How To Maximise The Potential Of Your Shop Entrance
Lisa | Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »The next time you walk into a shop just stop for a moment and do a little observation. How much of the shop entrance do you recall? Can you say what was immediately to the left and right of you as you walked into the shop? Chances are that you won’t recall anything for at least a metre or two from the entrance of the shop. This entrance space is what some retailers call ‘the landing strip’. Once the customer has made the decision to walk into your shop they do so with purpose, pausing only when they are fully over the threshold.
Let’s put it another way, you must at some point have walked into a small grocery shop and then found yourself wondering where the baskets are before you finally locate them right at the side of the shop entrance? Baskets placed here will not be picked up by the customer, they simply won’t notice them. That goes for any displays too. So is all of this space by the entrance merely wasted?
Distractions
Large department stores which have space to waste usually leave a large landing strip to allow customers to stride in and take stock of the rest of the store, however smaller shops just cannot afford to leave large spaces empty. Therefore what you need to do is to get the customer to slow down – you need a distraction.
Some shops will have a flower display right at the entrance, such as Sainsbury’s do, others will use a large Coke vending machine. This has the effect of slowing the customer down and makes the suggestion to them of buying something. A coke or a bunch of flowers is not the first thing you are going to buy as you then have to walk around the shop with them, but what they do is make you consider the possibility of purchasing them on your way out. More importantly they act as a kind of buffer and put you in the mood for buying something.
If this is not possible then smaller distractions work just as well. The bell on a shop door doesn’t just signal a new customer, it also diverts the customers attention; it makes them stop and take stock of their surroundings.
Break the Rules
Other shops will actively seek to break the landing strip rules by putting a display right at the entrance to the shop. But, after reading all of the above wouldn’t this just get ignored? Well yes, so if you are going to divert the customer’s attention as soon as they pass through the door it would have to be a display that is worth noticing. So how about a deal so good that shoppers are stopped in their tracks? A hugely discounted product or a promotion worth talking about.
Some shops are going even beyond this and are spilling out onto the street – with rails of sale items on display before you even cross the threshold! This has the advantage of catching the attention of passers-by but one obvious disadvantage is that you cannot keep an eye both in the store and out of it too, so theft is going to be a risk.
Engage With the Customer
Another very simple way of distracting the customer and making that first connection with them is to look up, smile and say hello when they enter the shop. This breaks their stride and establishes a relationship between themselves and you. It makes them feel welcomed and noticed, after all everyone responds positively to a friendly hello and a nice smile.
However you decide to tackle the problem of the landing strip, whether you want to give the customer that bit of space to take stock or whether you want to stop them in their tracks, make sure that you review this area every now and then to ensure that your solution is still working. After all, what works in one shop may well not work in another. Small bells atop of shop doors are quaint in a small local corner shop, but very annoying in a busy high street shop. So your shop entrance must fit into the overall feel of your shop and reflect the character you wish to impart onto customers.
If one solution isn’t working, then change it. Always take note of what customers do first when they enter your shop. Where do they look first? At what point do they stop walking? Let your customer be your guide whenever you plan anything for your shop and you won’t go far wrong.
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