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How To Maximise Your Customer Flow
Author: John Stanley
The objective of all retailers is to ensure 100% of customers see 100% of product. Sounds straightforward yet in recent research in the United Kingdom they found that 75% of customers only saw a maximum of 20% of the product. Imagine how sales would improve if the customer flow allowed 100% of customers to see 100% of product.

Your aim as a retailer is to direct your customers around your store, do not allow them to wander without clear direction, if you do, sales will drop off dramatically.

You must create a racetrack and not a runway. A racetrack goes around the store and exposes customers to all product departments.

A runway goes up and down the store and encourages people to speed up and walk faster.

1.Create a Store Layout that Reflects Your Image

Prior to developing your customer flow, you need to establish what image you are aiming to achieve as this will then assist you in deciding what style of layout you should develop.

My aim is not to make you a store designer, this is an area where you should seek expert advice, but you do need to appreciate the various styles of retailing.

There are two extreme styles of layout. The two extremes of style are:-

2.The Grid Layout

Supermarkets are the experts at this type of layout and this is a simple design to ensure 100% of customers see 100% of product.

3.Informal or Boutique Layout

This layout is common in smaller stores and the leading clothing fashion retailers are very skilled at getting consumers to flow around an informal layout

There are obviously stages in design layout between these two extremes, all of which work for different styles of retailing.

4.Position your Checkouts to Direct Customer Flow

The position of checkouts is critical in establishing how customers will flow around your store. When entering a store the general reaction is to walk away from the checkout. If the position of the checkout is wrong you may find you have hidden half your products from your customers.

As a general rule in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, we are accustomed to keeping to the left. It is therefore advisable to try and establish a clockwise customer flow, finishing with a service counter on the right.

The worst scenario in many stores is to place a service counter in the prime sight line, this will create a runway to the counter and reduce browse shopping considerably.

5.Bounce Customers Around Your Store

The aim is to get the customer around the whole store and therefore the placement of products or departments is critical.

You need to consider what are the common products on the majority of your customers shopping list and then place these products at regular intervals around the store. The aim is to bounce the customer around the store.

For example:-

Shopping List Items:

1.Milk4.Toilet Paper
2.Bread5.Detergent
3.Sugar6.Coffee

These shopping list items are often called “anchor” products.

6.Maximise the Use of Your Sign Lines

Sight lines are important in all styles of layout, but are far more important in a boutique layout than in a grid layout. Positive, appealing sightlines will draw customers around your store. Sightlines should use colour, lighting and product effectively to draw the customer through the store.

7.Develop Destination Department

Develop destination departments in the corners of your store and at the furthest points from the entrance and exit. Promote these departments and become famous for them.

Examples of these are:-

The Power Tool Department(hardware)
The Seedling or Bedding Plant department(gardening)
The Ski Department(sports cloths)
The In-house Deli(supermarket)

Management Memo

Many retailers are opting for high gondolas – well above eye level. There are of course advantages and disadvantages with this concept and these are worth reviewing.

Advantages

Back up stock in ‘on the floor’ and is always in sight allowing for better stock control and perhaps les labour intensive in terms of replenishment (avoids double handling to some extent).

Out of stock at lower selling levels can be replenished quicker by ‘pulling down’ back up stock. Lost sales are often averted when the customer sees the line on the top shelf that has not been replenished below.

Visual impact and merchandise statements can be more effective.

The range appears to be greater even though in fact that may not be the case.

Disadvantages

Lighting of lower shelves is more difficult and thus merchandise visibility may suffer.

Aisles need to be wider than eye level height fixtures to increase merchandise visibility – 7’ wide would be a suitable average width.

There is a tendency to an overwhelming ‘tunnel effect’ and classifications are not as easy to find due to inability to see throughout the store.

Shoplifting is more likely for the same reason.

Back up stock above 6’ can readily become untidy and lack cohesiveness with the lines below.

Ref Peter Lalchford, Merchandising Hardware and Electrical

About the Author

The above is an article from John Stanley’s best selling book Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know. John Stanley Associates produce an e-newsletter specific to retailing, this includes innovative ideas and advice to help you grow your profits. If you would like to receive a regular copy please visit www.johnstanley.cc or email us on newsletter@johnstanley.cc.

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