If you have a physical retail store or shop, you’re probably wondering how to encourage walk-ins.
One thing you can do is pay attention to the way you decorate your store.
You see, what people see when they peek through your windows can play a big part in whether or not they decide to enter your establishment. That’s why it’s vital to do shop decoration properly.
Today, we’ll go over some of the things you can do to encourage them to step inside. Let’s start off with a tip on signage!
1. Use signage to your advantage.
While we did talk about what people see when they peek through your windows, your first impression actually starts even before that. Signage is typically the first thing people see of your store’s decor.
As such, it pays to think about whether or not your signage is working for you.
Is it eye-catching? Does it stick out even amidst all the other signs curbside?
Does it convey the message you want to send to customers before all others? Is it consistent with the rest of your decor or branding?
Our advice here is to go for simplicity and efficacy. Focus on a quick message that will encourage people to pause long enough to peek into your shop windows.
This actually applies to our next tip too, which has to do with your shop window displays.
2. Make your shop window display bold but simple.
Believe it or not, a smorgasbord of products and promotions usually doesn’t make for a very inviting window display.
It’s common for shop owners to want to showcase a lot of items in their windows.
Unfortunately, it rarely works because customers often have difficulty finding something they want amidst the clutter.
You want to focus the display on just a few products or even just one theme.
This avoids overwhelming the viewer and is more likely to hold his attention, which makes it more inviting as a result.
It can help to expend effort in making window displays “current” as well.
That means checking the trends or current events to see what you can work into the display to make it feel contemporary.
This can enhance its appeal by helping passers-by relate to it immediately and hinting to them that you may have what they need.
An example might be adding hearts and roses to a display around Valentine’s to get people shopping for romantic gifts to walk through your doors.
3. Add seating to your interior decor.
This is one of the absolute best ways to make your shop more inviting.
People love having seats available when they’re shopping. It gives them a chance to get off their feet for just a few moments, which already benefits you in that it causes them to spend more time looking at your products.
Make sure your seats actually look appealing, though.
Try to go for ones that look soft and almost “homey”, if they fit your brand, as these are the ones most likely to appeal most to shoppers.
4. Establish a clear layout.
A good floor layout can actually do a lot for a shop. It provides a sense of direction for shoppers and thus helps in managing store traffic and shopper flow.
Moreover, to the shopper who’s taking a peek at your store from outside, it gives him an idea of how easy your store will be to navigate.
Now, there are a lot of possible store layouts – a lot of factors go into choosing the best one for each shop.
The rule is to select the one that shows off as many of your products as possible if a customer is walking around in the space.
This is actually why a lot of stores have eschewed solid walls or partitions for space sectioning now. It not only obscures customers’ vision but can make the space feel closed-off and smaller – not exactly what you want when trying to make customers feel comfortable.
Here’s where floor decorations come in: you can actually use them to visually section a space without having to put up vertical partitions.
One rug can denote one quadrant of a store that belongs to men’s clothes, for example. Another rug can denote another section that belongs to women’s clothes instead.
5. Use rugs to add warmth and interest to the space.
We just noted that a rug can be used to establish store layouts and sections. But really, they can do so much more!
A good rug can also make a space look more inviting simply by adding texture and warmth to a location. And if you want a splash of flamboyance, you can even get bespoke rugs for this purpose.
You can have them designed to be consistent with your visual branding, even.
If you’d like to try this, reach out to us! We’ve done many custom rugs in Singapore for various companies and commercial establishments.
We can advise you on both designs and materials that can help achieve what you want for your shop.
