Remodeling commercial spaces, like retail stores, is a necessary step to get the establishment in a condition that satisfies your business needs. Remodeling will always involve time and money but investing in your renovation will affect the perception of your business. To customers, renovations give a perception of success, brand culture, and expansion. For employees, working in a well-designed store increases team morale and sparks greater job candidate interest. While remodeling may be an investment, it can increase the value of your store and, ultimately, your brand. This guide will help you weigh the costs vs. the benefits of a renovation.
Keep reading to discover the 6 steps to remodeling your retail store.
Step 1: Determine What You Need
If you’re starting your renovation from scratch, you should first check to see how much of the building’s existing infrastructure you can use. Based on this, you can cut renovation costs by keeping electrical panels, plumbing, load-bearing beams, gas lines, and phone wiring. If you’re looking to just replace structures, maybe think about replacing flooring, ceilings, and lighting as these are the most cost-effective solutions and the major points to a retail renovation.
A remodel is a chance to revisit your brand image and how your customers and employees see your brand. Determine what you want your brand to be in their minds. What design do you want them to see, what places need touch-ups?
Step 2: Choose Your Renovation Contractor
When starting a retail renovation, it is essential to consult with commercial contractors, who can advise you on the latest trends and approaches for retail renovation. Make sure you find a reputable and reliable contractor who can meet deadlines and is licensed and insured. A retail renovation contractor should be able to advise you throughout the process of renovations to make sure you have the right permits, the store layout is up to par, that management approval is finalized, and that construction is done according to health and safety codes.
Consider bringing on a third party that can give feedback that your contractor can use. When doing this, make sure you also place yourself in your costumers’ shoes. What would they want to see in your store? What would they want the layout to be? Or, better yet, survey your customers on what they think about your layout before beginning the renovation process and see what you should change.
Step 3: Establish a Timeline
Once you’ve chosen a renovation company that you are sure will consistently meet deadlines, develop a timeline with them to keep your renovation project on track. A timeline will also help you determine when you should close and reopen your store, or even if you need to close at all.
Hiring a retail renovation company that meets deadlines and finishes projects on a budget is essential for minimizing costs and losses from sales.
Not sure where to put everything? Follows this next step!
Step 4: Do a Mock-Up of Store Elements
Not sure where you should place your merchandise? Take some time to analyze foot traffic in the current setup. Make sure to take a look at where your customers spend the most amount of time and where they walk. Next, think about where you want to guide your foot traffic towards and how you want it to flow. Create a shopping experience, rather than just a path. Then, using a mock-up, determine where to place different elements and attractions to create ideal foot-traffic flow.
Other important elements to take into account when doing retail renovation is to decide on materials and colors you want to incorporate into your design. Your focus should be improving and reinforcing your brand with styling and design choices. Visualize the placement of fixtures, their size, building materials and how this will affect impressions of your store, as well as traffic flow. Your contractor should be able to use existing measurements to calculate the space needed for areas such as fitting rooms, storage spaces, and others. Make sure you revise until you’re satisfied with the final blueprint for the renovation.
Step 5: Determine Store Layout
Think about the first impression you want to create when customers look through your window or walk into your store. Renovate to cater to these customers and create a comfortable space that they can easily scan as they enter the store. Design aisles that are wide enough for people to walk through, for strollers to pass and is ADA compliant. Make sure shelving units are also low enough for anyone to reach. Remodeling your retail space to not only display merchandise the right way but also makes it accessible to your customers, is sure to increase foot traffic and make customers shop in a way that suits them.
Making the right lighting choices is essential to a retail renovation. Choose lighting that will complement the mood and sound you want to create in your store. Use track lighting to direct customers to featured merchandise or in areas with low or dim lighting. Use soothing lighting by building dim lights into custom cabinets or shelving units.
Step 6: Measure Success
Measuring the success of your remodel project is a necessary step in a store renovation. If renovations didn’t provide a return on investment, no one would bother doing them. Remodeling your store sends the message to your customers that you’re willing to invest in your business. This will create an increase in customer interest and will have them coming back or coming in to explore your newly renovated space. In turn, you’ll get more sales. We know, the investment is big, but the return will be even bigger if you do a renovation right and with the right team.
Remodeling your store can be a daunting task, especially if it means shutting down operations while renovations are ongoing. But, in the end, it can be worth it. Not only will your store look shiny and new, but it will create customer interest. The time and money required to renovate will seem like a thing of the past. We hope these 6 steps have helped you in figuring out how to remodel your retail store.
Did you know that re:fab is a professional retail renovation company? If you’re looking for retail renovation services, we have over 30 years of experience. We know how to get the job done fast and done right. Contact our excellent customer service team at 1-800-690-2539 for inquiries or click here for a FREE Estimate!
Sources
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/online-store-and-retail/remodeling-store/
https://www.dumpsters.com/blog/retail-store-remodeling-ideas
https://blog.sweeten.com/commercial-reno/commercial-guide-retail-renovation-budget/
