How does shopping centre layout design impact the retail experience?
Did you know that 84% of shoppers make impulse purchases? A key factor in these last-minute sales is retail store design.
By placing add-on items close to the checkout, for example, retail businesses can encourage impulsive spending by creating easy access to staple products.
Layout theory also translates to the wider shopping centres that house individual retailers. Conscious design and clever technology can mould customer experiences and increase profitability, creating consumer-driven shopping hubs.
To learn more, we’ve taken a look at the role of layout design in shopping centres.
The Impact of Shopping Centre Layout Design
A well-designed retail store attracts consumers and aligns spending with business goals. How, then, does layout design impact shopping centres as a whole? Let’s take a look.
Designing for Targeted Consumers
Modern shopping centres use retail analytics software to learn more about their overall performance as a centre and customer behaviour. This can include factors such as:
- Customer footfall
- Peak periods
- Public WiFi usage
- Car park insights
- Sales figures
- Accessibility concerns
The insights gained then influence layouts, creating spaces that are entirely focused on the centre’s target market.
For example, if the local area has a higher number of elderly consumers, layouts with minimal stairs and wheelchair-friendly spaces are essential to create a shopping experience that suits the target consumer.
Spaces also need to reflect shopper missions. For example, if analytics show that most local consumers shop with speed in mind, the shopping centre can adjust the layout to better suit time-constrained customers.
This targeted approach to shopping centre layouts ensures that the business’ direct customer is at the heart of the shopping experience.
Simpler Navigation
Enhancing navigation is a key focus in modern shopping centre design, with solutions like interactive maps becoming increasingly popular.
These advancements offer numerous benefits. By allowing customers to quickly locate the stores they seek, they significantly boost shopper satisfaction. Additionally, they can introduce shoppers to new stores they might not have discovered otherwise, adding an element of ease to the exploration of the centre.
For businesses, interactive navigation boards also serve as valuable marketing tools, helping them to stand out within the centre. This, in turn, makes renting a space within the complex more attractive to potential tenants.
Disruptive Layouts vs Harmonious Plans
The impacts of your layout will vary depending on the floor plans you follow. An example of how this works can be seen when looking at disruptive vs. harmonious layouts.
Disruptive layouts are designed to strategically guide consumers through the space, often leading them past additional shops or dining areas to maximise time spent within the centre. For example, placing restrooms at the back of the centre is a common tactic in disruptive layouts to encourage more exploration.
These layouts can increase time spent in the centre, encourage consumers to visit more shops and enhance brand visibility.
Harmonious layouts, on the other hand, prioritise creating a seamless and intuitive user experience. With a natural flow, these layouts make it easier for shoppers to find what they need without exploring the entire space.
This approach can boost shopper satisfaction by making the centre more accessible and helping consumers quickly locate exactly what they’re looking for.
Increasing Shopping Times
A six-year-long study of over 43,000 shoppers proved a long-presumed correlation; that the longer a consumer spends within a shopping centre, the more they’ll buy.
This makes it paramount that retailers maximise time spent within the space. One strategy to achieve this is through layouts, with larger spaces offering hospitality and entertainment more likely to keep customers engaged for a longer amount of time.
Do note, though, that shopping time should be increased without putting customer experience at risk. A confusing layout, for example, might add a few minutes to average shopping time but is likely to reduce consumer satisfaction, leading to a drop in returning visitors.
Instead, designers should view the impact of layouts from the perspective of increasing value for the shoppers.
Improve Accessibility
Shopping centre layout design can help shift business focus to accessibility. With around 16 million disabled people living in the UK, accessible spaces reach wider audiences and maximise footfall, ensuring that everyone can access the same businesses.
It’s also important to consider that an estimated £17.1 billion of revenue is lost per year due to inaccessible online shopping. With in-person retail constantly competing with online sales, accessible layouts could help drive in-person shopping while improving the experience for consumers with disabilities.
As all shopping centres should follow government regulations on the accessibility of shops and retail spaces, this isn’t an impact that business owners should ignore.
Key Considerations When Creating a Store Layout
Consciously designed shopping centres positively impact the business, the consumers, and the individual retailers within the space. Before creating floorplans, ensure the space is fit for purpose by factoring in these considerations:
- Where the shopping centre will be located
- Target shops and target consumers
- Shopping missions
- Accessibility
- Competition existing within the market
- Opportunities for additional reasons to visit (e.g. a cinema)
It can also be useful to analyse the layouts of successful shopping centres.
In the UK, for example, Westfield (London), Bluewater (Kent), and Gunwharf Quays (Portsmouth) are popular choices for shoppers and attract a huge amount of foot traffic. Use their floorplans to inspire your own, taking into account the unique features that attract such vast audiences to their doors.
Final Words
Shopping centre layouts and retail store design are crucial concepts in the world of visual merchandising. With an understanding of the key impacts – including better accessibility and average consumer dwell time – designers can make informed decisions for more customer-centric businesses.
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