What to do with the sales area "on departure"

A store with two entrances located at different ends of the hall a priori becomes a seller’s problem: buyers go through it, depriving attention of a part of the assortment. But what if it is impossible to close the second entrance, otherwise some of the visitors simply will not get into the store? The reader from Yakutsk asks us about this. Marina Polkovnikova, visual merchandising expert, is looking for a way out of the two-entry problem. Writes Anna, the owner of a shoe store in Yakutsk:

“We have a women's and men's shoe store with an area of ​​150 sq.m., located on the third floor of the 7-storey shopping center in Yakutsk. It occupies the corner of the floor, in the center of which is the atrium, and has two entrances from opposite sides. The problem is that buyers go through the main door, and, passing through the store, go through the opposite exit, leaving some of the assortment without attention. But we want them to go all the way around the store, so we are thinking of closing the second exit. But the fact is that quite a lot of buyers enter through it, too, though less than through the main entrance, and if we close this entrance, those who want to get to our store will have to go around the entire atrium on the balcony. In this regard, we have a question: is it worth it to close the second door, and if not, how to use the equipment to distribute the flow of customers in this room? What kind of zoning for women’s and men’s shoes should be made, given that men's shoes occupy about 20 of our assortment? ”

Answers Marina Polkovnikova, director of the VM-consulting merchandising agency:

Advertising

Advertising LLC "Global Shoes" INN 7710961530 erid: LjN8JzKPK

“Shops with two entrances always face a similar problem, and it must be taken into account at the design stage of the store. But since your store is already operational, try to find another way out of this situation. 

You say that quite a few buyers enter through the second entrance, and I hope that this statement is based on the data of counters or on other more or less objective observations. Given the high cross-country ability of the far entrance, you do not need to close it, otherwise you may lose some potential customers. Instead, shape the customer behavior you need with merchandising. I recommend you do the following:

Step 1. In the first hall, place island equipment (a table, racks with shelves) opposite the main entrance at a distance of two to three meters from the entrance gate. This will be the first obstacle in the way of the visitor, forming the path of the consumer flow in the direction you need. In addition, the area in front of the entrance is the hottest, so with this table you can also draw attention to the goods displayed on it. Ideal for laying out on the island table in the entrance area are hit products, supplemented by individual models that need promotion.

Step 2. In the center of the second hall, place a rack with shelves: its width can even be slightly larger than the width of the aisles between the halls. At the same time, a distance of at least 1,2 meters should remain from the shelf to the right wall. This will allow you to visually break the space of the hall and in the minds of the buyer to block the direct path to the long exit. Going around the counter, customers will pay more attention to the left wall, and this is exactly what we need.

Step 3. In the third, farthest hall, I also recommend placing an island table opposite the entrance, and slightly moving the counter next to it, for example, 30 or 50 to the right. Thus, you will create a kind of barrier before the exit, and the interested buyer is likely to walk along the equipment and examine the left side of the hall. At the same time, for those who will go to the store, the island table will be the same hot zone on which attractive samples of shoes can be displayed.

As for zoning by category, I recommend placing men's shoes at the main entrance, so that men can see it on the way to the store. For example, under the men's assortment, you can equip and stylistically separate the left wall. So we will kill two birds with one stone: we’ll occupy the left wall, which, being “female”, can be ignored, because most buyers always stay to the right, and show male visitors that we also have something to offer.