Store design - is style more important than substance?

Retailers constantly strive to ensure that the customers who pass through their doors are entirely satisfied with the products and services on offer - but a new report from market analysts Mintel shows that they still have some way to go before they achieve this goal.

A survey of 1,058 adults in the UK carried out by Mintel found that over half of those questioned had walked out of a store when they were going to make a purchase because of long queues. A further 35 per cent have left a store where they were going to buy goods because they could not find the product they were looking for or the price of the item.

The same number of consumers have been put off certain shops due to unattractive store design, while too frequent changes in layout at stores irritate over four in ten consumers - in particular female consumers.

The Mintel report, Retail Store Design​ also shows that 13 per cent of shoppers have walked out of a store where they were going to make a purchase because they could not easily access certain areas of the store.

Store design is a key part of persuading shoppers to visit a store, and Mintel estimates that retailers in the UK spent £1.6 billion on shop fitting and interiors last year, out of a total £3 billion spent on store design and refits. This represents around 1.3% of retail sales in the year.

But despite the not insignificant number of customers who do not appreciate changes to store design, refurbishment is seen as a way of rejuvenating interest in stores for the many chains which are already reaching their optimum numbers in the UK.

Difficulties in finding new sites, tougher consumer expectations and increasing competition are fuelling this refurbishment trend, according to Mintel's retail consultant, Richard Caines. "The benefits of good store design in all retail sectors are becoming ever more apparent, with an increasing number of retailers including those in the value sector investing in upgrading their stores.​

"This is a response to highly competitive market conditions, and better store design is vital if companies are to increase their average 'baskets' and deliver long-term growth."​

Over four in ten consumers tend to spend more time in shops which have an attractive store environment, according to Mintel, and good facilities such as cafes, restaurants, toilets and baby changing will encourage 30 per cent of adults to spend more time in a store.

Attracting customers into a store can often be as simple as an attractive window display, with a quarter of those surveyed by Mintel admitting that they were frequently tempted by a window display to enter a shop and make a purchase. Promotions and sampling are also effective at pulling in the punters, with a quarter of the respondents saying that these methods often tempted them into making a purchase.

But store design is not the be-all and end-all. A third of consumers told Mintel that they did not care what the store looks like, providing the products are good value.

Some 45 per cent of adults would like to see more service counters/checkouts, according to the survey, while some 32 per cent would like more toilets and 31 per cent clearer signposting in the store. Other key areas identified for improvement are more space/wider walkways (28 per cent), better layout (25 per cent), seating areas (22 per cent) and clearer product/price information on shelving/displays (20 per cent).

Now that supermarket shopping has become mostly self-service, the opportunity to encounter the smell or taste of the goods before purchasing has often disappeared. The interactive experience of being able to smell or taste the food is one that has become rarer, and as a result many consumers enjoy the opportunity of seeing demonstrations or testing and sampling goods. More than one in five consumers feel that testing and sampling is a feature that they would like to see in a supermarket, according to Mintel.