Retail store your one stops shop

When I visit any retail store, one sudden thought came to my mind, there may be any brand or product missing from the store. But unfortunately here is everything which you want to buy. Yes, this is quite interesting if you want to have the most amazing thing around the world. For me retail store is a fancy, the place I want to see in my dreams. Here are people; here are products, restaurants, café and world’s renowned brand’s outlets. Here is a mess of products and brands, here is everything for men, woman, kids, and for elders.

Access retail store via Smartphone:

Here you can taste, you can smell and you can enjoy. Retail store is now in your pocket can you imagine, because you can access these supermarket through your Smartphone, desktops, and from all internet devices. But the question is how these supermarket digital versions can inspire you? Of course, it is store design and store layout that can inspire you, moreover the items placed in Commercial Shelving can tell the story of store designing. What will you find in images, absolutely a wonderful impression of retail store? You will surely love to visit this outstanding store which is full of items and luxury products. People can easily shop online; they can add any item to their cart and can do online payments by using checkouts. Thus, making the shopping experience more convenient for the customers. Now it’s up to you would you like to shop from online store or from the real one?

Online store is good for urgent shopping:

If you are in urgency and want to buy a product that you really need then shopping from online store is best option. But if you want to make a choice and want to entertain yourself then visiting some of the best retail store for shopping is not a bad idea. Products which are visible, assorted in Storage racks enough to inspire the shopper to buy them. People can walk in and around without any hassle and can drag their shopping trolleys to collect their desired items conveniently.

Advantages of retail store:

The retail store are design in such a manner that hundreds of thousands people can shop at a time and still you feel no rush out there and no noise. Here is music, lights, announcements, marketing campaign launched by different brands to engage the customers. These are in-house store activity to engage the customers. Visual merchandiser who plans store designing is very keen about lights, colors and themes. Store is revamped according to season or festivals. The colors and the themes become the signature style of the store and sometimes it is very difficult to change the store design or store arrangements. Things which are placed in front Steel Shelving are replaced according to the brand popularity, every month brands are replaced, and it is done only to crave the attention of the shoppers.

The things which are showcased in window display are the worthwhile brand that urges shopper to buy products. These brands has a magical effect on the eyes of the spectators that they entered into the store without any intention, then it is the environment of the store, the cool light and pleasant sight that attract the customers to shop their favorite brand.

From corner stores to digital retailing

Being a history buff, today I am more interested to reveal the evolution of retailing. How did we get this modern outline of business? Retailing has a long story at its back, from corner store to mega store it’s a long journey, of course the greater impact is of cultural needs that creates and fills the gap between the generations. Here are certain factors are involved that’s contributed to retail industry. From corner store to self service departmental store that transformed to malls and club stores and finally developed in one stop shop, retail store is following the four phases of its evolution.

Back to the 19th century, local corner stores has captured the retail. These corner stores were so popular that they were located at every corner of the street. There were some Storage racks and the overall shopping of retail is done at these corner stores. People in order to fulfill their basic necessities just walk in to the stores. There are not so many products that represents different brands; just what you need to so is to shop being indifferent about quality of the product. You could have everything but related to your basic necessity as these corner stores were not so huge. These can only satisfy the people living in surroundings.

Departmental stores

When streets getting abandon with automobiles in the second quarter of the 20th century, these inventions helps people to go everywhere with ease and can hold and carry many things at a time. With the burst of inventions it becomes easier for a shopper to carry the things and stock them in home refrigeration. So it shapes the departmental store where a lot of products can be shopped by putting them in shopping trolleys by the shoppers. So these self-service departmental proved a periphery for retail stores as retail moves from local to departmental stores.

Modern culture and the emergence of Mall

When things started getting modernized then here comes the Malls that is open for every commercial business, people can shop and can get premises for their business, Malls are designed to keep every business commercial because it’s also performing the function of halcyon days of the TV ads. With its mega structure Mall has become the source of driving the masses and here you can find everything from basic necessity to fashion accessories.

Integration culture – Big Box warehousing

Till the end of 20th century the big box player play a vital role in driving the business, people can purchase the outlet of any brand and can represent it in their area thus inspiring people to get the product of a specific brand. Whereas club stores and category killers allows buying the products in bulk form, these warehouse club stores has driven the local traders out of the market. In these club stores things are stores in Commercial Shelving. In category killer things of specific kinds are available and people can buy only those things from a specific killer store. Now a day this business practice has just vanished from the retail market.

Digital retailing

Digital retailing starts with the emergence of e-commerce, now big stores are available on internet. People can shop from their homes and can select any item and can pay online. Thus digital revolution has given boost to digital retailing. Retail business is going viral, and here is every opportunity for shoppers to shop with convenience.

From go-down to warehouses

Those were the days when people store the products in go-down with no special arrangements to keep things safe. These go-down was built of straw and husk mixed with soil, to keep the perishable things safe for a long time. If we look at the history of warehouse, the first warehouse was built in the age of Alexander the Great; he has built the warehouse to secure the artifacts he has collected from his expeditions around the world. So this was the short earlier history when life is not so much complicated, while the demand and supply is not at boom.

The solution of storage is industrial shelving

Industrial revolution came in the seventieth century, when supply of the product increased with the increase in demand. The big problem in large scale production is only one, how to arrange the things and how to preserve the things, the manufactured products cannot be placed only on the floor, so the need is the mother of the invention. It was the time when product management is developed in industrial environment so the Industrial Shelving is designed keeping in mind the industrial needs. The shelving is made of steel that can bear the weight of industrial goods. The main objective of designing these shelves is to transfer the things from one corner to another easily. These shelves are reliable as it is made of quality material.

Benefits of industrial shelves

The Industrial racking has made it possible to manage large scale production in a proper manner. Here is no fear of any damage of the product when the products are assorted in industrial racking. It’s only because of this storage facility that the large industrial concern can manufacture the products on large scale and keep it in stock for a long time. If I say that warehouse is the need of large industrial concern it’s not at all wrong. Industry is now flourishing and surviving only for one reason because it has dealt with product storage issues. So we can see big warehouse of market biggies. Product assortment is manged by store keepers as well as machinery is used to place the product on third or fourth storey of industrial shelves. Things can easily be moved and transferred from one place to another. Thus these shelves have given the facility of portability and mobility of the products in and out of the factory. These warehouse shelving has changed the entire system of storage.

Warehouse and the threat of hoarding

Many people do not consider that warehouse shelving is important, I agree with them. Industrial shelvesare important only for the large concern which can maintain large warehouses with its large scale production. Well, with the increase in demand I suppose industrial shelving is necessary for large, medium and small manufacturing unit. It has advantages and no disadvantages. Things are kept safe for a long time no damage is occurred. Moreover if proper environment is provided things will never get perished. So the stock of the things always gets ready to be released in the market. Industrial shelving is
necessary to deal with the demand of the good. The allegations that are charged to challenge the importance of the warehouse like hoarding are not inseparable fact. But it happens only in that society where class discrimination is on the top or we can say in capitalist system.

The Do’s of store designing

If we talk about the do’s while designing the store, then there are involved so many factors that determines the store design not the only one. Designing of store is just like designing of a complex structure. Now a day mega structures that are the source of attraction of the visitors who are known as customers are those which are well-managed, well- decorated and more compact. What we can expect while visiting store is, lighting, storage shelves, mannequins, visual merchandising, and the smooth flow of the customers by providing a good walk-in space.

Product placement:

Now a day focus is on capacity, how many things can be stored in industrial shelves of the store? Storage maximization is the key concept that has given uplift to metal storage racks designing. These super cool storage racks not only can provide space to so many brands and products. But the arrangement of the product is done in such a way that it also enhances the visibility of the products. The products are placed in a manner that it quickly catches the eye of the customers. Product arrangement is the main technique that converts a store into a super store. So product placement can attract or repel the customers. While designing the store layout product placement factor should not be missing out.

Smooth flow:

The next factor that is important in store designing is the smooth flow of customers. A store should be design in such a way that the customers can walk here and there easily. Once a customer with shopping trolley has stepped in he should not face any difficulty in dragging his shopping trolley. The walk-ins should be wide enough that a definite crowd of customers can easily walk and can access the products. If the passageways of the store are not wide open then it does not give a good feeling to the customers. So make sure while designing store layout that you are make sure that customer flow will not be disturb in anyway.

Product visibility:

While designing a retail store, here are thousands of products that need customer’s attention. So presenting every product before the customer is a million dollar technique and here comes the expertise of store designing. Designer and retailers always focus how they can make products more visible before the customers. So product visibility is the key factor that can increase the turnover of the store. To make different brands visible, a store must have the arrangement of proper lighting. There must be light points above the metal storage shelves so that things could be seen by everyone. Proper light arrangement can enhance the user experience and can change their mood to do some shopping. Certainly it is lighting with different colors that can appeal to the sense of the customers.

In the due course visual merchandising is another technique that can work at its best to increase the sales of the store. The same function is done by mannequin that is placed out of the store or inside the store for brand recognition and to boost up the product visibility. Meanwhile the staff should be very cordial and should be well aware of the best selling practice. By following the do’s while designing the store makes sure you are assessing the heights of the success.

Retail store for kids

We have seen in the couple of decades that retail store business is reaching on its heights. Retail industry is expanding in different dimensions. Here are so many ongoing retail businesses and one of them is kid’s retail business that is on its peak in U.A.E and in the Middle East. The diversity in consumer behavior and buying pattern has changed dramatically. Retailing is not only limited to big cities but it’s popular in the outskirts of U.A.E as well. Retail business is thriving in different formats like departmental stores, hypermarkets, malls, gaming zones, and supermarkets, in each format of retail business people just love to shop. In this way retail business has a huge share in the annual growth of a country like U.A.E. Thus here are wonderful chances of growth in retail business and more likely in specialized retail.

Understanding kids mindset:

If we talk about specialized retail, here comes the idea of retail store for kids. A store full of kid’s related accessories is more interesting than a general store. Kids are always a source of constant pleasure. The things related to them are always a source of attraction not only for the parents but also for the young ones who love these innocent creatures. Kid’s retailing is very popular in U.A.E. Imagine a retail store and its
steel shelving filled with toys, sportswear, watches and stationary for kids. Kid swear decorated at mannequins with colorful clothes is enough to catch the attention of a spectator. According to a survey retail stores dealing in baby products are making great profits. Retailers are more interested to have a brief understanding about the needs of the kids instead of their parents. However, here is a huge variety of kid’s brands in the stores.

Retail is all about the interest of the buyers:

Retail store is covering kid’s products ranges from 1 to 12years. In retail store for kid’s various departments can be categorized according to the age group. For instance, sales of garments of the infants between the ages of 0-2 years can be displayed in front display shelving. Children and their parents are taking more interest in designer’s wear. They are more conscious about brands and international brands like angels, baby shop and mother care have just hit the market and making the business of billions in U.A.E. it is estimated that parents are spending $1billion yearly for children designer wear clothing and footwear. It is strongly desired by the parents that their children dress well and look graceful. Specialized retail segment caters all the needs of the each age group of the children. Retailers at emirates has the idea about the needs of children, it is the urge of getting higher that invites each international brand to hit the emirates market.

Future planning:

retailers have realized the spending trends and the purchasing power of the consumer and now retailer at U.A.E plan to open 50-60 children store in the GCC in the next coming years as the initiative taken by Liwa Trading Enterprises, an Abu Dhabi retailer. Children are getting more brands conscious and they have the strong desire to set their wardrobes for every occasion. However the main business is started from the age between 0-4 year’s kids because these small and colorful dresses add worth to the Storage racks of the super stores.

The middle way to shop

People are getting more and more luxurious and what is more important that they are in no need to change their social status. In fact this gap is filled by the lavishing brands that help to remove the gaps. People are now sustaining to maintain their living standards by living in their own circles and class. People are completely enjoying the magnificence of their social status by following madly these brands. The brands involving clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry are ruling the luxury market. No doubt that these brands have given boost to retail business and has become the elegance of retail store. The entire interest of the shoppers is in following these luxury brands because these brands allure their sense of beauty.

Shelving is the backbone of any superstore:

What makes them more attracting are mannequins and of course the ever stylish
steel shelving in the store. No store even if it is an ordinary or a super store can be complete if it does not have stylish shelving’s. The main credit goes to these modish and trendy shelving that have given modern stores and modern shopping a new dimension. The store management is completely dependent on super market shelving and refrigeration. The super market has brought the customer to shop under one roof. Shop for everything, from luxury to daily necessity, here you have all the stuff of your need.

Up to date and well-informed staff:

Retailers have enormous ideas to grab the attention of the shoppers. If the products are clearly visible if they are assorted in a manner that the spectator not only appreciates but get ready to buy here comes the achievement of store management. Another factor that plays a very crucial role in super store success is trained and cordial staff. Here comes the idea to motivate the staff that they have to increase the sales and revenue. The tricks and tips should be shared with staff so that they can acquire the marketing skill that can direct the shopper to become a potential buyer.

Brand presentation should be convincing:

Many world renowned brands have come into the arena of success just because they have spread awareness among the masses. The art to present a specific brand in a presentable manner convince the consumer to make it priority in your wish list. However, thinking that your business will boost up in just counting of days is not right to estimate. To attain a large clientele, retailers should have to adopt patience until or unless your business and your services are recognized by the consumer circles. The beauty of modern retail business lies in open invitation. It is open to shop from a middleman to common man. Its services are not restricted to any special class.

People can enjoy and can wear the stuff what they like. In this way brands are publically recognized when they are spotlighted in stores especially in storage racks. But here is new trends we have observe that retail store has become a platform for the recognition of local as well as internal brands. In this way they are bridging the gap between international luxury brands. People are getting more influenced, more informed about the new trends in fashion and they just love to visit such super stores.

In the country like U.A.E and Sharja which are considered heaven for such luxury brands, these brands have made their customer base over there. U.A. E is in fact the place where luxury brands and markets are flourishing rapidly. However in retail business there are more chances of growth with immense opportunities. I am unable to conclude this long discussion in just one blog as this topic is debatable.

Showcase the Retail

Summer has just stepped in so it’s the time to showcase the retail store with summer collections and welcome this new season. The season of passion and celebration is to be arrived so why not decorate your store and inspire he shoppers to buy. To showcase the summer arrivals is the idea that is much appreciated in retail circle. The summer arrivals are so alluring for the people that to showcase such accessories on storage racks is a key to grab the attention of the onlookers. The idea of showcasing the retail appeals to the buyer and keep them conscious what is inside of the store.

The summer display should be as fantastic as one can idealize. Full of inspiring colors with all summer related accessories. The light setting of the store should be according to the demand of the season. The light show should not be shoddy. Dim light is not required what is required a perfect feel of transition from darkness to brightness. Here are so many features that define the perfect summer setting in a store.

Focus on summer:

If you are not interested in redesigning your store it does not matter. You can revamp your store by decorating it with a theme. Yes, of course it’s the best way to give a new look to your store and to gain the interest of the spectator. If design of a store is a lifeline, then theme is the lifeblood of your store. People just love to shop according to the season’s style and taste. A perfect shopping environment is incomplete if the theme is not displayed in a well manner. Recently, Majid Al Futtaim Hypermarkets in U.A.E has used this theme and people appreciate their new posture with the most active shopping concept of supermarket equipments.

Color scheme: 

The color scheme that is adorable in the season of summer is sparkling yellow and pink. However, the retailers made their own choice and experience the limelight with silver white. Along with it colors, like sky blue, pink and light emerald provides a very cooling effect. Majority of the designer prefer the color discussed above, usually the retailers are interested in bright colors which has a soothing effect over the eyes of the visitors.  Light shades are more inspiring in the season of summer. The props which are used for summer display are flowers and green trees.

Use of Mannequins

The perfect way to display the latest fashion and style off summer is the use of mannequins. Fully clad with summer collection or being displayed using the favorite brand will inspire the people to buy the accessories. Mannequins are bejeweled with summer outfits, fashion accessories or with favorite brand of scent or shampoo in their hands whatever a retailer wish to highlight.


Lighting effects:

The lighting arrangement should be very outstanding, for lighting arrangement use of chandeliers and luminaries is best on each metal storage shelves, so that everything should be visible to the customers. The theme of the display can easily determine what light effects are required. However, the appropriate lighting arrangement will prove a delight for the customers. In the season of summer dim and luminous lights are valued.

So if you are designing your store and want to open it in summer, just try out the above mentioned guidelines and you will finally have the turnover, potential customers that will uplift your store to the heights of fame where it will become the brand, a name of trust for millions of people

Try some new tricks

Retail business has become the aspiration of young entrepreneurs, certainly it has a great potential of success. Certainly being new in retail business you might have some question in your mind same was with me. When I plunge into this arena but I try to unleash the secrets perhaps I am not a quick learner I take some time to learn the retail tricks. But here I unfold some of the secrets of successful retailing.

Product assortment:

Product placement is one of the hidden secret of a retail store. Product arrangement is significant to improve the product visibility. The product should be clearly visible to the buyers. Product presentation in storage racks eventually tempts the shopper to turn into buyer. Product placed in elegantly design steel shelving looks amazing and grab the attention of the buyer. So product assortment is the best trick for a successful retail business.

Stay updated:

A good retailer must have the idea about the average sales per customer, sales per employee, average turnover, sales per square meter and number of products in each storage racks. These are the basic parameters every retailer should know about them. Basically it is the estimation that every business man keeps in his mind and if there is proper management these goals can easily be achieved. This is the demand of competitive business environment.

Good observer:

The success of retailer lies in it how much they are aware about the needs of the customers. They can only feel it if they visit their store as a shopper rather than as an owner. In this way they can get the idea what flaws their stores still have. This is the extent of professionalism, to check out the store what essential are needed to be taken for store improvement and to improve service quality.

Staff training:

Staff training of retail store is essential for better services. The standard quality service can only be achieved if the staff is trained. For training, workshops should be arranged, for product arrangement and assortment in metal storage shelves so that they look catchy and classy. Space utilization for a bulk of items is the skill that should be instigate in employees. Customer support and customer dealing is one of the critical aspects of such training session.

Work out for marketing:

The trick to market your product is a skill that needs to be learning. Your staff is not aware about marketing stratagem how to involve the customers and convince them to buy the products. Make them familiar about the nerves of ultimate customers and it could be done by providing marketing training. A proper marketing behavior can only drag as much customer as you want. The potential retailer is aware of this fact and they equip their staff with this great skill, hence they have higher turnover than the others.

Employ guest shoppers:

To observe what level of customer services the retail store is offering. Some retailer employees guest shoppers. Because they are the best observer and can easily access the qualities and flaws your store is facing. This trick is quite impressive to give a boost to independent evaluation. This evaluation needs to be done after a couple of months to improve the service standard.

So what trick you would like to follow to become a successful retailer. We want to hear from you.

How to manage the space for your store?

The biggest achievement of a retail store is the space management. The idea to position a product or a brand into the shelves is a big question mark for a retailer. Space management deal with the space provided to a specific brand as we know the store is designed to provide customer ultimate shopping satisfaction. Spacing should be done on such a level that the products should be accessible and the classification of products should be done according to the demands and needs. The items should be placed in the right direction to be visible to everyone. Space management is important to optimize the selling of the store.

Store layout:

There should be emphasis on routing and accessibility while designing the store layout. The more you focus on how to make the shopping experience an ease for a customer, the more you can come up with a good design. The only objective of designing the store to make shopping arrangement in such a way that all the things you can find in just one place.

Space& shelve management:

Sales display is another important factor to grab the attention of the consumer; if things are displayed into the metal storage shelves in more stylistic way then it would take a minute to decide a customer to buy the product. The sale of a store depends on arranging and assorting the things in a manner that it looks catchy and attractive. It is important to promote the sales of any brand placed into the storage racks. Often it happens, that space for sales display is less and the products are more, so here comes the skill of shelve management. So it helps to maintain and categories the products intended for sale. Shelve management focus on proper utilization of space so that maximum products can be displayed.

Visibility & sales promotion:

The products should be visible, because the customer’s choice depends on the visibility of products. It is the visibility and accessibility of the product that urge a shopper to buy that product. Product visibility is very important for sales and brand promotion. Customer’s needs to be remind again and again as this is the continuous process of repetition and precision. Modern store design urge the people to buy even if shopping is not necessary for them. So products should be placed in
storage racks in orderly manner, in a bulk, invisible from every direction. Store is the point of sale so retailers are finding the ways to engage with their customers by promoting different promotional activities within the store.

Competition among brands:

While planning the shelve management, the main hurdle that come into the way of a retailer is, what brand should be into the front steel shelvings. Here are so many leading brands in the market and retailer has to find out which brand can increase the turnover. Managing the competition between different brands is a work of shelve management. however the discrimination is not here, what is really important for a retailer is to make every product visible, so display management is done in such a way that if a brand has any scheme than then it will be highlighted and if the other brand has nothing to offer it’s prominent feature is highlighted to grab the attention of the consumer. We can observe the huge competition amongst brands, but to give equal space and display to each brand is a work of high skill.
So this is how shelve management and spacing play a very critical role in defining the availability of the products and urging the consumer to buy at the spot.

Retail Design A Weapon to Turn Shoppers into Buyers

I am not sure how much universal this Shakespearian wisdom is. But what I am sure is that, at least this wisdom does not ring true in our economic realms where product packaging and brave visual merchandising have become decisive competitive edge for successful business ventures. For many of us, running a retail business is as simple as having products hit on the shelves and sells them to the consumers ultimately. Along with products, it takes intelligently beautiful store design to make consumers enter the store and purchase the goods that they want to have, or better yet, to make them goods that they even do not really need. Thus, it’s safe to assume that ‘good design is a ready business’. Before we see what this ‘good design’ really means in retail environment, let’s ask ourselves few interesting questions.

Some Interesting Findings Relating To Retail Shopping:

When was it last time when you went for shopping? Did you purchase only those things that you had jotted down in your shopping list or like many others, you too found yourself fallen for so many other things that were not really in your planned purchase errand. And while being impulsive shopper, what made you pick a product while discarding other placed beside it on the shelf?
If you are a retailer, spare some special time and see different shoppers doing shopping, see them standing before product display shelving and catch their shopping gestures. Soon you will learn how your retail design is affecting your buyers buying decisions. Brand marketers are now convinced that most of shopping decisions are made in store. According to a research, 70% of buying decisions are never made until strolling in store aisles. And on this process of buying goods visual communication forms 80% of human perception, hearing forms 10% and other senses such as touch and smell form rest of 10%.

Can Shoppers Be Turned Into Buyers?

Some direct and some indirect, there are many things that drive shoppers into buyers. Some words such as ‘sale’, ‘promotion’ and ‘offer’ are too powerful to be engaged with. Shoppers ultimately find themselves driven towards the products that are calling them with these words. On the other hand, there comes supermarket equipment which includes all steel shelving, storage cabinets, shopping carts and store props.

Brands seem to be rather more interested in availing with best racking and shelving packs in any store as products displayed on these sophisticated display shelving’s always rest in shoppers’ eye sight and are best highlighted to their maximum potentials. So, for a retailer it’s important to find nicely crafted and creatively engineered Industrial racking industrial racking which would entice shoppers to get products being displayed on them. It’s like a science of architecting store structure and art of decorating it with interior design techniques.

Type of display and its place within the store are also crucial in driving shoppers into sale. Not all the products sell the same way all across the store. It may take another full length article to discuss what type of products sell better in certain store locations. So let it be saved for some other day.