Page 11 - Griffin Gazette Issue 2 - 2018

How does this translate to the retailing (color) neatly stacked and consistently long checkout lines and only one or
world? Here are some considerations to signed with legible print draw the two registers open will turn off many
“flip” your store and keep your customers consumer’s attention quickly. customers. Besides minimal parking
shopping and coming back for more. spaces, improvements in checkout and
Display lighting helps define textures and processing must be a major focus with
Cool Comfort colors while eliminating shadows inside a solution.
Air conditioning isn’t new to retail; it deep shelf-wall gondolas and fixture
just wasn’t a priority at most garden cabinets. LED lighting has found its way You may have noticed that Panera Bread
centers. Simply put, though, comfortable into mainstream retail in all of these areas and McDonald’s have remodeled using
temperatures keep customers in from bulb replacements for track lights to self-service kiosks to expedite the ordering
your store longer. If you can add air accent light stick fixtures for placement process. Kiosks have found homes near
conditioning, it’s an advantage. If not, look under shelves. Low heat, improved color, the deli counter at the grocery store, too!
to improve air movement. If you can keep low energy consumption, higher lumens Their logic is to lessen the perception
a customer shopping just a bit longer, (brightness), and long life of LED bulbs of long lines while bringing their menus
you can produce extra sales on even the are important factors to consider when closer and reducing eye fatigue.
hottest days. choosing lighting options.
Selection Comfort
New greenhouses (and new stores) are Independent garden centers have a
often constructed with higher ceilings to well-deserved reputation for expansive
draw air away from the floor. More owners plant selections, customer service, and
are now opting for roll-up sidewalls to a myriad of solutions for any gardener’s
help foster air circulation throughout the problem. Having the space to provide
selling zone. it all is another story. All retailers face
choices to maximize space, including the
Where older stores don’t have interior box stores.
height to offer, circulation fans and
wider door openings are popular. Even Consumers shop first by need. Follow
the addition of 30-50% shade cloth can this simple formula for solution-based
produce resounding results on lowering selling in all departments and categories:
temperatures, not only keeping your Shop by need, by brand, by delivery/
customer around longer, but providing type/size—in that order. Within these
your plant material just enough relief from areas, you may choose a specific brand
heat stress. Too high of a density of shade to promote. Building displays this way
cloth might reduce sunlight adversely for helps you define an easier, confusion-free
some crops. Rigid V-truss shade systems path to purchase for both shoppers and
add the dimension of adding height to store associates.
offer a level of color when displaying
hanging baskets overhead. At the chemical shelf, minimize duplicates
for consumers’ sake. Just as a pharmacist
Visual Comfort Petitti’s Garden Center, North Canton, OH has generic options to medicines, garden
From the sterile and pristine white centers have regional alternatives to harsh
surfaces of the popular Apple stores to Convenience Comfort chemistry solutions for the customer:
the complexity of using recycled and Another trend in new retailing is wide open organics, all-natural, OMRI-listed.
sustainable materials in retailers like Urban space: The optimum distance between
Outfitters and Anthropologie, consumers gondolas and displays has increased The solution-based formula also works
crave the new shopping experience. It by feet, not just inches! Consumers outside in the nursery. A favorite example
feels good on so many levels and appeals appreciate the extra room; placing displays of mine is to group roses by varietal type:
to every generation. too close together can make shoppers heirloom, climber, grandiflora, floribunda,
miniature, shrub and hybrid tea. You can
feel trapped and claustrophobic. To get a
Take note of where checkout registers are sense of how much space we’re talking choose to group or segregate by brand:
located in today’s retail footprint. They’ve about, stretch both of your arms outward David Austin and Knockout are examples.
moved centrally into the store increasing – that’s the minimum distance you’ll want By grouping, you’ll increase sales by
sightlines, reducing entrance congestion between gondolas, self-standing displays, need, by brand or by type through easy
and prompting the customer to move gift racks and the like. Similarly, aisle identification. Some retailers showcase
deeper into the store’s layout to shop. widths have grown from 5-6 feet to the large masses of a single “group by color”
Examples of this in our industry include supermarket-sized highways of 6-8 feet! to help guide customer preferences.
vertical layers of colors, expanded visuals Pottery sales benefit from the “group by
into perimeter walls, exceptional signage Long checkout lines and processing times color” display technique, too, as it’s the
and complete selling categories. tend to make lasting impressions, but not number-one criteria by which consumers
in a good way. Fast service is a common shop for containers.
Supermarkets continue to pave the way expectation in our culture and if you read
for changing the indoor experience. Their virtually any restaurant review, service is While we’ve reviewed many possibilities
plan drives store penetration from your usually praised or condemned within the to improve comfort in your store, the
very first steps. You immediately smell first three sentences. Time is important best comfort you might already offer
the aromas and see the bright colors of to everyone. your customers is a warm smile, and a
signage by way of huge perimeter wall thank you.
images. Vertical displays of produce No matter how good your pricing is,
Griffin Gazette 2018 | 11