If a shopper has got as far as the entrance of your shop, they think you're going to have what they want.
But it’s your job to help them find it. Fail to do this and you’ve lost not only a potential sale, but also probably a future customer. The problem is how do you make it clear where things are?
Boots the Chemist worked with design consultancy Household last year on its Oxford Street flagship, Sedley Place. At first glance you might think that a store on London’s busiest shopping street would have few of the problems faced by retailers almost anywhere else.
But consider the problem. This is a multi-floor emporium that sells, for the most part, a very large number of small items – so it is vital that shoppers are able to find what they want quickly and easily. The request made to Household by Boots was to devise a way-finding system that would enable shoppers to ‘get in, get it and get out’, as the company mantra has it.
Julie Oxberry, managing director at Household, has some tips on effective wayfinding in retail environments.
While it may seem obvious, the first task is to provide some kind of store directory as near to the entrance as possible.
Where possible, let shoppers see where the exit and cash-taking areas are. That way they can put together an ‘exit strategy’, and avoid the kind of panic that can grip shoppers faced with a big shop or large amount of choice.
The point however about wayfinding is helping a customer to find what they want while at the same time providing them with a number of reasons for lingering a little longer, browsing and possibly even making an additional purchase.
This means signage: but not too much. The danger of too much signage is that you fall prey to the danger of visual pollution where too much information becomes the equivalent of white noise – present, but almost always ignored.
For this reason, the signage designed by Household for Boots was sparing, working from the general to the very particular.
- This meant large signs overhead telling shoppers where particular categories were located. In a number of instances pictures were used as well as words - as these tend to be more readily understood at a distance.
- Within a category area, bus-stop style signs (sticking out from a piece of equipment) were used which stood proud of the shelving, meaning that the shopper would be able to find a subcategory such as conditioner or shampoo within a more general hair-care area.
- All of the work carried out for Boots was scalable and low-cost: card was the dominant material used and magnets were used to secure the signage.
- This had the additional advantage of giving the store flexibility. As a category grew or shrank on a seasonal basis, the signage could be moved or removed as the occasion might require.
Having guided shoppers this far, helping them find what they want, it is the shop’s job to direct them to the cash taking area. This is easy in a very small space where this will normally be adjacent to the entrance.
But in all but the most modestly sized stores, providing help is another way to win shopper gratitude. Again, this means signage, but only where absolutely necessary. The lesson from Boots lesson seems to be, keep it simple, ensure that messages are easily understood and use all singage with caution.