Planning on opening up a brick-and-mortar store? Since the pandemic, interest in brick-and-mortar stores has been on the rise. Sure, the lockdown period was a challenging time for physical businesses, as they could not operate. But now that restrictions have been lifted, there are many premises available and you may find that running something in-store alongside Ecommerce works extremely well for you. Of course, if you’re going to set up a brick-and-mortar store, you need to do a whole lot more than simply hire a web designer and get a website up and running. Here are a few steps that you can take to bring your venture to life!
Choose Your Location
First and foremost, you need to make sure that you choose your location wisely. There are so many different stores available to rent that you will have to whittle down your options and see what best suits your needs. Start by figuring out your budget. You should make sure that this is affordable and stick to it. Then, determine an area. You want somewhere with a high footfall. Look for the highest footfall within your budget. Ideally, it should be somewhere that’s easy to get to by driving and public transport, to make it convenient for customers to get to you.
Layout
Make sure that the layout of your store is logical. Customers should be able to see your stock easily and browse different options. Your POS or till point should be easily visible and there should be space for an efficient queuing system.
Consider Scent
You may not have considered sensory marketing before. You may not have ever even heard of it. But when you run a business, you are creating an experience for your customers. Coming into your store should entail so much more than simply showing your stock and making sales. You want your customer to feel good. To associate positive things with the experience of coming into your store. Scent can really help with this. Using scent diffusers in stores can help to spread a scent of your choice. It could be a specific branded scent. Something neutral but pleasant. Something seasonal. The choice is yours.
Craft Window Displays
Sure, you may have spent a lot of time focusing on the layout and presentation of goods inside your store, but you need to remember that you need to bring customers in from the outside too. Window displays are what will catch customers’ eyes as they pass by in the street. It’s what will encourage them to come in and look around. So consider what you will display carefully. You should show off some of your best items, as well as consider how they are displayed. Use a professional merchandiser to come up with displays that stand out. During festive seasons, you should also consider themed displays that will evoke warm and positive emotions.
Setting up a store is going to be hard work, but it is possible. Hopefully, some of the information above will guide this journey in the right direction!