Store Layout, Design, and Visual

Merchandising

Some objectives for a store design are to (1) implement the

retailer’s strategy, (2) influence customer buying behavior,
(3) provide flexibility, (4) control design and maintenance
costs, and (5) meet legal requirements. Typically, a store
design cannot achieve all of these objectives, so managers
make trade-offs among objectives, such as providing
convenience versus encouraging exploration.

The basic elements in a design that guides customers

through the store are the layout, signage, and feature areas.
A good store layout helps customers find and purchase
merchandise. Several types of layouts commonly used by
retailers are the grid, racetrack, and free form. The grid
design is best for stores in which customers are expected to
explore the entire store, such as grocery stores and
drugstores. Racetrack designs are more common in large
upscale stores like department stores. Free-form designs are
usually found in small specialty stores and within large
stores’ departments.

Signage and graphics help customers locate specific

products and departments, provide product information, and
suggest items or special purchases. In addition, graphics,
such as photo panels, can enhance the store environment
and the store’s image. Digital signage has several
advantages over traditional printed signage, but the initial
fixed costs have made the adoption of this technology slow.
Feature areas are areas within a store designed to get the
customer’s attention. They include freestanding displays,
end caps, promotional aisles or areas, windows, cash wraps
or point-of-sale areas, and walls.
Space management involves two decisions: (1) the
allocation of store space to merchandise categories and
brands and (2) the location of departments or merchandise
categories in the store. Some factors that retailers consider
when deciding how much floor or shelf space to allocate to
merchandise categories and brands are (1) the productivity
of the allocated space, (2) the merchandise’s inventory
turnover, (3) the impact on store sales, and (4) the display
needs for the merchandise. When evaluating the productivity
of retail space, retailers generally use sales per square foot
or sales per linear foot.

The location of merchandise categories also plays a role in

how customers navigate through the store. By strategically
placing impulse and demand/destination merchandise
throughout the store, retailers can increase the chances that
customers will shop the entire store and that their attention
will be focused on the merchandise that the retailer is most
interested in selling. In locating merchandise categories,
retailers need to consider typical consumer shopping
patterns.

Retailers utilize various forms of atmospherics—lighting,

colors, music, and scent—to influence shopping behavior.
The use of these atmospherics can create a calming
environment for task-oriented shoppers or an exciting
environment for recreational shoppers.

Although a retailer’s Web site is different from its physical

store, in many but not all cases good design principles that
apply to a physical store space can also be applied to a Web
site.