There’s no denying that the retail industry is changing, especially in this e-commerce age where many people are turning to online shopping for their goods. There is however still a need for the bricks and water stores and there are many ways in which you can increase your sails and increase your chances of survival. Of course, it’s always worth looking at having an e-commerce website as well, though in any case, there is much that you can do in store to optimise your business for greater success.

1 – Regularly Update Your Displays

It’s important to keep things fresh and exciting, not only for the sake of your customers, but for yours as well. Not only regularly changing and updating your product displays give you something to do on the quieter afternoons, you’ll also be able to have a lot of fun doing so! Get creative and experiment regularly and watch as your sales invariably increase.

2 – Optimise Your Displays Well

A reliable retail shopfitting company will be able to advise you on where to place various display areas when working on your shopfront based on industry knowledge and previous experience. When renovating your store or having a new one kitted out, it is important to give this a lot of thought and optimise the spatial arrangement of your store carefully and with consideration.

There’s nothing more boring or tiresome to look at than a display with a whole lot of the same stuff. Understand that a warehouse will have hundreds of the same item on a shelf because it makes sense to do so in that environment, though in a shopfront you should always mix it up. Be clever about the way that you display various products and group them with other items that could be useful to buy together. A well thought-out display can offer subtle encouragement to customers who may otherwise not have thought to purchase more than the one item.

4 – Make it Fun for the Customer

Depending on what you’re selling of course, you should try to create an exciting experience for when people come in to your store. Look at Ikea for example, while some people find it annoying been told which direction they have to shop in, it’s quite handy having a clear and easy walkthrough which leads from one relevant section to the other. In your store you should try to have fun and create an engaging environment, perhaps with a prop or two on your displays to surprise the customer and put smiles on faces.

5 – Lighting is EVERYTHING (almost)

Again, if you’re having your store re-furbished or you’re in the process of having a new store fitted for you, be mindful of the importance of lighting. Lighting in the retail environment has a critical affect on not only the general mood of your customers (and staff) but their buying patterns as well. So, when it comes to your displays, highlight those key products!

6 – Treat Your Customers Like Adults

There’s nothing more patronising than coming across a display which says: DO NOT TOUCH. The only time you should see a sign like that is when you’re in a museum looking at an Ancient Egyptian Urn that’s barely holding it together. You will need to maintain your displays, it’s as simple as that and by ordering people not to touch them will only encourage certain people to ignore it and take “Thug-Life” selfies, so do yourselves a favour and ignore that at all costs.