How I set up a shop
We are fast approaching the two year anniversary of the shop being open. I can’t believe how quickly the year has gone. I feel a huge sense of pride at how the shop has grown. Also how much of a success it has worked out to be. I’d decided to open as the shop that I used to stock my items in closed. I didn’t want to lose that outlet for my stock. Already I knew that the shop was located in a great position. Especially for the holiday makers that visit Woodhall Spa. There were some key factors that helped with my decision on how to set up the shop. Many people have commented on how well they work in the shop.
Shop Fittings
With crafters renting shelf space; I needed to ensure that any visitors to the shop could see all wares on offer. Therefore I made the decision that all the shop fittings should be white and very plain. This would ensure that any items placed on the shelves would catch the customers eye. Therefore no distraction or clash of colour with this set up.
Set up access
To ensure the maximum amount of potential customers the shop has to accessible to all. This means that the layout is planned with pushchairs or wheelchairs in mind. Once we had built all the units and placed them where we wanted them; my husband spent a considerable amount of time walking around the shop and measuring the clearance between units. He made sure that the necessary 1 meter of floor space was left between the units. Over the last year this has proved very successful. We have had wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchair visit the shop regularly. We have even catered for multiples of the above at the same time. Customers love the space available to browse for everyone. So I will forgive my other half for his extensive checking of these measurements.
Stock layout
As many of you are aware crafters rent space in the shop. However I made the decision prior to opening that stock would not be kept together. There are a number of reasons I made this decision, but still to this day believe it works well. Customers spend a lot of time in the shop browsing and walking around before they make their purchases. By having crafters items spread across the whole shop; the number of times a customer may notice their items is multiplied.
In addition, if some of the stock is a bit of an acquired taste; then the crafter has a higher chance of selling if their stock is split. By spreading more unique items in among main stream stock; people are less likely to avoid a whole area of the shop, thinking it is not to their taste. At the same time the more mainstream items that are made by that crafter will not be overlooked. As they are separated from the rest of their items. By mixing all the stock across the whole shop; it ensures that a crafter will not be paying to rent less desirable space. No one is going to be left with all their stock placed on the bottom shelf; where customers may not notice it.
Stock Rotation
Move stock regularly to give each item of stock better prominence. Units are more appealing to the eye if they are themed. Consequently you direct customers to items of interest. As an example if a customer comes into the shop looking for a Wedding gift; they can find all wedding related gifts in one area. Therefore I place all Wedding items together by all the crafters. As a result this gives the customer a greater chance of finding their perfect gift. Apparently, shopping can be a very pleasurable past time for many people. Hopefully, the shop offers an interesting place to browse and enjoy perusing the shelves. Customers remember what they have seen and come back to make a purchase later. So they remember the items that they saw and return to make a purchase.
Set up atmosphere
The shop is fantastic for natural light; the use of the white units add to the bright and airy feel of the shop. I try to keep the natural light as much as possible so my windows are unobstructed. So this makes it an enjoyable environment to spend time in. Additionally I add the subtle use of wax melts; using one of the plug in wax warmers. As I was a bit uneasy about the use of candle flames in the shop. Every three days or so I replace the wax melt in the warmer to keep a scent within the shop. Many people comment on the scent in the shop. Also I have found it to be more inviting to spending time browsing.
As a result the methods described above have worked incredibly well for my shop and I would definitely implement them again. Also feedback on these methods has also been very positive from the many visitors to the shop.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this little piece of shop advice. I would love to hear if you have implemented any of my set up methods and if they have worked for you. So please feel free to share any advice that you may have for what has worked for you.
As a result, if you would like to look at what Woodhall Spa has to offer please have a browse of the community website https://www.woodhall-spa.co.uk/
Following on would be to advertise your shop please read https://claireyatfairycrafters.com/free-advertising/
