The columnist explains the importance of a traffic flow analysis in a retail store to ensure customer comfort and convenience
Do you have a problem of overcrowding of customers at specific points in your store while certain other stores are starving for customers? Do you find that certain categories of products are moving fast while others are sitting on the shelf for a very long time? Do you notice your customers are not very comfortable moving around in your store? Do you observe the feeling of discomfort on the customer’s face while s/he is negotiating between shelves and racks to reach the desired point? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you need to do a thorough traffic flow analysis and store layout re-arrangement.
Irrespective of whether you have a ‘walk-in self-service type store’ or a ‘service counter’, aided by salespeople, you need to ponder over a few more points. When was the last time you examined the store’s layout and modified it? Could you make the layout more customer-friendly? Could you utilize the store space more effectively? Could you provide comfortable moving space for your customers’? Do you have the same age-old fixtures and layout that’s probably boring and causing discomfort to your customers? Look at what you give to your customers. Certainly, you have to change. There is a need to do traffic flow analysis and to do a re-arrangement of your store’s layout. You have to bring in some freshness in your store.
Traffic Flow Analysis:
Traffic Flow Analysis is observing and analysing the customers’ movements through the store. It can be ‘qualitative analysis’ whereby just the movement of the customer to various counters is tracked, or it can be ‘quantitative analysis’ whereby the value generated per customer per transaction at various counters is captured. It is a critical aspect of store layout and store management for the impact it can have on the customer, both physically and psychologically.
A well-designed layout not only influences the smooth movement of customers through the store, exposing them to the maximum merchandise of the store, but it also encourages certain shopping behaviours. For example, a supermarket or hypermarket may deliberately make the aisles small and many in numbers so as to make them crowded and scattered, which may generate a feeling of economy, better quality and variety. Or, a store of readymade garments, say, for example, maybe purposely designed haphazardly so that customers spend maximum time searching for garments of their choice. Whatever may be the layout, it’s essential to do the traffic flow analysis to identify the ‘dead spots’ or problem areas within the store.
Retail stores have to do traffic flow analysis and store layout re-arrangement routinely for the following reasons:
- To identify ‘Dead spots’ or dead traffic areas: Dead spots are those areas in the store from where the store does not get expected business. There are two types of dead spots. First type of dead spots are those areas or counters within the store where customers do not go, or only a few customers happen to go. And, second type are those areas where the customers reach, however, there are no sales happening as desired.
Based on the information gathered on dead areas, the store layout needs to be modified. It has to be re-arranged in such a way as to eliminate all possible dead spots. Well, a continuous monitoring of the new layout needs to be undertaken to ensure its success.
- To identify slow-moving and unsold products: Non-selling and slow-moving products within the store is a big concern to the retailer. Unless the retailer does a thorough check of the inventory or does a traffic flow analysis, he won’t come to know about the inventory sitting on its shelves for a very long time. And many a times such products expire while sitting on the shelf, causing loss to the store. It is essential to identify such products and those areas where these products were displayed, and corrective actions should be taken in terms of modifications in the layout or changes in merchandise displays. Maybe the layout in this area could be partially modified, if the entire store layout change is not possible and high demand merchandise or search items could be moved to this area.
- To locate overcrowded areas: Traffic flow analysis aids in identifying those areas which are overcrowded by customers. Suitable layout modifications can be incorporated by providing a number of counters or display units or bigger aisle spaces so that customers are dispersed and have the convenience of shopping with ease. In some supermarkets, for example, customer congestion in certain areas is so high that often it results in ‘Butt Brushing’, which does not go well with most customers. The aisle space is very narrow, and the free movement of customers gets hampered, and this needs to be altered to meet customer convenience. This may have to be done at the cost of some store space, but it is worthwhile in the long run.
- To identify areas prone to shoplifting: Most stores would have CCTV surveillance to capture shoplifting, if any. Yet there could be certain spots which are not covered, or there isn’t clarity of the area, or there are obstacles in the clear vision, and as such, the danger of shoplifting remains. It’s only through traffic flow analysis and modifying the layout that it is possible to ensure that there are no areas within the store that are not under CCTV surveillance.
- To bring in the feeling of ‘Newness’: In addition to better utilization of floor space, store layout re-arrangement brings in newness to the store and excitement among employees and customers, alike. Customers, in general, like newness and change in everything that they look out for and experience within a store. The newness gives a fresh feeling and motivates customers to move around and shop more. Changed store layout eliminates the feeling of ‘the same old routine look’ feeling among customers. It psychologically stimulates them to explore the store with new enthusiasm and vigour. The feeling that it’s new makes them feel happy.
Human mind and expectations are very dynamic. Customers continuously strive for better and newer experiences. They seek convenience, comfort and newness in every encounter they have with businesses. The retail store is not an exception. The retailer must consistently do traffic flow analysis and strive to bring newness and fresh feeling in-store by modifying the store layout suitably, ensuring utmost customer comfort and convenience to make the store customer friendly.
The writer is a Founder Director, Saldots Academy; corporate trainer and facilitator; former chairman of Goa Management Association. Email: pradeepsalgaonkar@gmail.com
