Product adjacencies

The starting point is product adjacencies. This refers to which products sit next to each other: hosiery next to lingerie, kettles next to toasters, and fruit next to vegetables. To maximize the space and use of the selling floor, the customer should be guided through the fixtures and aisles from one product to the next. By placing products that have empathy with each other, customers will not get confused and possibly pick up other items for which they may not have specifically been shopping. Clever use of product adjacencies will reinforce the appearance of the area and give it authority. A handbag fixture positioned next to scarves, gloves, hats, and purses suddenly becomes an accessory department.

Making a rough plan

Before starting to lay out a floor, always check which product categories and brands are available to you to merchandise. The best and most effective way to start is by making a list. Taking a floor plan and tentatively noting where the products should sit will make the task more manageable. As well as product adjacencies, you might want to think about the location of strong product categories or key brands, which should ideally be positioned in prime locations. These brands and products will help the customer gain awareness of what the store, department, or space is selling and reinforce the strength and quality of the merchandise on offer. A wall of denim with strong branding, like Levi’s for example, will make a statement and guide the consumer to the area where other brands of jeans are for sale. In the same way, a wall of pillows will inform customers that they are approaching the linen department.

As well as product adjacencies and the use of merchandise to guide the customer around the store, the other area to consider is customers’ comfort level. A boutique selling both men’s and women’s clothes could have the two ranges merchandised together. However, men might feel uncomfortable browsing through women’s clothes to find their own; therefore a sensible approach might be to split the shop in two and dedicate one area to menswear and one to womenswear. The two areas would have to meet somewhere, and at this point the cash desk could be used to divide them, or you could feature products that could be classed as unisex, such as magazines, jewelry, or T-shirts. Getting the product adjacencies incorrect could be costly to the store and also drive customers away.

Finally, if you are positioning name brands, it is best to understand where they see themselves on a floor plan. Large brand owners may have very strong views and have the clout to exercise them. Egos can clash when dealing with prestigious brands that will expect prime locations; their demands should never be overlooked. Many smaller brands, on the other hand, often wish to be placed adjacent to brands to which their customers aspire.

Once you have placed the product categories and brands roughly on the floor plan, you should visually walk the shop floor; the aim is for your eye to follow naturally from one category to the other.

Making a rough plan of the products that should sit next to each other is the first step in laying out a shop floor. This is called making the product adjacencies. Ties, jackets, and suits or socks and underwear are two examples. Eventually, all the groups of product adjacencies will interlink to create one cohesive floor plan that contains them all.