INTERIOR DESIGN OF COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS:

RETAIL STORE
 WHAT IS RETAIL?

• A retail sale occurs when a business sells a product or service to an

individual consumer for his or her own use. The transaction itself can occur
through a number of different sales channels, such as online, in a brick-and-
mortar storefront, through direct sales, or direct mail. The aspect of the sale
that qualifies it as a retail transaction is that the end user is the buyer.
 WHAT IS A RETAIL STORE?

• a place of business usually owned and operated by a retailer but

sometimes owned and operated by a manufacturer or by someone other
than a retailer in which merchandise is sold primarily to ultimate
consumers.
• A store that sells smaller quantities of products or services to the general
public. A business that operates as a retail outlet will typically buy goods
directly from manufacturers or wholesale suppliers at a volume discount
and will then mark them up in price for sale to end consumers.
 TYPES OF RETAIL BUSINESSES:

There are four major categories of retailers:

• Hardlines – things that tend to last a long time, such as appliances, cars, and
furniture
• Soft goods or consumables – things like clothing, shoes, and toiletries
• Food – things like meat, cheese, produce, and baked goods
• Art – things like fine art, as well as books and musical instruments
Here are some examples of the different types of retail stores where consumers
can purchase products for immediate use or consumption.
• Department Stores: Sell a wide range of merchandise that is arranged by
category into different sections of the physical retail space. Some department
store categories include shoes, clothing, beauty products, jewelry, housewares,
etc. Examples of department store retailers include SM Department Store,
Robinson’s Department Store, Rustan’s, Citimart, etc.
• Grocery Stores and Supermarkets: Sell all types of food and beverage
products, and sometimes also home products, clothing, and consumer
electronics as well.
• Warehouse Retailers: Large no-frills warehouse-type facilities stocked with a
large variety of products packaged in large quantities and sold at lower-than-
retail prices.
• Specialty Retailers: Specialize in a specific category of products. Toys ‘R’ Us,
Victoria's Secret, and Nike are examples of specialty retailers.
• Convenience Retailer: Small retail business that stocks a range of everyday
items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, tobacco
products, over-the-counter drugs, toiletries, newspapers, and magazines. Ex: 7-
eleven, Mini-stop, Alfamart
• Discount Retailer: Sell a wide variety of products are often private labeled or
generic brands at below-retail prices. Discount retailers like surplus shops,
Payless Shop, etc. will often source closeout and discontinued merchandise at
lower-than-wholesale prices and pass the savings onto their customers.
• Mobile Retailer: Uses a smartphone platform to process retail transactions and
then ships the products that were purchased directly to the customer.
• Internet Retailer: Sells from an Internet shopping website and ship the
purchases directly to customers at their homes or workplaces and without all the
expenses of a traditional retailer, usually sell merchandise for a lower-than-retail
price.
 RETAIL STORE DESIGN

• Retail store design is a branch of marketing and considered part of the

overall brand of the store. Retail store design factors into window displays,
furnishings, lighting, flooring, music and store layout to create a brand or
specific appeal.
 RETAIL STORE LAYOUT

The interior retail store layout has two important components:

• Store Design: The use of strategic floor plans and space management,
including furniture, displays, fixtures, lighting, and signage.
• Customer Flow: This is the pattern of behavior and way that a customer
navigates through a store. Understanding customer flow and the common
patterns that emerge when customers interact with merchandise based on
the store layout is critical to retail management strategy.
 ESSENTIAL RETAIL STORE LAYOUTS
Here are six tips for creating an optimal retail store layout.
• Don’t place merchandise in the “decompression zone.”
When Filipino consumers enter a store, they tend to turn to the right. Position merchandise with
this in mind. A psychological shift also occurs when inside a store, so patrons typically don’t
notice merchandizing displays within 15 feet of the entrance
• Choose a store layout that fits your business.
The grid layout used by most grocery stores steers customers up and down rows of aisles. A loop
layout has a central grouping of displays, with a circular or square pathway around it. A free-
flowing layout gives merchants opportunities to spur impulse buying, as shoppers can move the
most freely through the store.
• Minimize counters.
Store counters often separate the store owner or sales clerk from customers, at least
psychologically. This doesn’t benefit merchants, because it creates an “us vs. them” mentality and
sends the wrong signals. Owners should ask unoccupied staff to wander the sales floor, posing as
shoppers. This gives customers a sense of a bustling shop, which puts them at ease.
• Remove narrow aisles.
Paco Underhill, a consumer behavior expert, coined the term ‘butt-brush effect’ when
he discovered that the typical customer will avoid perusing merchandise if it brings another
customer’s backside into close proximity. That’s true even when the shopper is very
interested in an item. Avoid this problem by ensuring aisles and floor space allow patrons
adequate personal space.
• Maintain good visibility.
Reduce your inventory losses by keeping shelves low enough to enable good visibility. Take
care to ensure that temporary store displays do not inadvertently provide cover for
shoplifters.
• Create a sensational entrance.
Even stunning in-store layouts fail to woo shoppers if the storefront has little curb
appeal. Invest in an eye-catching entrance, strategically placing signage to entice shoppers
inside. Make sure that at least a few products are visible to people who pass by the shop’s
windows.
SAMPLE OF RETAIL STORE DESIGNS