The Effects Of Technology On Shop Equipment And Shopfitting
There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that every aspect of our lives is being affected by the advancement of technology. The boom in smart devices and social media has created an everlasting change to the way we interact and the way we buy products and services. There is no industry unaffected, including the supply of shop equipment and the trade of shopfitting.
Most shops now have websites and many of them have started to sell online. It can make you wonder why we still need the actual shops? It’s because there is nothing to compare to browsing around a well laid out store, actually picking goods up or trying clothes on.
Stores need to provide a great customer experience every time someone enters their shop. Retailers, suppliers of shop equipment and shopfitters have all had to change their approach and realise the customers that walk through the door need to feel happy and content to be there. If they don’t it’s unlikely they will return or recommend your business to friends or colleagues.
The Importance Of Good Shop Equipment
At some point we have all used a supermarket trolley with a mind of its own, or carried a basket round a shop just to end up with a scratched leg because it is damaged. We have seen shelving units fall and loose flooring that looks dangerous. In this modern era this is unacceptable to consumers, and these are just the types of problems that will prevent a visitor becoming a repeat customer.
There are many different aspects to your shop decor, all of which can have a big impact and make the shopping experience better or worse. It can be a waste of money having your store refitted with new counters, flooring, a custom lighting design to create the right atmosphere and then having the whole thing let down by a faulty piece of equipment you didn’t replace.
The idea is to make sure that sometimes people put down their smartphone and instead of buying online come to your store and buy their products from you. Although shopping online can be convenient and sometimes cheaper, it does not compare to the personal touch you can offer in a store, or the fact you have your goods when you buy them. Removing the need to wait days for a delivery is the perfect solution for those with little patience.
Shop Or Website?
When a website is created the designers want to encourage the customers to buy. They also want them to keep coming back and spending. They carry out a lot of research into the demographic they are trying to appeal to and learn how to attract them to their site, and then make more effort to try to convert their visit into a purchase. Good website designers go to great pains to make sure this happens, just like good shopfitters have been doing for many years for retailers.
The shopfitting industry was around long before the website design industry, and has a huge reserve of knowledge about attracting customers. It has had to evolve to take into account the new buying trends, but now the role of experienced shopfitters is more important than ever.
Some brands have achieved great success by ensuring their website and stores look the same. For the consumer going into one of their stores is simply a continuation of their digital presence. The colour schemes and designs all match, and this gives a feeling of familiarity making them more likely to buy, and more likely to return.
How does shopfitting work?
Shopfitting a store involves understanding what atmosphere you want to create, and the impression you want to create. Once a professional shopfitter has a good understanding of your aims they can start designing the layout, supplying shop equipment such as fixtures and fittings and then putting it all in place so the shop can trade. Customers should feel at ease when entering a store and this can be helped by incorporating sufficient room for them to comfortably move about, eye catching displays and good lighting. Of course, the quality and price of the products play a big part too, but those decisions are yours alone, not the shopfitters.
As a store owner you need to know what sort of atmosphere you want to create, the type of customers you want to attract and have a clear vision of how you want your shop to look after the fitting. Being able to discuss all these aspects with the shopfitters will ensure the final product is what you required, and will make it easier for them to achieve your aims.
Of course there are very few times that shopfitting does not have some budget constraints, and this needs to be considered when deciding on the shop equipment to be used. Overspending on some items can mean having to scrimp on others, so be sensible about what shop equipment is purchased and do not buy more than us needed.
Once the design is completed and you’ve made all the choices and picked all the shop equipment, the final stage is to agree dates and timescales. The installation can begin on the agreed date, and if you use experts such as Storebest Shopfitting, will be finished within the agreed timescale. We can say this with total confidence in our ability to meet deadlines.
With over 35 years experience in the industry, our expert designers and fitters have worked on a wide range of retail and commercial units all over Ireland. You want to give your customers a shopping experience that will ensure they return, and regardless of your industry, we are here to help that happen.
If you want more information about how we can help you’re welcome to call in for a chat. You will find us in Broomhill Road, Tallaght, Dublin. You can email us at info@storebest.ie, or you can complete our contact form. Alternatively you can call us on 01 539 4612.