Retail Display Shelving Design
The only thing worse than walking into a store and not being able to find what you're looking for, is to walk into a store and find a complete mess.
Shelving is the most important factor in keeping your store neat and orderly. Not enough shelving space creates overcrowding and makes things difficult to find, while too much shelving can lead to wasted space. Green display shelving like the ones built with engineered bamboo is getting popular, the trench of the retail is going green.
It is very important to have the right amount of shelving space for the amount of product you have. The type of shelves you use also create atmosphere for your store. Glass lends to an expensive, classy atmosphere, and wood to a homey atmosphere, while plastic or metal lends to a more economical or warehouse type atmosphere. Picking a necklace out of a glass case is more appealing that picking one off a plastic rack.
You can create the feeling of high quality, expensive items at reasonable prices just by the way they are displayed. The $20 necklace in a glass case seems a better buy to the customer than the same $20 necklace on the plastic rack which suddenly feels overpriced.
Shelving displays are a marketing tool and there are some factors to keep in mind before setting up your shelving units.
Marketing research shows the majority of people turn to the right when entering a store - use this to your advantage. Higher priced items can be placed to the right with lower priced items to the left. Or if you have an over abundance of an item you are trying to get rid of, set up a display on the right side of the store.
Marketing research also shows that people tend to look more at eye level than up above or down below. High top shelves and low bottom shelves can be used to neatly organize overstock. Keep your main product supply where the customer can easily see it.
There are some shelving no-no's I often see committed and can't believe places are still doing these.
Clothing should not be folded on tables or shelves - they should be hung up.
- Folded clothes are dug through to find the right size (even if the sizes are marked on a sign).
- Folded clothes do not get refolded the way they were originally folded, created a messy look.
- Folded clothes don't get put back where they came from - this is especially true when the sizes are separated by shelves - the clothes usually get put back on the closest shelf - one it did not originally come from.
- Folded clothes are reminiscent of yard sale; however in the store prices will be higher, making a customer feel they are not getting as good a deal.
- Shelves should not be empty. Shelves should not be over crowded. Shelves should not be broken in any way - this is a safety hazard and you would be liable for any accidents or damages.
- Shelves should be at equal heights, although they may be staggered to create a different look. Don't put shelves to close on top of one another to make removing and placing product difficult.
