5 Tips for the Best Shop Layout

A shop where customers enjoy browsing and can find what they are looking for sells better. Brain-friendly store layout is therefore the greatest challenge for retailers in the 21st century. But how do you create a brain-friendly store layout? You can read about it in this blog. 

Unravel Research conducts extensive store navigation research, where we optionally combine mobile Eye Tracking with EEG. Often, respondents are given both targeted search tasks and free-form purchases. This research provides insights into the overall store layout for the different shopping mindsets with which customers enter.

Tips for the Best Store Layout

Through Eye Tracking and a wireless EEG headset, we can measure what the customer actually does and experiences in a store. You will be surprised that our brain reacts in roughly the same way to the most basic things. For example, we tend to walk counterclockwise (except for left-driving traffic in the United Kingdom). This also applies to stores: as soon as we enter, we often immediately turn right. You probably guessed it: the route where we turn right is the most pleasant for the consumer.

Below are 5 practical tips for an optimal store layout:

#1

It turns out to be effective to build the shelf in a so-called 'pyramid shape'. Instead of building each row directly above the other, the higher rows in this layout are slightly less close to the aisle than products on the floor. Why does this work? Our spatial perception is largely formed by the distance we experience at eye level. 

#2

We can better cope with tightness at floor leven than with tightness at eye level. A completely different technique to lure customers towards an aisle is through light. Just like insects, people automatically follow the most illuminated surfaces. A little extra contrast can therefore already divert traffic in your favour. 

#3

The length of the aisle also proves to be crucial. Metre-long narrow spaces without an escape route put our fight or flight system on high alert. A perpendicular aisle halfway provides the necessary breathing space to remove the maze-like feeling.

#4

A typical insight: during the first few steps from the entrance, we still need to mentally acclimatise. Products that have unfortunately ended up in this 'no man's land' receive little attention. So consider which products you do or do not place there.

#5

During the further store trip, we prefer to stay as much as possible on the main path, often the outer edge of the store. On this main path, products have a significantly greater chance of being taken as an unplanned purchase – the holy grail in retail. A category like soft drinks is taken by 31% of customers when found on the main path, compared to only 13-17% in a secondary aisle. So also consider which products you place there.

A Successful Shelf Plan

We have mainly talked about store layout in general. Are you also curious about the psychology of effective shelf arrangement? Feel free to read this blog 😇.

Are you now hungry for knowledge about psychology in Retail? Then follow The Master of Retail Psychology & Shopper Neuroscience training! You will learn how to attract the customer's attention in your store and also get to know features that can make your product or packaging a success.