Store Design Mistakes That Are Hurting Your Sales (And How to Fix Them)

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A furniture store’s design can influence customer behavior, satisfaction, and loyalty, making or breaking your top-line sales and bottom-line profits. It’s not just a way to arrange products and fixtures or just about visual appeal. A well-designed store strategically guides shoppers along and helps them find what they need, considering both functionality and psychology. Yet, many furniture retailers are making impactful mistakes when it comes to their store design. Let’s look at some of these store design mistakes and how to avoid them.

Signage & Tagging

One of the biggest store design mistakes retailers are making has to do with signage and tagging. One of the most frustrating experiences for any customer is not knowing what an item costs and being unable to find what they are looking for. To avoid this, make sure every item in your store has a price tag or is labeled not for sale if it is a display item.

Properly paced P.O.P. that is clear, concise, and visible educates your customers about your product’s features and benefits. Throughout the store, signage should help your customer navigate the different departments, categories, and current promotions.

Store Layout

Similar to signage, having a store layout that is hard to navigate can confuse and exasperate customers. Customers shopping at your store without a clear direction will spend less time exploring your products and more time trying to find their way. In addition to signage that helps customers navigate their way through your store, be sure the pathways to get to where they need to go are clearly marked and uncluttered. Make sure not to block sight lines or pathways with tall pieces of furniture. You want to create an experience that promotes convenience and reduces frustration.

Displays

Having displays that are clearly marked and tagged and flow throughout the store in a logical, organized manner with clear sight lines is the foundation of good store design. Adding to that foundation, displays should create a cohesive message that your customers will know what to expect.

Styles

Having an assortment of styles is good, but being too diverse with styles leads to confusion. Styles should reflect your brand image. Trying to be too many things to too many people results in a jumbled message. And while maintaining a core brand image is good, that doesn’t mean your store needs to remain static. Refreshing things by switching display locations keeps your store looking fresh and engages your customers.

Lighting

Another important design element many furniture retailers neglect to recognize is the powerful effect of lighting. Effective lighting can positively affect the perception of your store, while ineffective lighting can make your store look dull and unwelcoming, resulting in colors being off and customers not being able to see the merchandise properly. 

On the other hand, proper lighting will accentuate your products and can be used to highlight focal points throughout your store. Be sure to add variety in your lighting, addressing properly directed overhead lighting and tasks, as well as accent and decorative lighting throughout your store displays and workspace areas.

Cleanliness

Finally, cleanliness remains important, being the highest priority according to consumer surveys. Consumers who were asked to rank factors of their in-store shopping experience, including a positive checkout experience, the ability to give feedback, and a clean store. Friendly and knowledgeable store associates ranked a clean store at the top. These consumers say they are looking for a store that smells clean, is well-lit, has neat and orderly displays, and has well-maintained restrooms.

When done well, store design can increase your customers’ experience, which will, in turn, increase your sales volume. Improve your store signage and tagging, product layout, messaging, lighting, and cleanliness, and watch your profits follow.

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