Retail businesses live and die on their popularity. With it becoming increasing difficulty to entice people into your high street stores, businesses are looking for new ways to make themselves more appealing.

This doesn’t have to be a long drawn out and expensive process and can start with your store environment. Here are a few suggestions for you to enhance the atmosphere in your store.

  1. Branding – knowing your brand inside and out and identifying what sets you apart from your competitors will help you to highlight ways in which you can stay true to your brand identity and increase your customer base at the same time.
  2. Personality – once you know your brand you can set about adding the personality that will attract your customers. This could be reflected in the uniform or clothing that your staff wears, the Music for Business that is played throughout your store and the greeting that your customers receive.
  3. Layout – the way in which your store is laid out will impact on the experience that your customers have. No one likes to be squeezing themselves through tight gaps between shelves, desperately trying to avoid knocking items to the floor. Equally, you need to ensure that you are adhering to the rules and regulations relating to disabled access and make any changes that are reasonable to allow those in wheelchairs and will limited mobility access to your store.

  1. Little touches – Having your high end clothing wrapped in tissue paper with a branded sticker put in place, before it is placed in a stylish bag helps to set you apart from your competitors and helps your customers to feel valued. A happy and valued customer will be more likely to return to buy from you again and will also recommend your business to their friends and family. Referral business is much more likely to convert into paying customers when compared to those people who just happen to pop into your store as they walk past.
  2. Staffing – your staff are your best asset and become the face of your business. Ensuring that you train them in customer service skills as well as rewarding them for work well done will help to motivate them further and this turn will then translate across to the customers.

Working through each of these steps will help you to create a great store environment for both your customers and your employees.