A Store-Based Retailing Perspective

Store atmosphere (atmospherics) can be divided into these key elements: exterior, general interior, store layout, and displays. Figure 18-5 contains a detailed breakdown of them.

EXTERIOR A store’s exterior has a powerful impact on its image and should be planned accordingly.

A storefront is the total physical exterior of the store itself. It includes the marquee, entrances, windows, lighting, and construction materials. With its storefront, a retailer can present a con­servative, trendy, upscale, discount, or other image. Consumers who pass through an unfamiliar business district or shopping center often judge a store by its exterior. Besides the storefront itself, atmosphere can be enhanced by trees, fountains, and benches in front of the store. These intensify consumer feelings about shopping and about the store by establishing a relaxed environment. There are various alternatives in planning a basic storefront. Here are a few of them:

• Modular structure: A one-piece rectangle or square that may attach several stores.
• Prefabricated (prefab) structure: A frame built in a factory and assembled at the site.
• Prototype store: Used by franchisors and chains to foster a consistent atmosphere.
• Recessed storefront: Lures people by being recessed from the level of other stores. Customers must walk in a number of feet to examine the storefront.
• Unique building design: A round or pyramid-shaped structure, for example.

A marquee is a sign that displays the store’s name. It can be painted or a neon light, printed or script, and set alone or mixed with a slogan (trademark) and other information. The marquee should attract attention, as El Corte Ingles’ distinctive logo on the front of each of its department stores does. See Figure 18-6. Image is influenced because a marquee can be gaudy and flashy or subdued and subtle. The world’s best-known marquee is McDonald’s golden arches.

Store entrances require three major decisions. First, the number of entrances is deter­mined. Many small stores have only one entrance. Department stores may have four to eight or more entrances. A store hoping to draw both vehicular and pedestrian traffic may need at least two entrances (one for pedestrians, another near the parking lot). Because front and back entrances serve different purposes, they should be designed separately. A factor that may limit the number of entrances is potential pilferage.

Second, the type of entrance(s) is chosen. The doorway can be revolving; electric, self-opening; regular, push-pull; or climate-controlled. The latter is an open entrance with a cur­tain of warm or cold air, set at the same temperature as inside the store. Entrance flooring can be cement, tile, or carpeting. Lighting can be traditional or fluorescent, white or colors, and/or flashing or constant. At the bakery depicted in Figure 18-7, the exterior entrance and displays are inviting and designed to reinforce its image for freshness.

Third, walkways are considered. A wide, lavish walkway creates a different atmosphere and mood than does a narrow one. Large window displays may be attractive, but customers would not be pleased if there is insufficient space for a comfortable entry into the store.

Display windows have two main purposes: (1) to identify the store and its offerings and (2) to induce people to enter. By showing a representative merchandise offering, a store can create an overall mood. By showing fashion or seasonal goods, it can show it is contemporary. By showing sale items, a store can lure price-conscious consumers. By showing eye-catching displays that have little to do with its merchandise offering, a store can attract pedestrians’ attention. By show­ing public service messages (such as a sign for the Special Olympics), the store can indicate its community involvement.

A lot of planning is needed to develop good display windows, which leads many retailers to hire outside specialists. Decisions include the number, size, shape, color, and themes of display windows—and the frequency of changes per year. Retailers in shopping malls may not use dis­play windows for the side of the building facing the parking lot; there are solid building exteriors. These retailers believe that vehicular patrons are not lured by expensive outside windows; they invest in displays for storefronts inside the malls.

Exterior building height can be disguised or nondisguised. With disguised building height, part of a store or shopping center is beneath ground level. Such a building is not as intimidating to people who dislike a large structure. With nondisguised building height, the entire store or center can be seen by pedestrians. An intimate image cannot be fostered with a block-long building, nor can a department store image be linked to a small site.

Few firms succeed with poor visibility. This means storefronts or marquees must be clearly visible to pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic. A store located behind a bus stop has poor visibility for vehicular traffic and pedestrians across the street. Many retailers near highways use billboards to attract attention from those drivers who go by quickly.

In every case, the goal is to have the store or center appear unique and catch the shopper’s eye. A distinctive storefront, an elaborate marquee, recessed open-air entrances, decorative windows, and unusual building height and size are one set of features that could attract consumers by their uniqueness. Nonetheless, uniqueness may not be without its shortcomings. An example is the multilevel “shopping-center-in-the-round.” Because this center (which often occupies a square city block) is round, parking on each floor level makes the walking distances very short. Yet, a rectangular center may have greater floor space on a lot of the same size, on-floor parking may reduce shopping on other floors, added entrances increase chances for pilferage, many people dislike circular driving, and architectural costs are higher.

As a retailer plans its exterior, the nearby stores and the surrounding area should be stud­ied. Nearby stores present image cues due to their price range, level of service, and so on. The surrounding area reflects the demographics and lifestyles of those who live nearby. An overall area image rubs off on individual retailers because people tend to have a general perception of a shopping center or a business district. An unfavorable atmosphere would exist if vandalism and crime are high, people living near the store are not in the target market, and the area is rundown.

Parking facilities can add to or detract from store atmosphere. Plentiful, free, nearby parking creates a more positive image than scarce, costly, distant parking. Some potential shoppers may never enter a store if they must hunt for available parking. Other customers may rush in and out of a store to finish shopping before parking meters expire. A related potential problem is that of congestion. Atmospherics are diminished if the parking lot, sidewalks, and/or entrances are jammed. Consumers who feel crushed in the crowd spend less time shopping and are in poorer moods than those who feel comfortable.

GENERAL INTERIOR When customers are in a store, various elements affect their perceptions. Retailers must plan accordingly:

At Anthropologie, owned by parent company Urban Outfitters, every location has its own visual display team to select and place each element on site to create an unique atmosphere reflecting the “cool home” their customers want. Antique furniture and fixtures, carefully sourced from around the world, enhance the sense of stability and entrenchment that customers seek to replicate in their own homes, thus driving purchases in-store and online.⁸ Apple has been redesigning some stores to feel more like a town square, replete with trees and a courtyard, a fountain, free Wi-Fi, and seating outside the store for up to 200 people that will always be open and will host acoustic concerts. These stores will be a destination where Millennials want to meet and not just a place to shop. To reflect openness and make customers invited, aisles are wider and feature a single Apple product or a facet of the Apple lifestyle. There is an open space for classes and presentations, an arboretum, and leather benches where customers sit while customer service agents (“geniuses”) repair their products.⁹ Abercrombie & Fitch wants its branded multisensory in-store experience to attract its choosy teen customer base and get them to linger longer and buy more products. The retailer uses research that shows that people’s sense of smell triggers emotional responses by introduc­ing its own line of men’s fragrance “Fierce,” which is sprayed in stores to exude a “cool, good-looking” image that appeals to both male and female teenagers. This is to encourage purchases based on how they feel about the products rather than price. Loud club music is used, based on research that shows teenagers can withstand loud club music longer while older customers avoid it—further accentuating a youthful image. Rapid tempo in club music has also been shown to lead to sensory overload, thus weakening self-control and increasing impulsive purchases.¹⁰

The general interior elements of store atmosphere were cited in Figure 18-5. They are described next.

Popular flooring types used by retailers include carpet, various types of tile, and wood. Atmo­sphere, ease of maintenance, and initial cost are important considerations.¹¹ A plush, thick carpet creates one kind of atmosphere and a concrete floor another. A recent development in retail flooring is new printing techniques that allow images (such as company logos) to be transferred onto ceramic tile. This enables retailers to have the same design on porcelain tile and less-costly vinyl tile. Another development is the use of faux wood floors that resemble wood but have higher durability.

Bright, vibrant colors contribute to a different atmosphere than light pastels or plain white walls. Lighting can be direct or indirect, white or colors, constant or flashing. See Figure 18-8.

A teen-oriented apparel boutique might use bright colors and vibrant, flashing lights to foster one atmosphere, and a maternity dress shop could use pastel colors and indirect lighting to form a different atmosphere. Sometimes, when colors are changed, customers may be initially uncomfort­able until they get used to the new scheme.

Scents and sounds influence the customer’s mood. A restaurant can use aromas to increase people’s appetites. A cosmetics store can use perfume scents to attract shoppers. A pet store can let animals’ natural scents and sounds woo customers. A beauty salon can play soft music or rock, depending on its customers. Slow-tempo music in supermarkets encourages people to move more slowly.

Store fixtures can be planned on the basis of both their utility and aesthetics. Pipes, plumbing, beams, doors, storage rooms, and display racks and tables should be considered part of interior decorating. An upscale store usually dresses up its fixtures and disguises them. A discount store might leave fixtures exposed because this portrays the desired image.

Wall textures enhance or diminish atmospherics. Prestigious stores often use raised wallpaper. Department stores are more apt to use flat wallpaper, while discount stores may have barren walls. Chic stores might have chandeliers, whereas discounters will likely have fluorescent lighting.

The customer’s mood is affected by the store’s temperature and how it is achieved. Insuf­ficient heat in winter and no air conditioning in summer can shorten a shopping trip. And image is influenced by the use of central air conditioning, unit air conditioning, fans, or open windows.

Wide, uncrowded aisles create a better atmosphere than narrow, crowded ones. People shop longer and spend more if they are not pushed while walking or looking at merchandise. Although in-store kiosks have proven very popular, they sometimes cause overcrowding in tight retail spaces or create customer lines if there are not enough kiosks to handle the number of shoppers.

Dressing facilities can be elaborate, plain, or nonexistent. An upscale store has carpeted, private dressing rooms. An average-quality store has linoleum-floored, semiprivate rooms. A discount store has small stalls or no facilities. For some apparel shoppers, dressing facilities are a factor in store selection.

Multilevel stores must have vertical transportation: elevator, escalator, and/or stairs. Larger stores may have a combination of all three. Traditionally, finer stores relied on operator-run eleva­tors and discount stores on stairs. Today, escalators are quite popular. They provide shoppers with a quiet ride and a panoramic view of the store. Finer stores decorate their escalators with fountains, shrubs, and trees. Stairs remain important for some discount and smaller stores.

Light fixtures, wood or metal beams, doors, rest rooms, dressing rooms, and vertical trans­portation can cause dead areas for the retailer. These are awkward spaces where normal displays cannot be set up. Sometimes, it is not possible for such areas to be deployed profitably or attrac­tively. However, retailers have learned to use dead areas better. Mirrors are attached to exit doors. Vending machines are located near restrooms. Ads appear in dressing rooms. One creative use of a dead area involves the escalator. It lets shoppers view each floor, and sales of impulse items go up when placed at the escalator entrance or exit. Many firms plan escalators so customers must get off at each floor and pass by appealing displays to get to the next level.

Polite, well-groomed, knowledgeable personnel generate a positive atmosphere. Ill-mannered, poorly groomed, uninformed personnel engender a negative one. A store using self-service mini­mizes its personnel and creates a discount, impersonal image. A store cannot develop an upscale image if it is set up for self-service. Some malls and retailers use robots with facial recognition technology matched with social media feeds to greet shoppers by name as they walk by.¹²

The merchandise a retailer sells influences its image. Top-line items yield one kind of image, and lower-quality items yield another. The mood of the customer is affected accordingly.

Price levels foster a perception of retail image in consumers’ minds, and the way prices are displayed is a vital part of atmosphere. Upscale stores have few or no price displays, rely on discrete price tags, and place cash registers in inconspicuous areas behind posts or in employee rooms. Discounters accentuate price displays, show prices in large print, and locate cash registers centrally, with signs pointing to them.

A store with state-of-the-art technology impresses people with its operations efficiency and speed. One with slower, older technology may have impatient shoppers. A store with a modern build­ing (new storefront and marquee) and new fixtures (lights, floors, and walls) fosters a more favor­able atmosphere than one with older facilities. Remodeling can enhance store appearance, update facilities, and reallocate space. It often results in strong sales and profit increases after completion.

Last, but certainly not least, there must be a plan for keeping the store clean. No matter how impressive the exterior and interior, an unkempt store will be perceived poorly. Customers asso­ciate clean stores with overall store quality and, in the case of stores selling or serving food, the ability to sell food safely. Unclean and messy facilities can give customers a reason not to buy.¹³

STORE LAYOUT The specifics of store layout are now sequentially planned and enacted.

ALLOCATION OF FLOOR SPACE Each store has a total amount of floor space to allot to selling, merchandise, personnel, and customers. Without this allocation, the retailer would have no idea of the space available for displays, signs, rest rooms, and so on:

• Selling space is used for displays of merchandise, interactions between salespeople and cus­tomers, demonstrations, and so on. Self-service retailers apportion most space to selling.
• Merchandise spaceis used to stock nondisplayed items. At a traditional shoe store, this area takes up a large percentage of total space.
• Personnel spaceis set aside for employees to change clothes and to take lunch and coffee breaks, and for rest rooms. Because retail space is valuable, personnel space is strictly con­trolled. Yet, a retailer should consider the effect on employee morale.
• Customer spacecontributes to the shopping mood. It can include a lounge, benches and/or chairs, dressing rooms, rest rooms, a restaurant, a nursery, parking, and wide aisles. Discount­ers are more apt to skimp on these areas.

More firms now use planograms to assign space. A planogram is a visual (graphical) repre­sentation of the space for selling, merchandise, personnel, and customers—as well as for product categories. It also lays out the retailer’s in-store placement. A planogram may be hand-drawn or computer-generated.

CLASSIFICATION OF STORE OFFERINGS A store’s offerings are next classified into product group­ings. Many retailers use a combination of groupings and plan store layouts accordingly. Special provisions are needed to minimize shoplifting and pilferage. This means placing vulnerable prod­ucts away from corners and doors. Four types of groupings (and combinations of them) are most common:

• Functional product groupings display merchandise by common end use. A men’s cloth­ing store might group shirts, ties, cuff links, and tie pins; shoes, shoe trees, and shoe polish; T-shirts, undershorts, and socks; suits; and sports jackets and slacks.
• Purchase motivation product groupings appeal to the consumer’s urge to buy products and the amount of time he or she is willing to spend on shopping. A committed customer with time to shop will visit a store’s upper floors; a disinterested person with less time will look at displays on the first floor. Look at the first level of a department store. It includes impulse products and other rather quick purchases. The third floor has items encouraging and requir­ing more thoughtful shopping.
• Market segment product groupings place together various items that appeal to a given target market. A women’s apparel store divides products into juniors’, misses’, and ladies’
  A music store separates CDs into rock, jazz, classical, R&B, country, and other sec­tions. An art gallery places paintings into different price groups.

Storability product groupings may be used for products needing special handling. A super­market has freezer, refrigerator, and room-temperature sections. A florist keeps some flowers refrigerated and others at room temperature as do a bakery and a fruit store.

DETERMINATION OF A TRAFFIC-FLOW PATTERN The traffic-flow pattern of the store is then set. A straight (gridiron) traffic flow places displays and aisles in a rectangular or gridiron pattern, as shown in Figure 18-9. A curving (free-flowing) traffic flow places displays and aisles in a free- flowing pattern, as shown in Figure 18-10.

A straight traffic pattern is often used by food retailers, discount stores, drugstores, hardware stores, and stationery stores. It has several advantages:

• An efficient atmosphere is created.
• More floor space is devoted to product displays.
• People can shop quickly.
• Inventory control and security are simplified.
• Self-service is easy, thereby reducing labor costs.

The disadvantages are the impersonal atmosphere, more limited browsing by customers, and rushed shopping behavior.

A curving traffic pattern is used by department stores, apparel stores, and other shopping- oriented stores. This approach has several benefits:

• A friendly atmosphere is presented.
• Shoppers do not feel rushed and will browse around.
• People are encouraged to walk through the store in any direction or pattern.
• Impulse or unplanned purchases are enhanced.

The disadvantages are the possible customer confusion, wasted floor space, difficulties in inven­tory control, higher labor intensity, and potential loitering. Also, the displays often cost more.

DETERMINATION OF SPACE NEEDS The space for each product category is calculated, with both selling and nonselling space considered. There are two different approaches: the model stock method and the space-productivity ratio.

The model stock approach determines the floor space necessary to carry and display a proper merchandise assortment. Apparel stores and shoe stores are among those using this method. The sales-productivity ratio assigns floor space on the basis of sales or profit per foot. Highly profitable product categories get large chunks of space; marginally profitable categories get less. Food stores and bookstores are among those that use this technique.

MAPPING OUT IN-STORE LOCATIONS At this juncture, department locations are mapped out. For multilevel stores, that means assigning departments to floors and laying out individual floors. What products should be on each floor? What should be the layout of each floor? A single-level store addresses only the second question. These are some questions to consider:

• What items should be placed on the first floor, on the second floor, and so on?
• How should groupings be placed relative to doors, vertical transportation, and so on?
• Where should impulse products and convenience products be situated?
• How should associated product categories be aligned?
• Where should seasonal and off-season products be placed?
• Where should space-consuming categories such as furniture be located?
• How close should product displays and stored inventory be to each other?
• What shopping patterns do consumers follow once they enter the store?
• How can the overall appearance of store crowding be averted?

ARRANGEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTS The last step in store layout planning is arranging indi­vidual products. The most profitable items and brands could be placed in the best locations, and products could be arranged by package size, price, color, brand, level of personal service required, and/or customer interest. End-aisle display positions, eye-level positions, and checkout counter positions are the most likely to increase sales for individual items. Continuity of locations is also important; shifts in store layout may decrease sales by confusing shoppers. The least desirable display position is often knee or ankle level, because consumers do not like to bend down.

Although large retailers may sometimes use video-tracking equipment to study shoppers’ in-store traffic patterns, that is not feasible for small retailers. Retail store staff can visually track shoppers’ behavior in the store. Point-of-sale systems give merchants the ability to track customer purchase patterns and allow them to experiment with alternative merchandise placements and displays.¹⁵

Retailer goals often differ from those of manufacturers. The latter want to maximize their brands’ sales and push for eye-level, full-shelf, end-aisle locations, but retailers seek to maximize total store sales and profit, regardless of brand. Self-service retailers have special considerations. Besides using a gridiron layout to minimize shopper confusion, they must clearly mark aisles, displays, and merchandise.

Consider some of the tactics that supermarkets have employed:

• The area just past the entrance at most supermarkets is a relaxed zone with coffee shops, flowers, and bakeries with eye-catching displays and inviting scents to lift customer mood.
• The bullseye or “thigh to eye” zone is typically occupied by profitable products and brands, with specialty brands on the top and store brands at the bottom.
• “Cereal theory” means placing boxes on lower shelves, which are at eye level for children.
• Most stores have an “aisle of value” so customers walking past the “superspecials” make additional purchases.
• Store brands do better when located to the left of manufacturer brands since consumers read left to right.
• Dairy, fruits, and vegetables are located at the store perimeter, so customers walking through the store are exposed to nonessential items and put items in their carts.
• Virtually all stores place smaller impulse-type items near cash registers so custom­ers waiting to pay are enticed to purchase candy, soft drinks in refrigerated cases, and magazines.¹⁶

INTERIOR (POINT-OF-PURCHASE) DISPLAYS After the store layout is fully detailed, a retailer devises its interior displays. Each point-of-purchase (POP) display provides shoppers with information, adds to store atmosphere, and serves a substantial promotional role. Advantages of using retail displays include:

• Displays are persuasive. When located near checkout counters, displays can induce unplanned or impulse purchases after the customer has finished grocery shopping but before the customer has paid for purchases. There is no need for a salesperson or sales pressure.
• Displays create the proper placement for new products or promotions. Almost 30,000 new SKUs are launched just in supermarkets every year. Manufacturers use displays and in-store media to get retailers to display new products prominently to draw attention and educate consumers about product availability and attributes. Displays can help customers visualize how product benefits can improve their experience and increase of the product being pur­chased. Some new products don’t have to compete for shelf space and can stand out from competitors.¹⁷
• Displays offer flexibility in messaging and placement. Displays can convey the same overall strategic message in multiple languages to varying audiences and can be placed in different parts of the store throughout the life cycle of the product. Newer plastic, semitransparent, interactive displays allow customers to see and feel the difference in product attributes.¹⁸
• Displays enhance the overall shopping experience. Displays can help shape a retail store’s image, re-direct store traffic, and bolster merchandising plans.¹⁹

Several types of displays are described here. Most retailers use a combination of them.

An assortment display exhibits a wide range of merchandise. With an open assortment, the customer is encouraged to feel, look at, and/or try on products. Greeting cards, books, magazines, and apparel are the kinds of products for which retailers use open assortments. In addition, food stores have expanded their open displays for fruit, vegetables, and candy; some department stores have open displays for cosmetics and perfume. With a closed assortment, the customer is encour­aged to look at merchandise but not touch it or try it on. Computer software, CDs, and DVDs are pre-packaged items that cannot be opened before buying. Jewelry is usually kept in closed glass cases that employees must unlock.

A theme-setting display depicts a product offering in a thematic manner and sets a specific mood. Retailers often vary their displays to reflect seasons or special events; some even have employees dress for the occasion. All or part of a store may be adapted to a theme, such as Presi­dents’ Day, Valentine’s Day, or another concept. Each special theme seeks to attract attention and make shopping more fun.

With an ensemble display, a complete product bundle (ensemble) is presented—rather than showing merchandise in separate categories (such as a shoe department, sock department, pants department, shirt department, and sports jacket department). Thus, a mannequin may be dressed in a matching combination of shoes, socks, pants, shirt, and sports jacket, and these items would be available in one department or adjacent departments. Customers like the ease of a purchase and envisioning an entire product bundle.

A rack display has a primarily functional use: to neatly hang or present products. It is often used by apparel retailers, housewares retailers, and others. This display must be care­fully maintained because it may lead to product clutter and shoppers returning items to the wrong place. Current technology enables retailers to use sliding, disconnecting, contracting/ expanding, lightweight, attractive rack displays. A case display exhibits heavier, bulkier items than racks hold. Books, DVD sets, pre-packaged goods, and sweaters typically appear in case displays.

A cut case is an inexpensive display that leaves merchandise in the original carton. Supermarkets and discount stores frequently use cut cases, which do not create a warm atmo­sphere. A dump bin—also lacking any comforting atmosphere—is a case that holds piles of sale clothing, marked-down books, or other products. Dump bins have open assortments of roughly handled items. Both cut cases and dump bins reduce display costs and project a low-price image.

Posters, signs, and cards can dress up all types of displays, including cut cases and dump bins. They provide information about product locations and stimulate customers to shop. A mobile (a hanging display with parts that move in response to air currents) serves the same purpose—but stands out more. Electronic displays are also widely used today. They can be interactive, tailored to individual stores, provide product demonstrations, answer customer questions, and incorporate the latest in multimedia capabilities. These displays are much easier to reprogram than traditional displays are to remodel.

Source: Barry Berman, Joel R Evans, Patrali Chatterjee (2017), Retail Management: A Strategic Approach, Pearson; 13th edition.