Physical stores aren’t marked for extinction yet, no matter how meteoric the rise of online shopping. Despite thousands of closures around the country, experts have determined there are still hundreds of thousands of physical stores open for business. One study estimates that there are over 328,000 physical retail establishments still open in the United States.
Although this is encouraging for existent and prospective new business owners, you may still face a lot of challenges on your way to profitability. Aside from competing with digital retailers and online marketplaces, you will also have to keep your store physically appealing. Stores with subpar appearances and visible physical damage can be hindering your store form making it big.
Today, learn about seven ways to make your store more physically appealing to potential customers.
Get Security
Security measures like closed-circuit cameras and similar devices serve more than just keeping an eye on your merchandise. They also enforce the idea that your store is a safe environment. Although it may not seem like it at first, hiring an office building security guard for your small business or retail establishment can actually help boost sales.
Customers may feel better shopping in your establishment with visible safety measures in place. Get security cameras and store front grilles if you think your business calls for it. Place prominent signs for your security measures around your premises as well to advertise them to both would-be criminals and customers.
Not only can they increase customer safety, but they can also help reduce theft and shoplifting, ensuring your profit margins remain stable.
Fix Your Lights
Lighting is essential for every business since a vast majority of people rely on their sense of sight to experience the world. You may think that sticking to your standard florescent light bulbs is enough to guarantee that customers will line your doors. Many products and goods don’t look good under the harsh white lights or florescent bulbs. People may not like how they look under these lighting conditions as well.
For this reason, use softer types of light and diffuse them to avoid harshness. Food looks more appetizing under yellow glows. People may like the way they look more under soft lighting, which is important if you are selling clothes and accessories. Make sure the lighting of your establishment highlights the positive within customers and products.
Arrange Proper Parking
Customers may not even need to see the insides of your store to judge it. One of the most common ways customers decide whether they want to go into a store is how close it is to their cars. If your store is in front of a street, you need to make sure your parking space is always clean and reserved for would-be customers.
Ensure you post clear signs for your business’s parking spot so customers driving up to your establishment can see it immediately. Paint the lines clearly and have any potholes or cracked fixed as soon as possible.
Keep Exterior Clean
A bucket of water, some soap and a broom can do wonders for your business. No one wants to shop in a store that looks dingy and inhospitable. Making sure your business’s façade is free from dirt, grime and graffiti is essential in getting customers walking into your store instead of past it. Every day, wipe down any glass fronts and windows. Sanitize doorknobs and handles frequently. Sweep up any debris that the night has brought in front of your store as well.
Although these may seem like routine things, you’d be surprised how many people sometimes forget that basic cleanliness can be a business’s greatest ally.
Manage Scent
Scent is just as powerful an ally as sound, and conversely it can be a great deterrent to customers. Scent marketing is most prevalent with food-related establishments. For example, Cinnabon uses the spicy and sweet scent of their cinnamon rolls to attract customers. Perfumeries and cologne stands frequently lure their customers with spritzes of their best product. It all depends on the merchandise of your establishment and what you are hawking,
If you are a medical supply company, you want to evoke the scent of cleanliness. If you sell food, you may want to highlight the best and most delicious ingredients. Use scent as a tool to subtly influence customers and ensure no strong or foul odors will turn them off.
Store appearances may seem unimportant, but they are undeniably a metric by which customers judge businesses. Unless you want your store to shutter like so many other physical businesses, pay more attention to the state and appearance of your business. Sprucing it up can give your business the shot in the arm it needs to make it through the year.
