Shopfitting and Customer Experience
Once it comes to brick-and-mortar retail, experience is the most important part of bringing customers to your shop and in the long run create a list of loyal customers. In this article we will be reviewing the effects of a proper shop fitting on customer experience, and your sales. There are a lot of factors which effects your customers experience and journey inside the store which many of them directly relate to professional shopfitting process and quality of shopfitting that’s been done for your store. No matter which section of retail industry you are working in, in order to have better results we recommend consultation from experienced and professional shopfitters like Dina Group. The question remains as what is shopfitting and how does it affect the future of your business?
Tasks of a shopfitter, and definition of shopfitting
To begin with, let’s review the tasks of a shopfitter, and definition of shopfitting. In retail industry, specifically brick-and-mortar retail, there are many companies which offer shopfitting services, but a proper shopfitting includes, design, advice on choosing the right equipment, installation of all equipment, fit out including custom made furniture, and merchandising. A professional shopfitter provides you all mentioned services at highest possible quality by providing you a wide range of options at every stage. Moreover, a professional shopfitter care about all the details in your store, and with experience works towards meeting all clients’ needs and requirement. Last but not least, it is the shopfitter’s duty to standardize your store based on requirements of retail industry and local authorities. So, it is an important decision to choose the right shopfitter in your projects.
Micamal- supermarket design and equipment
Design – 2D process, 3D modeling
It all starts with design. Shopfitters must be professional designers. Nowadays retail trends are changing every season, and customers behavior and expectations have changed. It’s not like the old days anymore, which we used to put some shelving units and refrigeration and done, or in other sectors just some fashion shelves and start operating. Media, mindset, technology and social trends are affecting the way customers behave and think. We need to meet their needs and present them with respect and quality in order to attract them in our stores. For the same reason, we as shopfitters care about design deeply. It begins with 2D process, 3D modeling, executional planning then fit out begins. We will talk about proper design elements in other articles, but in short, all your customer journey, merchandising planogram, and look and feel and all other details are decided on at the stage.
Retail Equipment
After design process is over and confirmed, a shopfitting company must provide the customer with a wide range of options in terms of equipment. Some shopfitters are equipment producers, some only produce custom made furniture, but mainly we recommend working with shopfitters who have a wide range of network in the industry which provides you the option of choosing your equipment and comparing prices from different companies.
For example, is Dina you can choose to have a wide range of equipment from Europe, and different parts of Asia, while some can be produced for you locally. This gives you the opportunity to work within our budget, while implementing all details in your design.
To be more detailed, shopfitting companies should be able to offer you shelving systems from 3 different companies, refrigeration from 3 different companies, lighting, and everything else you need, while keeping the highest quality at efficient prices with standards a priority.
To be short the right shopfitter can lower your costs significantly while keeping everything standard and high quality.
Installation and implementation of the equipment
Installation and implementation of the equipment comes next. While equipment is being produced your interior decoration shall be implemented based on the design, and then all equipment is delivered to the site. It is a part shopfitting process to prepare all infrastructures needed to install your equipment. Shopfitters can manage your construction for you, implement all decoration details, and prepare everything for equipment installation. A proper shopfitter takes responsibility for every detail in all steps of the project, so the company must install and provide aftersales services for the equipment installed at your site.
Merchandising
Merchandising is the last step. Now, everything is installed, cleaned and ready for merchandising team to begin their job. Trends, shopping habits of each neighborhood and city, and a lot more details must be considered at the stage. We as shopfitters are responsible to provide you with a wide range of options for purchase channels and merchandising options. If you are interested to know more about merchandising stay tuned with our blogs and we will post an article on that topic as well.
customer experience at your store
Back to the customer experience at your store, above we talked about all the details of a professional shopfitting, but where do these two topics meet? It’s all a chain. Every choice you make in your 2D design, and then 3D concept, directly affects the results and the experience your customers have at your shop. Today, customers need to be respected, so you have to provide them with a good look and feel, while fair pricing of your goods.
Moreover, the customers today understand the difference between high quality and standard equipment and low-quality equipment. All above next to right signage, lighting and of course in store services results in a better customer journey and experience, meaning higher sales and faster ROI for your business. all in all, know your rights once choosing the shopfitting company and ask them to be responsible. Here in Dina Shopfitting store-makers we care about your investment and you can access a wide range of options and choices from the start to opening day.
