Attracting and sustaining consumers is an art, which comprises of many elements. Focusing on shop fitting, Nimran Dhaliwal goes into detail to explore its importance, function and role in today's competitive retail environment

Opening a store is an easy job but to keep it running successfully is an art in itself. In an era when visual presentation has become an important factor for successful operation of retail businesses worldwide, it is interesting to note that turning a prospect into buyer involves more than merely managing a store. Mr Sandeep Mukherjee, MD, Quetzel says, “Visual Merchandising is the last mile in retail display; it is a science and not just doing flower arrangement for the sake of it.” Great store presentation reflects the personality and the glimpse of merchandise being offered inside. According to Mr George Supreeth, Creative Director, Ixmod Sensible Design, “The retail spaces are the culmination of the entire marketing activity of brands, and the physical space is an actualization of the perceived brand in consumer's mind.”

Your display window to the world
Have you ever noticed that display window is the best form of advertisement for the brand and acts as the first interface between the retailer and the customer? To the consumer, retail store display is the main attraction and other activities like discounts and festive offers are add-ons. Using the right kind of lighting, paint and décor, a retailer has the complete privilege to entice the consumer and trigger him or her to purchase. A well-designed store makes way for the very next customer and leads ultimately to generating increased sales. Mr Supreeth says, “Visual Merchandising is an integrated part of the process itself and is not disconnected from sales.”

Shop fitting  an art essentially
Several areas of shop fitting include role of a manufacturer, supply of standard fittings such as shelving, racking and bins; customised shop fittings made of wood, metal and plastic, point of sale (POS) and point of purchase (POP) displays, containers and signage. Mr Gibson G. Vedamani, CEO of Retail Association of India (RAI), says,  “Fixture and furniture play a major role as through VM, the stores tell a story. Ceratin fixtures are only there for creating a good impact. VM contributes a great deal in attracting the customer.”
Other basic aspects consist of lighting, furniture, music, fragrance, hygiene, colour scheme and surface. All these components form the core of any retail outlet and exude an aura of pleasant ambience.  Highlighting the latest trends in shop fitting, Mr Amit Gulati, Director, Incubis, says “Using new technologies to enhance in-store interactivity, using a judicious mix of new materials and traditional craftsmanship, focus on minimalism, well-calibrated lighting levels and building-in the capability to change store design easily without a huge cost-expenditure.” Often shop fitting is to be in synchronization with the brand the outlet is selling. Mr Nagasubramanian, MD, RD n M, says, “The latest trend in retail design includes glass in different ways like painted or backlit or frosted.”
Shop fit-out is more than creating physical space and selling the goods, it's the understanding of consumers' viewpoint via putting yourself into their shoes. Mr Mukherjee says, “ There are two kinds of fixtures; innovative and effective and the other, repeatedly and proven.”

Better presentation, increased footfalls
Retailers can no longer treat visual merchandising as an add-on. Mr Gulati says, “ Designing takes into account the brand personality and brand theme, light and space configurations, robust fit-out system that facilitates ease of modularity and scalability while designing a retail outlet.”  Visual merchandising is an essential constituent of the business image. The layouts increases efficiency of putting across message of the brand conveyed through product and customer service. “Retail design is a very sensitive mix between human psychology, visual cues, and the science of effective planned display. Apart from this are the hard aspects like size of space, shape of space, frontage, location etc” says Mr Mukherjee.
Today's intelligent shopper is a careful choice maker. So, the store design should respond to his wants and requirements. Mr Nagasubramanian opines, “The store layout should allow customers to easily move around the store while purchasing specific products”.

Another day for shopper's paradise
With ample choices of stores available today, shoppers have become more selective; the catch lies, therefore, in getting a professionally designed retail outlet. Mr Mukherjee says “Designing a stand-alone is a little more difficult as it needs to be a destination unlike a mall where the footfalls are higher and the cost variation is also little more expensive in stand-alone because of its need to be designed from the scratch.” On the contrary, Mr Supreeth believes, “It is not so much a question of difficulty as much as it is about a different point of view. It is the browsing requirements of people but he too is of the same opinion in relation to the cost variations.” For Mr Nagasubramanian, “ the cost variation is neither unilateral nor specific, the only area of differentiation is that the preparation of the retail spaces in mall is easier while stand-alone locations have to be made retail friendly first.”

Shopping is no longer about going to the next store in your
neighbourhood or to an adjoining mall and buying the necessary bits and pieces, it's more of a social event for all age groups and shoppers don't mind going an extra mile for the sake of enjoyment and delight. “The stand-alone, mall-based or a vendor-shop (shop in shop) has to be treated in its own special, distinctive way.  A single design format or approach will not work”, opines Mr Nagasubramanian. Retailers want to create less distracting environments for consumers so that they enjoy spending time shopping and buying what they want. According to Mr Vedamani, “The young designers should be conceptually sound, should be appealing to the customer, create value or experience for a dynamic experience.” Being in tune with the consumer who is on a shopping spree is what helps a retailer in becoming successful in the first place. It has become increasingly difficult for retailers to meet consumer needs as changing lifestyles, disposable income and many places to shop have given rise to increasingly complex consumer shopping preferences.