An eye catching sign is a useful tool in attracting customers to your store. Once a customer decides to enter, a successful layout will entice the customer to explore more areas of the store. Part of designing a successful layout involves effectively creating and placing signs throughout the store. A store’s signage will help the customer identify areas of interest. The longer a customer spends shopping, the more money will likely be spent by that customer. Thus, a store’s signage and layout are key aspects of boosting sales.

Good Store Layout Draws Shoppers In

When planning the layout of your store, it is important to consider your target customers and take advantage of a few things that are known about shopper behavior. The first several feet inside the door are the transition zone. In this area, customers are adjusting to the lighting and surveying the store for products of interest to them. Unless this is a store that people visit on a frequent basis, there should be little or no signage in the transition zone. Customers will not see it. To minimize the transition zone, it’s a good idea to have something five to ten feet inside the door that will cause a customer to pause. Bookstores often accomplish this by having a table in this area of bestsellers or new arrivals. Clothing stores uses piles of jeans or sweaters for this purpose.

One way for a store appealing to tourists to accomplish this task is by having a tasting stand inside the door. There should be a brightly colored sign on the table advertising free samples. Since most people like to try samples of food, customers will tend to stop or at least slow down to look. If you can get the customer to pause or even just slow down, the customer will be more likely to see what your store has to offer.

In the United States, customers tend to start on the right-hand side of the store and end on the left hand side. This occurs because people drive on the right side of the street. Thus, when displaying similar products together, the most popular brand should be in the center and the brand you are trying to build should be immediately to its right.

When it comes to shopping, women like to browse and search for bargains. Men prefer to walk in for something specific, find it, and then leave as quickly as possible. For this reason, a retail store should start with popular items that appeal to men and women. This prevents men from immediately deciding there is nothing in the store for them. The next items should appeal mostly to women. Women shop primarily for themselves, but they will often shop for men if they are done shopping for themselves.

Anything for kids should be closer to the center of the store where parents can see them from other parts of the store. If this area is too close to the front, parents will often worry about their children. This can distract them from their shopping. Products for men should be to the left. Men typically do not mind crossing over to the left hand side of the store as long as they are sure that is where the products that interest them are located. There should be something that clearly distinguishes this area from a distance as being for men. If a man is not sure there is an area targeted at men, he will usually leave the store right away.

In terms of layout, men generally prefer straight lines while women prefer an arrangement that allows them to dream. A good layout for a retail store will include both. Items that are similar and the same height such as towels can be displayed on shelves. Items not fitting this description can be displayed on tables and other furniture. Since women do the vast majority of the shopping for non-essential items, it is imperative that a store designs its layout in a way that shows various uses for its products. This captures a woman's imagination.

A few things appeal to men and women such as displaying complimentary products together. It appeals to men because everything he needs for that type of item can be found in one place. Women like it as a way to envision what the product would look like in her home. Many stores will sell the furniture on which the items are displayed. Women will sometimes decide that the furniture on display would be useful and look nice in their home also.

Effective Signs Attract Business and Boost Sales

Large colorful signs are a great way to attract attention to your store but keep in mind that the average customer will have less than five seconds to read it. Signs that are designed to be read from the road, such as those in a window, should have no more than four words on them. Signs that are colorful, have a picture, and/or have movement attract the most attention. In fact, some people go so far as to say that a neon "open" sign is crucial to a retail business. Bottom line is, a store’s signs should be easy to read and fit with the overall theme.

Window displays are often the source of first impressions. Take advantage of this by creating a display that has a large sign visible from the road along with merchandise that will catch the attention of people walking by. The window display should have a theme. For example, a display with a summer theme might have mannequins wearing t-shirts, hats, and sunglasses. If the store caters to men and women, it is important to have mannequins dressed for each gender. There could be a beach ball on the floor and a yellow sun suspended from the ceiling with fishing line. The display will be most effective if the windows are clean and not heavily tinted.

Once a window display is created, make a point of looking at it every day before the store opens. By doing this, you will be aware of things such as a sign that has fallen. Plan the displays ahead of time so that the window is bare for a minimal amount of time between display changes. By planning carefully, you can avoid having to make more than one trip to purchase items needed to display your products and reduce the amount of time required to change the displays. Many storeowners find it helpful to have a box of items previously used for creating displays. Over time, this will reduce the amount of time and money required to create impressive displays.

Signs inside the store are also an important consideration. Generally speaking, signs closer to the front of the store should be larger and have fewer words. Some of the best signs have a picture on them. A clothing store may have a giant picture of an attractive woman in clothes the store sells off to the right. Off to the left, there may be a similar picture of a man. If there is a section for children, there should be a sign for that area as well. Large pictures often capture the customer's attention more than a sign with words. Some small business owners worry that a large picture will take up too much space. If this is a concern, consider hanging the sign over an aisle in a way so that the bottom is above the top of the shelves. This creates a very eye catching sign.

Signs for the restroom and dressing rooms should be easy to spot since many customers will be looking for them. A woman with a young child will appreciate being able to find the restroom without having to hunt for it. A man will put clothing back if he cannot find the dressing room quickly. All the signs in the store should be similar in style and framed unless they are hung. They should also use colors that create a contrast easy for someone with poorer vision to see. This is why so many signs use red and white or black and white.

Further back in the store, signs should have slightly more detail. Once the customer has committed to walking toward the back of the store, she is not in as much of a hurry. This makes a good place to put products that are on sale. People will stop and read the sign explaining the sale.

Part of the purpose of signs is to convince customers to slow down and look at a particular product. Signs are not the only way to accomplish this. Mirrors will slow a customer down. Even if the customer is not interested in the products near the mirror, she will usually glance at them after looking in the mirror. Some retailers find other creative ways to slow people down. One retailer painted a hopscotch area in front of a tall bookcase. The items located at the bottom of the bookcase were toys which appealed to the kids. The items at the top of the bookcase were children’s clothes which appealed more to the parents.

Regardless of the type of arrangement, special attention should be spent on exactly where to put the signs. A difference of two feet can be the difference between many people seeing the sign and very few people seeing the sign. The best place for a sign is where people are all facing one direction and are standing still such as a cash register. These signs should pertain to something that would be a logical next step such as a gift-wrapping, delivery, or shipping merchandise to the customer's home. They should be targeted at the second or third person in the line. The first person is too focused on being ready for her turn to pay attention to any signs. The people behind her are a captive audience that is happy to look at anything to take their mind of the wait.

Use signs to encourage impulse buys and make sure products are handy so shoppers don’t have to leave the line to pick up last minute items. One thing the movie rental business has learned is the profitability of beverages and snack food near the cash register. This same concept works in any store targeting tourists since snack food is a staple on most road trips. Candy is a popular type of snack food, but other types of snack food should also be offered. Try to come up with foods that are easy to eat in the car and tie in with your part of the country. Cold drinks such as water and soda are equally important. To be successful selling beverages, the beverages must be in a cooler with a clear or open front that is at eye level. In the summertime, cold drinks are a hit with locals and tourists alike.

About the Author: Allison McKee is a marketing intern with the Texas Engineering Extension Service and currently pursuing her MBA with a focus of marketing brand management at LSU. Information sources for this article include Specialty Shop Retailing by Carol Schroeder & Why We Buy by Paco Underhill.