If you are a grocery store owner looking to make improvements and keep customers coming back, don’t just look at your products and your prices. While selection and price are big factors in whether customers shop with you, the overall experience of shopping at your store can also be very influential, especially when people are deciding whether they want to go back. When you’re trying to decide what changes to make to your store, here are some things to consider.
1. The Feel of Things
A simplified, convenient customer experience will likely make people more willing to return to your store in future. If you want to see what it’s like from a customer’s perspective, do a walkthrough every so often as if you were shopping at your own store. Make changes based on what you see. For instance, carts are very important to the overall shopping experience. If your cart wheels are wobbly, squeaky or hard to use, consider putting a new rigid caster wheel on each leg. Making it easier and more comfortable to walk around your store may make people more willing to come back.
2. The Look of Things
How your store looks inside and out can be very influential on whether people choose to shop there at all. Make sure you update the paint and finish on the inside and outside of your store every so often to keep it looking fresh and clean. It’s also to make sure all your signs are well lit and not burnt out.
3. The Ease of Finding Things
Even if you don’t want to change where things are located in your store, changing how they’re displayed can make a big difference. Look for shelves and other storage units with big, wide and open racks. Showing off your products in a clearer, more organized fashion can make your store feel like a whole new place. If you want to make bigger layout changes, consider starting with a map of your current store layout and marking the flow of foot traffic. This will help you figure out where things should go.
You likely change up your products from time to time, so change your store as well. Small changes can be effective in helping customers feel taken care of, and customer comfort is highly important. Making your store look and feel like a good place to shop can keep people coming back time after time.
