Placing your business on the high street for the first time has the potential to be a daunting experience. Even those with a well-established online following can still struggle to translate their digital sales into brick and mortar success. This shouldn’t undermine the quality of one’s digital marketplace business but, instead, indicate that finding success on the high street requires many of its own considerations.
For those starting out for the first time, launching their retail concept or brand onto the high street, we’re sharing four fundamental considerations.
Build Local Relationships
In the same way that one’s online presence is supported by the relationships a brand builds with both customers and other businesses, small and first-time high street retailers will find great comfort when building local relationships.
Customers that receive a welcoming and personalised retail experience are far more likely not only to return but to spread their positive experience to others, helping to naturally generate increased footfall. All the while, a positive relationship with a supplier can lead to flexibility and discounts later down the line.
Create An Experience Space
Putting together a successful retail space is not solely about supplying products, it is about promoting their value too. When faced with the decision to purchase an item online or in-store, customers will consider the advantages and value both offer, which is why retailers must strive to add appeal to their high street venue and this can be done through considered and stylish retail design.
In addition to high-quality retail furniture, and bespoke shop fittings that cultivate a stunning aesthetic, a retailer can also venture to offer experiences unavailable online. This could be anything from product demonstrations and personalised shopping experiences to hosted pop-up events.
Community Design
A retailer’s presence on the high street must be mutually beneficial. A brilliant way to accomplish this is for a retailer to celebrate the local area through its design and service. Stacking one’s greeting card units with the works of local designers or hiring a community designer to create a statement wall display are both ways a retailer can demonstrate a mutual to the community.
The materials of a retailer’s shop design, such as their shop shelving, can also be those suiting the local area. High streets located in rural areas, for example, might find local favour when installing fittings manufactured from local materials or simply more natural aesthetics. Whereas urban stores could seek to celebrate the local bustle by exemplifying the high street’s excitement with energetic and colourful furniture and design.
Product Considerations
When operating in the vastness of digital sales, products are more easily able to find their niche. However, high street customers are more limited in their preferences and retailers should accommodate their store design and stock offerings accordingly.
If a certain product or service is in greater demand, it should be displayed and offered accordingly. Bookstores, for example, that find their children’s books outselling other categories of publication would do well to expand their offerings and design the store to accommodate families and children. Such responsiveness to local demand will shape a retail business and ensure it finds success.
