2

Managing the Store

Store Management

Layout, Design and

Visual Merchandising

Customer Service

18-3

REI’s Store Environment

18-4

Store Design Objectives

• Implement retailer’s strategy

• Influence customer buying behavior

• Control design and maintenance costs

• Provide flexibility

• Meet legal requirements

18-5

Store Design

The primary objective of store design is implementing the retailer’s strategy

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Meets needs of target market

Builds a sustainable competitive advantage

Displays the store’s image

18-6

Impact on Customer Behavior

• Attract customers to store

• Enable them to easily locate merchandise

• Keep them in the store for a long time

• Motivate them to make unplanned purchases

• Provide them with a satisfying shopping

experience

H. Wiesenhofer/PhotoLink/Getty Images

18-7

Today’s Demographics

Time limited families are spending less time planning

shopping trips and making more decisions in the

stores.

Retailers can:

Advertise

Package products differently

Research the “first moment of truth”

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18-8

Tradeoff in Store Design

Ease of locating

merchandise for

planned purchases

Exploration of

store, impulse

purchases

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18-9

Legal Considerations

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Protects people with disabilities from discrimination in

employment, transportation, public accommodations,

telecommunications and activities of state and local

government

Affects store design as disabled people need “reasonable

access” to merchandise and services built before 1993. After

1993, stores are expected to be fully accessible.

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18-10

Reasonable AccessWhat does that mean?

• 32 inch wide pathways on the

main aisle and to the

bathroom, fitting rooms

elevators and around most

fixtures

• Lower most cash wraps and

fixtures so they can be

reached by a person in a

wheelchair

• Make bathroom and fitting

room fully accessibleKeith Brofsky/Getty Images

18-11

Types of Store Layouts

Grid

Racetrack

Free Form

18-12

Grid Layout

• Long gondolas in repetitive pattern.

• Easy to locate merchandise

• Does not encourage customers to explore

store

– Limited site lines to merchandise

• Allows more merchandise to be displayed

• Cost efficient

• Used in grocery, discount, and drug

stores. Why?

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc./Andrew Resek, photographer

18-13

Grid Store Layout

Fruit

Vegetables

Office &

customer

service

Books, magazines, seasonal

display

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rage

Exit

Entrance

Cart

areaCheckouts

18-14

Racetrack Layout

• Loop with a major aisle that has access to

departments and store’s multiple

entrances.

• Draws customers around the store.

• Provide different site lines and encourage

exploration, impulse buying

• Used in department stores

18-15

JCPenney Racetrack Layout

18-16

Example of Race Track Layout

PhotoLink/Getty Images

18-17

Free-Form (Boutique) Layout

• Fixtures and aisles arranged

asymmetrically

• Pleasant relaxing ambiance

doesn’t come cheap – small store

experience

• Inefficient use of space

• More susceptible to shoplifting –

salespeople can not view

adjacent spaces.

• Used in specialty stores and

upscale department stores

Jack Star/PhotoLink/Getty Images

18-18

Free-Form Layout

Storage, Receiving, Marketing

Underwear Dressing Rooms

Checkout counter

Clearance

Items

Feature Feature

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Skirts

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Open Display Window Open Display Window

18-19

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Example of Boutique Area

18-20

Usage of Signage and Graphics

• Locational – identifies location of merchandise and guides

customers

• Category Signage – identifies types of products and located

near the goods

• Promotional Signage – relates to specific offers – sometimes in

windows

• Point of sale – near merchandise with prices and product

information

• Lifestyle images – creates moods that encourage customers to

shop

18-21

Effectively Using Signage

• Coordinate signage to store’s image

• Use appropriate type faces on signs

• Inform customers

• Use them as props

• Keep them fresh

• Limit text

Rim Light/PhotoLink/Getty Images

18-22

Digital Signage

Visual Content delivered digitally through a centrally

managed and controlled network and displayed on a TV

monitor or flat panel screen

• Superior in attracting attention

• Enhances store environment

• Provides appealing atmosphere

• Overcomes time-to-message hurdle

• Messages can target demographics

• Eliminates costs with printing, distribution and installing

traditional signage

18-23

Feature Areas

Feature areas

– End caps

– Promotional aisle

– Freestanding

displays

– Cash wraps

– Walls

– WindowsPhotoLink/Getty Images

18-24

Space Planning

• Productivity of allocated space

• Merchandise inventory turnover

• Impact on store sales

• Display needs for the merchandise

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18-25

Space Planning Considerations

• Profitability of merchandise

• Customer Buying considerations

– Impulse products near front

– Demand/Destination areas off the beaten path

• Physical characteristics of product.

• Complementary products should be adjacent

• Sales rate

– More units of faster selling merchandise need to be

displayed

18-26

Envirosell’s Observations

• Avoid the butt-brush effect

• Place merchandise where customers can readily

access it

• Let customers touch the merchandise

• Make information accessible

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18-27

Prime Locations for Merchandise

Highly trafficked areas

– Store entrances

– Near checkout

counter

Highly visible areas

– End aisle

– Displays

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18-28

Location of Merchandise Categories

• Impulse merchandise – near heavily trafficked

areas

• Demand merchandise – back left-hand corner of

the store

• Special merchandise – lightly trafficked areas

(glass pieces)

• Adjacencies – complimentary merchandise next

to each other

18-29

Straight Rack

18-30

Straight Rack

Holds a lot of apparel

Hard to feature specific styles and colors

Found often in discount and off-price stores

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18-31

Rounder

• Smaller than straight rack

• Holds a maximum amount of merchandise

• Easy to move around

• Customers can’t get frontal view of merchandise

18-32

Four-Way

Holds large amount of merchandise

Allows customers to view entire garment

Hard to maintain because of styles and colors

Fashion oriented apparel retailer

18-33

Gondola

18-34

Gondolas

Versatile

Grocery and discount stores

Some department stores

Hard to view apparel as they

are folded

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18-35

Merchandise Presentation Techniques

Idea-Oriented Presentation

Style/Item Presentation

Color Organization

Price Lining

Vertical Merchandising

Tonnage Merchandising

Frontal Presentation

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18-36

Creating a Store Environment

Color

Scent Music

Lighting

Store Atmosphere

18-37

Lighting

Highlight merchandise

Structure space and

capture a mood

Downplay features

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc./Lars A. Niki, photographer