In the last blog, we talked about brand and experience, something you are probably doing very well on your farm already! So, what are the practicalities of retail space design for your farm?
Customer Flow
It starts at the laneway. Ensure they know where to go (this also helps you control privacy). Signage and views are cues for visitors to know where to park.
Then, allow a decompression space (also called a transition zone) as someone enters your building. This is critical for flow. People walk in, and they stop to get oriented and determine their next move. Make sure you don’t cause a traffic jam at the entrance!
People tend to turn right after entry, so use this space as prime real estate for displays and high-demand items. Make an impression here!
Make sure your customers feel welcome, and the path is clear. Have a clear cashier, make staff available to help guide, provide information, and be the face of your farm. Heemans Greenhouse calls their staff “daymakers”.
A few pro tips on overall design:
- Aisles should be comfortable for social distancing, making people feel safe and comfortable. But this also helps for those stroller customers (if that’s your customer). 6’ to 9’, depending on your area available and your brand. A luxury brand will have much more open space.
- Counterclockwise is the optimal turn as people enter the store.
- A bakery or cafe should be midway through a customer's journey.
- Larger carts mean more buying capacity of a customer, place them within easy access at the start of the journey.
- Place key products within sight lines. Always entice the customer through the store with anchors along sight lines.
- Straight aisles make people move faster but buy less. Consider what turn around time you want in your store.
- Have a store focus wall, or "hero wall" as retail consultant John Stanley states. Signage should be placed here, along with your "hero" products, the products that people know and come for!
- Choose your cash location carefully. Based on security, customer flow, availability of other staff for assistance, and comfort of your visitor. Consider separate lines for tickets vs. store purchases. Or even more interesting, consider a casheirless store (not self-checkout!) (it's an interesting way to save on staff and deliver a smooth experience). More about this in the previous article.
Flexibility
You need to design for flexibility. Throughout your season you have different types of products to display, you may want seasonal displays and features, or new products. Through your farm growth, you will have evolving offerings. You may even partner with other farms to help boost the local economy. And the retail experience is changing rapidly with technology, pandemics, and people's shopping habits. So make sure you design for flexibility.
Not only flexibility in retail use, but many spaces are flexible in use. A bakery might want o be able to host a cooking class, or a winery to host a dinner. Making your space use flexible is a great way to get customer engagement beyond simply purchasing! There are code and zoning implications to this proposition but an excellent business decision.
Our clients always say we never have enough storage and we say your stuff will always expand to the space you give it! So make sure are considering stockrooms and storage needs now and the future.
Layouts
This is critical! Make it easy for customers to browse, but also for customers to get in and out. Know which one your customer is and help them shop your store better!
Grid Style Retail Layout
Long aisles with impulse purchases on ends, staples at the back.
Good for: store with lots of products & merchandise, a store to browse, produce markets, on-farm markets, local food, etc.
Examples: grocery stores, pharmacies, library
Pro – lots of display space, familiar layout and flow, maximize space, all about products, predictable traffic flow, quick efficient flows, inventory stocked on shelves
Con – least experiential, no shortcuts, can be hard to find what they need (challenging product groupings), overwhelming visual, cramped aisles, often needs signage, can be sterile and uninspiring
Herringbone Retail Layout
Dead end main aisle with wing aisles, dead ends can be promo opportunities o
Good For: narrow spaces, lots of product but minimal space,
Examples: IKEA warehouse section, bookshops
Pro – warehouse style, can create pause moments to encourage lingering (chair for book browsing)
Con – dead ends with limited visibility, cramped, hard turn arounds, customers can bump into each other, shoplifting
Loop Retail Layout
A forced path through the store with a closed loop past the merchandise
Good For: large displays, idea sparking, telling a story journey, gift shops, souvenirs, museums, ice cream lines with a story along the way, corn maze, winery or cidery,
Examples: IKEA display area, The Heineken experience in Amsterdam
Pro – predictable for promo displays, easy 1-way traffic (CAOVID & safety), maximum product exposure, experiential (can tell a story)
Con – Customers can’t browse at will, not good for in & and-out shoppers, and not good for stores where people need to spend time considering their purchase
Free Flow Retail Layout
No deliberate flow, free-flowing space of displays, or wandering is encouraged and can be a subset of the loop or spine layout.
Good For: creative brands, small spaces with a powerful impact, higher-end products, less SKU, good for impulse purchases, llama or alpaca, sheep goods, art, woodworking, quilting, and sewing
Examples: bakery, winery, cidery
Pro – more space, less likely for customers to bump into each other, experiential, people can spend time with the products, lots of visual breaks
Con – less display space, easy to forget the basics of retail, can be confusing for customers, easy to get wrong,
Boutique
Also known as shop-in-shop, or alcove, a way of grouping themed, branded, or categories of merchandise, creating a feeling of a small shop within one store.
Good For: store hosting a few brands or activities (IE a farm store hosting a few other local farms at their store), ability t tell a few stories. , wine tasting, cheese tasting, distillery, flower farm, arts and handmade goods, co-operative
Examples: Eatons, Macy's, The Bay
Pro – sparks curiosity, highlights different brands, helps with cross-selling
Con – more limited display space, shoppers may choose to skip areas, customers can get confused
Straight or Spline Retail Layout
The main aisle with smaller sections along the way, draws people all the way to the back of the store.
Good For: food markets, department stores, produce markets.
Examples: mall stores with cash at the back
Pro – customers are more likely to make it all the way through the store, space to look around, space to display merchandise
Con – might miss items at the front/beginning as they move to the back, customer may not explore as much.
Con – might miss items at the front/beginning as they move to the back, customer may not explore as much
Multiple, or mixed
Using a variety of techniques described above can create interest, excitement, flexibility and customer engagement. It can cater to those who want to be in and out as well as those who want to browse.
There are our best tips for retail design. Lots of layout options to choose from and combine to make a space work for your on-farm retail space. Start with the basics, imagine the future and give yourself flexibility. Often a team approach will get you the best results for your design. A combination of a retail interior designer, brand designer, and architect. Find out who VELD architect works with by downloading our agritourism dream team directory. We have a great team with John Stanley Consultants when we work on retail design. Check out our agritourism dream team directory for more information!
A few additional resources: