When you walk into a store, you immediately feel something. The impression you get in a store determines the length of time you spend there, your buying habits, and whether you will return. To create a special shopping experience for your customers and ensure their continued support in your store, you must create an ambiance that will make a positive lasting impression.
How To Create Ambiance
The ambiance of a store is its mood, tone, and atmosphere. Creating a unique and memorable ambiance plays an important role in making your customers comfortable which will result in them spending more time in your store and making more purchases. Be deliberate when creating your store’s ambiance by thinking of the clientele you are aiming to attract and utilize the following guidelines when setting up product displays and decorating.
Fixtures
When creating your store’s atmosphere through fixtures, companies like Hestra are an example of the many styles of shelving products available. Your store doesn’t have to be all one look. You can mix fixtures to create different zones and departments for the various products you offer. You may have fresh baked goods, dry and jar goods, clothing, and home decor and need a unique display for each category.
Fixtures and store shelves can define the type of store you have and are important in keeping your store organized so customers can find what they are looking for easily. You can also create ambiance by the material fixtures and shelving are made of. For example, wooden tables, crates, and reusing antique furniture for the display of products will create a homey, eccentric atmosphere. Glass top and clear shelving has a formal feel, and metal table tops and racks are more trendy.
Lighting
Lighting immediately sets the mood for your store. Having your lights a little dimmer will create a calmer more relaxed atmosphere that welcomes hanging out and exploring. If lighting is too dim, customers can’t see your product. A brighter lit store is more in tune with younger or teen clients.
Music
The music you play will affect your customers and their shopping habits. Loud music is unsettling and will quicken your customers’ shopping trip. Selecting hip and pop music for the young clientele is a good idea, but it doesn’t have to be loud and uncomfortable. Soft, easy music is used for a relaxed shopping experience.
Colors
Selecting the appropriate color scheme for your store will define your business niche and create a particular ambiance. Once your fixtures are selected, your wall colors can be chosen so that they blend in and do not clash with your shelving and displays.
Select three colors that work well together and that describe your business. Use these three colors throughout your store for your walls, accent wall, cashier counter, and any fixtures you might paint. Darker colors, blues, greens, and grays promote calmness and relaxation. Pinks, reds, black, and cream are sensual colors and can be used for beauty supplies, salons, and lingerie stores. You might use primary and bright colors for toy stores.
Flooring is not to be neglected in creating your ambiance. Select flooring that will withstand the type of business you are running but will also create the special feel you are working toward. Tile, wood laminate, and painted cement floors can all be great design elements.
Keeping Your Clientele
Once you have attracted your customers, maintaining that ambiance that they appreciate will mean maintaining and updating your inventory and your fixtures. Make sure you are continually bringing in new items to keep customers coming back.
Maintaining your fixtures, keeping them clean and uncluttered, and moving or creating new shelving units will inspire your customers to walk around your store to look for new merchandise. Create unique ways to display products in a decorative way rather than just laying them on a shelf.
Customer service is always important to any business, and it also is a part of your store’s ambiance. A nice hello to your customers upon entering, along with your music, colors, and fixtures sets the stage for your customers’ shopping experience. The ambiance you create in your store will play a vital role in your customers’ first impression, their shopping experience, and if they will return. First impressions last a lifetime, so make it a great one.