Today we are going to answer the question of what are the most important 4 features of a great retail gondola. Admittedly, this is not a front-page topic, but every shopkeeper knows perfectly well how critically important this element is.
Why?
Let’s start at the beginning.
What is a retail gondola?
A retail gondola is nothing more than a low free-standing rack, the design of which allows it to fit into the interior of a retail establishment so as to utilise free space (e.g. an alcove or space in the middle of the shop). This type of furniture is generally designed to be stackable and linked together to form longer shelving units.
But this is not the only feature of a great gondola. What else should we pay attention to when choosing this type of shelving for our shop?
Feature 1 – Compact size, large capacity
In a retail establishment, especially a small one such as a tobacco store, every square centimetre is worth its weight in gold. It is an art to arrange the interior in such a way as to make good use of the available space while at the same time not hindering the customers’ freedom of movement in the shop!
For this reason, a great gondola cannot be big! Its design must take into account the requirement to occupy as little space as possible while maximising the area on which the products are presented. These two – seemingly opposing – requirements can only be met by the best designers. Us!
Feature 2 – Mobility and flexibility
There is nothing worse than a rack that makes it difficult to rearrange and redecorate an outlet! A quick and efficient redecoration process is in everyone’s interest – management, employees and – of course – the shop’s customers.
That’s why a good retail gondola display needs to be mobile and designed to look just as good and be just as functional in any location! Add wheels to it, and you won’t need a whole team to move it to another location. With this simple solution, you only need one person to do it and the whole process is quick and effortless.
Bespoke tailoring is good for suits. A good retail rack should be easy to be adapted to the presentation of different product categories. Newspapers, drinks, occasional cards, sweets – all of these should be able to find their place on the shelf without any problems. A great gondola gives you the freedom to adapt to seasonal and special campaigns, and switching, for example, from Christmas offers to New Year promotions must be easy.
All of this is to avoid what customers hate – all too much familiar store interior and, consequently, the disappearance of a pleasure of discovering new things.
Feature 3 – Grabbing the customer’s attention
A dull shelving unit does not encourage people to approach it, so its aesthetics are extremely important from a retailer’s point of view. This is particularly important in the case of small-scale outlets, whose interior is clearly visible from the street or an alley in the shopping centre. Meanwhile, the so-called ‘decompression zone’ just behind the entrance is probably the most important area of the shop!
Its appearance and design are of strategic importance, because in the decompression zone, the customer only begins to focus on the product range and shopping. Studies show that, once they have crossed the threshold of the outlet, the consumer completely ignores what is around them and concentration only returns to them deep inside the shop. It is estimated that an outlet can lose up to 15% of its turnover due to this phenomenon!
Therefore, a great gondola should not invite inside the shop, but also attract the shopper’s attention from the very entrance. As a manufacturer of retail furniture, Perfecta has mastered this art to perfection. You can find out more about it in this article: https://perfecta-retail.com/show-your-shop-shelves/
Feature 4 – Boosting sales
All 3 features above lead to the last one – the most important one. It is, of course, about increasing sales – after all, that is what the game is all about. That’s why it’s not worth making compromises; it’s better to trust the professionals, i.e. us!
And this is just what is happening. We are currently in the process of making a prototype for one of Poland’s large press lounge chains. The images that illustrate this text are early concept sketches of our gondola. We can’t reveal more at the moment, but as soon as we can – we’ll be sure to tell you!
See you then!
