It’s important to make your store look better.

It’s important to make your store look better.

Especially when it comes to retail establishments, first impressions do matter. Even if you’ve always enjoyed a local diner you’ve been to for years, would other people want to go there? Any business is the same way. Although you may have devoted clients who are aware that you provide excellent value and excellent customer service, if you fail to make your store appealing enough to attract new customers, you risk losing your business as your clientele dwindles or dies.

The frequency with which you alter the appearance of your store and the extent to which you wish to do so can have an impact on how long it lasts. Before beginning any project, drive by the building and then stop in the parking lot to look around. Being objective is often difficult, so you may need the assistance of a friend or acquaintance. Is the lot clean? Do you need to paint the building? Are the displays in the windows appealing?

In a mall, you have little control over the building’s exterior, but you can control the display and signage in the windows. Not only is it good for the store’s appearance to create attractive new displays every month, but it’s also a good way to promote all of your seasonal products and great deals. If you own or rent an individual building, you may only require an additional coat of paint on the exterior or more extensive front renovations. When you enter the store, look for a new layout that will improve product display and traffic flow. Shame on you if the interior of your store looks dingy or dirty.

Cleaning the store is a daily, not yearly, job. Check the lighting to see if it’s adequate and if you need more to achieve your updated look. A few coats of paint on the wall, changing the signage, rearranging the merchandise, and changing the flow of traffic can all make a big difference in your appearance. When updating your store, concentrate on improving the checkout procedure. If your customers frequently have to wait in line, you may need to find a better checkout method or, at the very least, provide them with a counter space where they can purchase impulsive items while they wait in line.

This is the time to consider whether you want to enter the market if you have never sold frozen or refrigerated food. You can go big and put a wall of freezers and refrigerators in the back of the store, or you can keep it small and just have a cooler with cold drinks that can be bought. If you keep your store up to date and attractive, you will always get new customers to join the ones who already frequent it on a weekly basis.