Enter the Threshold

The threshold area, also known as the "decompression zone", is the very first space that prospective customers step into when they enter your store and typically consists of the first five to fifteen feet worth of space, depending on how big your store is. It's also the space where your customers make the transition from the outside world and first experience what you have to offer. They also make critical judgements like how cheap or expensive your store is likely to be and how well coordinated your lighting, fixtures, displays, and colors are. Since they're in a transition mode, customers are more likely to miss any product, signage, or carts you place there.

Then, Off To the Right

It's a well known fact in the retail community that in North America, 90 percent of consumers upon entering a store will turn right unconsciously. The first wall they see is often referred to as a "power wall", and acts as a high-impact first impression vehicle your merchandise, so be sure to give it extra special attention in terms of what you choose to display and how you display it.

You'll want to make sure you entice and arouse your customer's attention with the products you put on display, whether it's your new or seasonal items, high profit or high demand products, or a place you design to tell your product's stories and create vignettes.

Have Them Walk a Path

This will vary greatly depending on the size and general layout of your store, but knowing that your customers want to turn right, your next job is to make sure that as they do that, they also continue walking throughout your store to gain the maximum exposure to your products. This not only increases the chances of them making a purchase, but a well thought-out path can be a great way to strategically control the ebb and flow of the traffic in your store.

Most stores use a circular path to the right to get customers to walk through to the back of the store and come to the front again. Some will make it even easier by covering the path with a different texture or look from the general flooring, paying homage to the old saying "where the eyes go, the feet will follow."

Another thing to keep in mind is that you want to use the path to lead your customers somewhere, which often means putting a eye-catching and attention-grabbing display at the end of an aisle for example.

But, Slow Them Down

With all the effort and time you've put into properly merchandising your products, the last thing you want to happen is for incoming customers to promptly hurry past them, ultimately limiting the number of products they'll purchase. One way retailers combat this is through creating breaks or what are sometimes referred to as "speed bumps." Essentially, this can be anything that gives customers a visual break and can be achieved through signage, and special or seasonal displays.

Most retailers effectively deploy the usage of what's referred to as "merchandise outposts," which are special display fixtures featuring products near the end of or in between aisles that encourage impulse purchases while complementing products on display in close proximity. However, since it's not likely that you'll have "aisles" per say in your store, it's still important to think about grouping products in a way that makes it easy to see what goes well together from a shopper's perspective. Also, remembering to keep "higher-demand" products displayed at eye-level is important while placing lower grossing products at the bottom or higher-up. Lastly, It's recommended to change up these speed bumps weekly or regularly enough to create a continued sense of novelty for repeat visitors.

Also, Make Sure They're Comfortable

You may or may not already be aware of something known as the "butt-brush effect," coined by consumer behaviour expert Paco Underhill who discovered that a typical customer, especially women, will avoid going after merchandise in an aisle where they could potentially brush another customer's backside or have their backside brushed. This holds true even if the customer is very interested in a given product. An easy way to avoid this problem is to ensure that your aisle, floor, and displays allow customers to have more than adequate personal space when browsing your products.

You can also make your store comfortable by incorporating some type of waiting area with comfy seats and benches which will encourage customers to spend more time in your store. Especially, if a shopper is accompanied by someone not interested in making a purchase or kids for that matter. A small tip to keep in mind is to keep the seats or benches facing the merchandise, so that they're still top of mind for those lounging around in your store.