6 COSTLY SHOPFITTING MISTAKES YOU WANT TO AVOID

One of the most important things you will do as a store owner is fitting out your store. It goes without saying that the quality of your goods is priority, but equally as important is the way you display those goods and the way you get your customers to interact with your brand. Over the years we have seen some disastrous fitouts and have often been called in to correct shopfitting mistakes on many occasions. It’s always best to get things right from the beginning.
So to help you get things right the first time round, today, we share with you some of the most costly mistakes to avoid when fitting out your new store.

Poor Lighting

It is amazing how much damage poor lighting can do not only to the aesthetics of your store but to your overall sales as well. If there is one area of your fitout where you should not be penny-pinching, it is in the area of lighting. We have seen how poor lighting can turn customers off and this is something that you’ll certainly want to avoid.

A Chaotic Layout

The layout of your store interior is another important element that you need to get right. The interior layout should be clear and easy for customers to navigate. If your customers have to meander through your store, unsure about where to find what, they most likely won’t return. The walkways should be spacious and intuitive.

Lack of Space at the sales counter

Another costly shopfitting mistake that we often encounter is correcting insufficient counter space at the Point of Sale. When customers go to your checkout or counter, they need enough space to hold their goods and maybe a handbag as well. We can tell you from experience, correcting this mistake is essential. However it is also costly, which is why it’s better to get it right in the first place.
If your store currently has this problem, then contact Orange Projects to correct the mistake by creating a spacious customer area that is based on quality, performance, style and functionality.

Terrible Signage placement

This is one mistake that can take many forms, from poor signage to blank walls in the store. Your signage should be clear and have strong visual impact and relevance to your brand. It should focus on concepts that are relevant to your brand or product theme and, it should be consistent with your brand. Additionally, don’t forget to utilise the wall space in your store by displaying your signage.

Luckily this is one shopfitting mistake that is not as disastrous as the others, although it does have its negative effects as well, which is most commonly reduces sales.

Inflexible shop equipment and design

Your store design needs to be flexible enough to accommodate the changing seasons and the different events that revolve around shopping and retail. If your design and equipment is so inflexible that it cannot change during the Christmas season or during Valentine’s season, you are going to find that you are losing lots of sales as a result.

Creating a flexible store design is going to cost you initially, make no mistake about that. But that initial investment will pay you several times over.

No visual breaks

These breaks are often referred to as ‘speed bumps’ in the design, created to help the customer slow down and visually interact with your brand. Although it might seem like a good idea to have rows of clothes or books or whatever product you stock, if you don’t provide a visual break for your customers they will get weary and may not return to your store.

Conclusion

There are a number of costly mistakes you can make when fitting out a new store and these are only 5 of the most common ones. Any one of these mistakes or a combination can cost you sales and return customers. To avoid such catastrophic blunders in your retail shopfitting project, you should contact experienced shopfitters such as Orange Projects.

It will be our pleasure to fitout a store that you can truly be proud of.