Human Behavior Drives Retail Floorplans

This week a member of LinkedIn's In-Store Marketing Institute special interest group published a link to a fascinating article by George Wishart in DDI Magazine about in-store Monopoly(R) games, and I responded with this comment:

Staples' Use of Their Retail Real Estate

Several weeks ago I noticed Staples' revamped floorplan in a San Diego area store -- they'd given laptops the lion's share of their open front/center area, and I had to walk through all that to get to the "staples" -- at the back of the store and across the side walls. It was ... annoying, and showed me how they'd gotten away from brand connection and likely that somebody had made a strategic decision based on ... margins? (Note that this supermarket strategy of putting the milk, eggs and butter at the back works when someone shops for a full list and walks the aisles [and yes, these folks are annoyed too because they know exactly why it's been arranged that way] -- not for busy business folks who need a quick in-and-out purchase experience.) 

Then I went to check out and, as I just about exited the store, there was a cardboard stand with a poster of their program for customers to buy/donate school supplies to area students, dropping them in the bin provided. This was positioned *facing in* to the store, and *facing customers who were either about to, or who had already, checked out*. So if a customer wanted to support the timely cause and donate, s/he had to trek back through the store to choose something new or replace the thing they'd just bought and donated, stand online again at check-out etc. A serious time waster.

When "I'm Not in Charge" Becomes a Hindrance

I'd originally seen this set-up at a Sorrento Valley Staples (San Diego's North County "Silicon Valley South"), and had commented on it to one of the front managers, recommending that the display needed to be moved, at least to face incoming customers. All he said was, "I'm not in charge of it. We talked to management about it, but they want it there." He didn't suggest I speak with anyone and left it at that. I was seriously under-impressed, since their unfortunate choice was virtually part of Retail Marketing 101.

Retail real estate is much like home renovation-to-stage-and-flip, or like any other aspect of hospitality-as-customer-experience (which folks like Disney have down to a fine art): A customer-focused strategy pays attention to how traffic flows through every *inch*, how it's used, presented and perceived as having a specific purpose, and how people feel interacting with the brand through their entire visit.

To anyone with Staples who might read this post, I have high regard for your store and brand, and have been a regular business customer for some years. 

Moral of the Story 

Being responsive to an Any Customer (me) valid suggestion, by moving and repositioning their stand all of ten feet (or less), could have resulted in dramatically different results for that program, and benefits for those students in need. Following an edict from corporate, or even a regional office, if it's not working, sometimes requires enabling front-line employees with louder Voice to correct, for the greater good of both the brand and customer loyalty.

(c) 2010 Lisa C. Clark
All Rights Reserved