Maybe you’ve been running an online store from home for a while and have decided it’s time to upgrade to business premises- or maybe this will be your company’s first step. Either way, opening your own shop can be very exciting and is a chance for you to pour your time and efforts into something you genuinely care about. Here are a few things to consider when you’re setting up a retail unit.
Decide on the location
The first thing you will need to consider when you’re opening a shop is location. The busier the location the more expensive it will be, so you will need to find the balance. A place that gets plenty of foot traffic but doesn’t cost the earth would be ideal- you always have the chance to move to different premises later down the line if you need to. Being a retail store, you ideally want to be in a town or city center close to other stores where people will be shopping and looking to spend money on businesses like yours.
Redecorate and get set up
The first thing you will want to do when you get the keys to your shop is to make it your own. Giving the place a thorough clean and redecorating will freshen everything up and make it look and feel far more pleasant. As well as painting the walls and replacing flooring, you might need to rip out and replace fixtures and fittings such as lighting and shelving. You might even take down or put up internal walls. Do your research when it comes to your shop’s decor, you need to consider things like colors, decorative items and layout. You want to be able to fit in the things you’re selling, but without it being cramped. Things should be organised in a way that your customers can easily browse. Be sure to research these things, there’s a lot of psychology behind the way people shop. For example, place higher value items in the middle of shelves that are closer to eye level, and look into the best ways to promote your deals and discounts. Incorporate your brand into your decor, for example if your target audience is women then make it look pretty and girly. You can even get wholesale tote bags with your logo on instead of regular plastic ones. Better for the environment and great for branding.
Create the perfect window display
As well as looking good inside, your store needs to be eye catching and look good from the outside too. Of course you will need to market things in the right way so that people know where to find you in the first place, but when it comes to shops a lot of your custom will still come from foot traffic. For this reason your store needs to grab people’s attention, and an attractive window display is one way to go about this. Again this is something you really need to research, ideally hire a professional who has experience. It’s all about psychology, the way it’s set up can quite literally influence people to buy.
