RETAIL IMAGE

The Big Three!

 Retail stores have 3 distinct aspects:

 Merchandising (whatever you put in them)

 Operations (whatever employees do)

 Design (meaning the premises)

-Paco Underhill; Envirosell

Objectives of the Store Environment
 Get customers into the store
 The store itself makes the most significant and last
impression

 Once they are inside the store, convert them into

customers buying merchandise
 The more merchandise customers are exposed to that is
presented in an orderly manner, the more they tend to
buy
 Bottom line: it is easier to get a consumer in your store
to buy more merchandise than planned – than to get a
new consumer to come into your store
Terms
 Image – how a retailer is perceived by
customers and others.
 Positioning – how a firm devises its
strategy so as to project an image relative to
its retail category and its competitors.
Elements of a Retail Image
Objectives
How a retail store image is related to the atmosphere
it creates via its exterior, general interior, layout, and
displays; and to look at the special case of non-store
atmospherics.
 Atmosphere (atmospherics)
The psychological feeling a customer gets when visiting a
retailer
 Store retailer: Atmosphere refers to store’s physical
characteristics that project an image and draw
customers
 Non-store retailer: Atmosphere refers to the physical
characteristics of catalogs, vending machines, web
sites, etc.
Visual Merchandising
• Includes everything from store display windows to aisle width to
the materials used for fixtures to merchandise presentation to
housekeeping, lighting, music, posters, graphics, props and colour
of walls.
• How all of these elements are visually organized and how often they
are rotated within the retail space — encompass visual
merchandising.
• Aimed to create a certain look, properly display products, stimulate
shopping behaviour.
• Visual merchandising is not just important to the individual retailer,
but also to the shopping centers in which they are located.
The Elements of Atmosphere
 1. Exterior Planning
 Storefront – the total physical exterior of the store itself.
It includes the marquee, entrances, windows, lighting and
construction materials. With its storefront, a retailer can
present a conservative, trendy, upscale, discount or other
image.
 1. Exterior Planning
 Marquee – a sign that displays the store’s name. It can be
painted or a neon light, printed or script, and set alone or
mixed with a slogan (trademark) and other information.
 1. Exterior Planning
 Store entrances – number of entrances is determined:
 Small stores have one entrance.
 Store drawing vehicular and pedestrian traffic need two entrances
(one for pedestrians, another near the parking lot).
 Doorway can be revolving, self-opening, push-pull.
 1. Exterior Planning
 Display windows – Two purposes: (1) to identify the store
and its offerings and (2) to induce people to enter.
Decisions include the number, size, shape, colour and
themes of display.
 By showing a representative merchandise offering, a store can
create an overall mood.
 By showing fashion or seasonal goods, it can show it is
contemporary.
 By showing sale items, a store can lure price-conscious
consumers.
 1. Exterior Planning
 Exterior building height –
 Disguised building height – part of a store or shopping center is
beneath ground level. Such a building is not as intimidating to
people who dislike a large structure.
 Non-disguised building height – the entire store or center can be
seen by pedestrians.

 Surrounding stores and area – Overall area image rubs

off on individual retailers as people have a general
perception of a shopping center or a business district.
 Parking facilities – potential shoppers may never enter a
store if they drive around for parking. Customers may rush
in and out of a store to finish shopping before parking
meters expire.
 2. General Interior
 Flooring – can be cement, wood, linoleum, carpet, etc. A plush,
thick carpet vis-à-vis a concrete floor creates different kind of
atmosphere.
 Colors – bright, vibrant colours contribute to a different atmosphere
than light pastels or plain white walls.
 Lighting – can be direct or indirect, white or coloured, constant or
flashing. Teen-oriented apparel boutique might use bright colours, a
maternity dress shop could use pastel colours and indirect lighting
to form a different atmosphere.
 Scents and Sounds – Restaurant uses food aromas to increase
people’s appetites, cosmetics store uses an array of perfume scents to
attract shoppers. Beauty salon plays soft music or rock, slow tempo
music in supermarkets encourages people to move more slowly.
 2. General Interior
 Store fixtures - Planned on their utility and aesthetics. Pipes,
plumbing, beams, doors, storage rooms and display racks and tables are
considered part of interior decorating. An upscale store usually dresses
up its fixtures and disguises them. A discount store might leave fixtures
exposed because this portrays the desired image.
 2. General Interior
 Wall textures – Wall textures enhance or diminish atmospherics.
Prestigious stores often use raised wallpaper. Department stores are
more apt to use flat wallpaper, while discount stores may have barren
walls.
 Temperature – No air-conditioning can shorten a shopping trip.
Image is influenced by central air-conditioning, fans, or open
windows.
 Aisle space – Wide, uncrowded aisles create a better atmosphere
than narrow, crowded ones.
 Dressing facilities (trial rooms) – For some apparel shoppers
dressing facilities are a factor in store selection. Can be elaborate,
plain, or non-existent.
 2. General Interior
 In-store transportation (elevator, escalator, stairs) – multi-
level stores must have vertical transportation. Escalators provide
shoppers with a quiet ride and a panoramic view of the store.
 Dead areas – awkward spaces where normal displays cannot be set up.
It is not possible for such areas to be deployed profitably or attractively.
 Mirrors are attached to exit doors.
 Vending machines are located near restrooms.
 Ads appear in dressing rooms.
 Escalators let shoppers view each floor, and sales of impulse items go up
when placed at the escalator entrance or exit.

 Personnel – Polite, well-groomed, knowledgeable personnel

generate a positive atmosphere. Ill-mannered, poorly groomed,
uninformed personnel engender a negative one.
 2. General Interior
 Merchandise – Top-line items yield one kind of image, lower-quality
items yield another. The mood of the customer is affected accordingly.

 Price displays – The way prices are displayed is a vital part of

atmosphere.
 Upscale stores have few or no price displays, rely on discrete price tags,
and place cash registers in inconspicuous areas behind posts.
 Discounters accentuate price displays, show prices in large print and
locate cash registers centrally, with signs pointing to them.

 Technology – Store with state-of-the-art technology impresses

people with its operational efficiency and speed. One with slower,
older technology may have impatient shoppers.
 Store cleanliness – No matter how impressive the exterior and
interior, an unkempt store will be perceived poorly.
 3. Store Layout: Allocation of Floor Space
 Selling space – used for display of merchandise, interactions
between salespeople and customers, and demonstrations.

 Merchandise space – used to stock non-displayed items. E.g.

at a traditional shoe store, this area takes up a large percentage
of total space.

 Personnel space – set aside for employees to change clothes,

to take lunch and coffee breaks, restrooms. Because retail space
is valuable, personnel space is strictly controlled.

 Customer space – contributes to shopping mood. Can include

benches, chairs, dressing rooms, restrooms, restaurant, nursery,
parking and wide aisles. Discounters skimp on these areas.
 3. Store Layout: Product Grouping Types
A store’s offerings are next classified into product groupings.
Functional product groupings – display merchandise by
common end use. A men’s clothing store might group shirts,
ties, cuff links, and tie pins; shoes, shoe polish; T-shirts,
shorts, socks; suits; sports jackets and pajamas.
Purchase motivation product groupings –appeal to the
consumer’s urge to buy products and the amount of time he
or she is willing to spend on shopping. A committed
customer with time to shop will visit a store’s upper floors; a
disinterested person with less time will look at displays on
the first floor.
 3. Store Layout: Product Grouping Types

 Market segment product groupings – place together

various items that appeal to a given target market. A
music store separates CDs into rock, jazz, classical,
country, and other sections.

 Storability product groupings – used for products

needing special handling. A supermarket has freezer,
refrigerator, and room-temperature sections.
3. Store Layout: Determination of Traffic Flow Pattern

A Supermarket uses a Straight (Gridiron) Traffic Flow – it

places displays and aisles in a rectangular or gridiron pattern
Straight (Gridiron) Traffic Pattern
Used by food retailers, discount stores, drugstores, hardware
stores and stationery stores.
Advantages:
▶ An efficient atmosphere is created.
▶ More floor space is devoted to product displays.
▶ People can shop quickly.
▶ Inventory control and security are simplified.
▶ Self-service is easy, thereby reducing labor costs.

Disadvantages:
▶Impersonal atmosphere.
▶More limited browsing by customers.
▶Rushed shopping behaviour.
3. Store Layout: Determination of Traffic Flow Pattern

A Department Store
uses a Curving
(Free-Flowing)
Traffic Pattern –

it places displays
and aisles in a free-
flowing
pattern
Curving (Free-Flowing) Traffic Pattern
Used by department stores, apparel stores.
Advantages:
▶ A friendly atmosphere is presented.
▶ Shoppers do not feel rushed and browse around.
▶ People are encouraged to walk through the store in any direction or
pattern.
▶ Impulse or unplanned purchases are enhanced.

Disadvantages:
▶Possible customer confusion.
▶ Wasted floor space.
▶ Difficulties in inventory control.
▶ Higher labour intensity.
▶ Potential loitering.
▶ Displays often cost more.
3. Store Layout: Determination of Space Needs

Model Stock Approach Sales-Productivity Ratio

Determines floor space Assigns floor space on the

necessary to carry and
display a proper
merchandise assortment.
Used by apparel stores and
shoe stores.
basis of sales or profit per
square foot. Highly profitable
product categories get large
chunks of space. Used by food
stores and bookstores.
 3. Store Layout:
 Mapping Out In-Store Locations – department locations
are mapped out.
▶ What items should be placed on the first floor, second floor?
▶ Where should impulse products and convenience products be situated?
▶ Where should space-consuming categories such as furniture be located?
▶ How should associated product categories be aligned?

 Arrangement of Individual Products –

End-aisle display positions, eye-level positions, checkout counter
positions are most likely to increase sales for individual items.
Least desirable display position is often knee or ankle level as
consumers do not like to bend down.
All stores place smaller impulse-type purchases near cash registers
as customers often make last-minute purchases while waiting on line to
pay.
 3. Store Layout: Adjacency

Firms now use planograms to

assign space.
A planogram is a visual
(graphical) representation of the
space for selling, merchandise,
personnel, and customers—as
well as for product categories. It
also lays out their in-store
placement.
A planogram may be hand-drawn
or computer-generated.
Gondola
&
End cap
Floor stacking units
Alligator
4-way browser
Dump bin
4. Interior (Point-of-Purchase) Displays
 It is the only mass medium executed at the critical
point where products, consumers and the money to
purchase all meet at the same time.

 Each point-of-purchase (POP) display provides

shoppers with information, adds to store
atmosphere and serves a substantial promotional
role.
 4. Interior (Point-of-Purchase) Displays
 Assortment display – exhibits a wide range of
merchandise.
 With an open assortment, customer is encouraged to feel,
look at, and/or try on products. E.g. apparel, book store,
food stores.
 With a closed assortment, the customer is encouraged to
look at merchandise but not touch it or try it on. E.g.
Computer software, DVDs, jewelry is usually kept in
closed glass cases that employees must unlock.

 Theme-setting display – depicts a product offering in a

thematic manner and sets a specific mood. Retailers vary
their displays to reflect seasons or special events.
 4. Interior (Point-of-Purchase) Displays
 Ensemble display – a complete product bundle
(ensemble) is presented rather than showing
merchandise in separate categories (such as a shoe
department, sock department, pants department, shirt
department, and sports jacket department).

E.g. a mannequin may be dressed in a matching combination

of shoes, socks, pants, shirt, and sports jacket, and these
items would be available in one department or adjacent
departments.
4. Interior (Point-of-Purchase) Displays
 Rack display – has a functional use to neatly hang or
present products. It is often used by apparel retailers,
housewares retailers and others. This display must be
carefully maintained because it may lead to product
clutter and shoppers’ returning items to the wrong
place.
4. Interior (Point-of-Purchase) Displays
 Case display – exhibits heavier, bulkier items or
expensive, costly items than racks hold.
4. Interior (Point-of-Purchase) Displays
 Cut case – an inexpensive display that leaves
merchandise in the original carton.
 Dump bin – an open assortment of roughly handled
items that holds piles of sale clothing, marked-down
books, or other products.
Both cut cases and dump bins reduce display costs and
project a low-price image.
Merchandise Display Planning
 Shelving – flexible, easy to maintain
 Hanging – mainly for apparel
 Pegging – small rods inserted into gondolas or wall systems
– can be labor intensive to display/maintain but gives
neat/orderly appearance
 Folding – merchandise folded and stacked on shelves or
tables; creates high fashion image
 Stacking – merchandise stacked on shelves, base decks of
gondolas or flats; easy to maintain and gives image of high
volume and low price
 Dumping – large quantities of small merchandise dumped
into baskets or bins; highly effective for softlines (socks,
wash cloths) or hardlines (grocery products); creates high
volume, low cost image
Nonstore-Based Retailing Perspective
Nonstore-Based Retailing Perspective
 Storefront – for a Web retailer is the home page
▶ Indicate that the retailer is involved with social media.
▶ Be listed at various search engines.
▶ Be inviting. A “virtual storefront” must encourage customers to
enter.
▶ Make it easy to go into the store.
▶ Show the product lines carried.
▶ Use graphics as display windows and icons as access points.
▶ Include the retailer’s E-mail address, mailing address, and phone
number.
Nonstore-based Retailing Perspective
 General interior – Colours run the gamut from plain
white backgrounds to stylish black backgrounds. Some
firms use audio to generate shopper interest.
 It involves these elements:
▶ Instructions about how to use the site.
▶ Information about the company.
▶ Product icons.
▶ News items.
▶ The shopping cart (how orders are placed).
▶ A product search engine.
▶ Locations of physical stores (for multi-channel retailers).
▶ A shopper login for firms that use loyalty programs and track their
customers.
Nonstore-based Retailing Perspective
 Store Layout – a web retailer’s store layout has two
components: the layout of each individual Web page and
the links to move from page to page.
 Web companies often have a directory on the home page that
indicates product categories.
 Shoppers click on an icon to enter the area of the site housing
the category (department) of interest.
 On pages that require scrolling down, best-sellers usually
appear at the top of the page and slower-sellers at the bottom.
Nonstore-based Retailing Perspective
 Displays – web retailers can display full product
assortments or let shoppers choose from tailored
assortments.

 This decision affects the open or cluttered

appearance of a site, the level of choice and
possible shopper confusion.
Nonstore-Based Retailing Perspective
 Checkout Counter – a Web checkout counter can
be complex:
(1) Online shoppers worry more about the security and
privacy of purchase transactions than those buying in a store.

(2) Online shoppers often work harder to complete

transactions – they carefully enter model number, quantity,
shipping address, E-mail address, shipping preference and
credit card number.

(3) Online shoppers may feel surprised by shipping and

handling fees if these fees are not revealed until they go to
checkout.
Nonstore-Based Retailing Perspective
Advantages Disadvantages
 Unlimited space to present  Can be slow for dialup shoppers
assortments, displays, information
 Can be too complex
 Can be customized to the individual
 Cannot adequately display three-
customer
dimensional aspects of products
 Can be modified frequently
 Requires constant updating
 Can promote cross-merchandising
 More likely to be exited without
and impulse purchasing
purchase
 Enables a consumer to shop in
quickly
Community-Oriented Actions
 Make stores barrier-free for disabled shoppers
 Show a concern for the environment
 Employ area residents
 Run sales for senior citizens and other groups
 Sponsor youth activities
 Donate money/equipment to schools
 Check IDs for purchases with age minimums