Ideally a customer spends 3 -7 seconds at the Retail Entrance while deciding whether to enter the shop or not. Depending upon the layout of the store, the store can be designed as Straight front, Angled front and Arcade front. Straight front may block the view of the store. It is parallel to the road and gives large selling space. Angle front gives good insight about the interiors of the store increasing the chances of window shopping, but decreases the selling space. The best retail front is the arcade front. It increases window shopping, allows inspection of window displays by shoppers and reduces glare from a major part of the store. Arcade front although advantageous, is heavy on the pockets since it requires professional help for the maintenance and adequate usage of the display options. A good retail entrance design says a lot about the shop and quality of products and designing of the retail interiors becomes an investment. Retail entrance should be designed considering the following points

Points to Consider when Designing a Retail Entrance

• Retailers strategy
• Customer approach towards the products
• Legal aspects, this is the most ignored point
• Design and maintenance cost
• Flooring and shelving

Place the bestselling products in the front and the middle of the aisle rather than at the end. People will not have the patience to go until the end to check the bestselling products. The entrance design can be changed depending upon movable and immovable assets

• Movable Assets: The items can be physically moved from one corner to the other and can be designed as per convenience.
• Immovable Assets: The fixed architecture does not allow movement of assets, hence while designing the place, choice of colors and positioning is important. Immovable assets are to be demolished where possible.

Basic Features of Retail Entrance Design

Setting retail outlet is a big task which also determines the footfalls into the store. There are common design and layout strategies to attract customers into the store. The retail entrance should talk about the brand story and creative head-turning window displays and signage essentials. Here we list you some basic features which are to be considered while making retail entrance designs.

• Smart designing of outlet creates an impact on the customer. Even if the customer does not make the purchase at first entry but will definitely come back to the store.
• A typical retail store entrance should have a wide opening depending upon the overall size of the store. It is the first point of contact between the customer and the store. The area has to reflect the shop contents in a crisp manner, so that the customer understands the shop offerings and at the same time can assess the quality of material being supplied. For example a supplier of branded products should display the samples or the window display indicating the brands.
• The retail entrance design defines whether the shop offers low or high quality products. The entrance should have sufficient lighting, fixtures and should have attractive colors.
• Whenever customer enters into the outlet they eye the right side of the retail outlet. The first products which are displayed on the right-hand side should be of high quality and fast moving goods. Your display determines the customer interest in the products offered.
• The products can be displayed on racks, furniture or other such tools, but while displaying make sure you provide a clear uninterrupted path to the customer to enter into the store. The store entrance should not be over crowed which will give diffused thoughts to its customers. A properly worked path displays your star products to its customer and can help you in developing sales strategy.
• The stores are designed to follow a circular path where the journey starts from the right side, the customer enters the retail outlet and continues inside of the shop and comes back to the front. The circular path is more comfortable than the linear sections of the store. You can also guide the customer to different sections using the headers attention-grabbing displays. Apart from the usual pathway, some store layouts requires the customers to be guided to some other location, this can be done by utilizing eye-catching placards.
• Speed bumps and merchandise outposts with special display fixtures featuring products are also good spots for customer attraction and retention.

Try to have a relatively large passage ways to allow smooth flow of people in the bay. People will not be comfortable walking on the path bruising each other’s back. Adding a waiting area with comfy seats and benches, which allows elderly and children to rest while other people can comfortably shop. Use designer tables and chairs to add aesthetic appearance.

Also Read: Do Scents and Smells Affect Office Design

The check-out counter:

Ideal place for checkout counter is on the left side of the retail outlet. Depending upon the entrance design and the space available, allot a space which does not block the view of the retail entrance. The check-out should be at comfortable stoppable point. The counter should be large enough to allow placing of the customer baggage. The behind wall of the cashier can have interesting window displays.

Sales Person at Store Entrance:

Salesman or store manager should be available at the store entrance to welcome the customers. Also note that there are not too many people at the entrance blocking the store view. One person handling the incoming of customers and guiding them to the requested section would be advantageous.

Designing of the retail interiors is an on-going process. The interiors are changed frequently to make it appealing and attract more and more customers, so is the Retail Entrance Designs. You can always change the display window and the display items based on the market trends and make it interesting based on the occasions such as festivals, national day, sports day and so on. You can increase the customer interaction by adding shop extensions on the pavements.