That little difference

As we all know, there are many routes to success, and the pet product sector is no different. Whether a business is operating more or less satisfactorily depends on a number of factors. Is it in an attractive location? Is there sufficient parking space for the customers? Does my shop stock the range that the customers want? Pet dealers need to ask themselves these questions and many others before opening a store.
A lot also depends on the interior layout of a pet shop. Do customers feel comfortable here? Can they find the products they’re looking for quickly, or do they have to waste time hunting for them? Are they perhaps so impressed by the extensive assortment of products on offer that they buy far more than they originally intended? These too are questions to which pet store proprietors repeatedly have to find the answers.
A few basic rules should be observed when designing a retail area. The range must be put together in a logical manner and presented as attractively as possible. The sales floor must be laid out clearly and create an orderly impression. But that’s by no means all. In a sector of the economy that tends to be emotionally charged, like the pet sector, it’s also important to create the right atmosphere in the store, so that the customer feels at home and stays as long as possible. Only an ambience that emphasizes the leisure aspect of shopping will encourage the customer to make additional purchases, and that is how pet dealers ultimately make their living. Thus they have to think of ways of offering their customers the most appealing surroundings.
With regard to how much of a shopping experience the store should offer, that depends heavily on the location, including the size of the retail area. While it may make sense in a location with a large catchment area and strong competition to entice customers with extravagant koi ponds, aviaries on a grand scale and spacious rodent complexes, a couple of nicely laid out aquariums and a few plants might suffice in another store.
Quite a few pet dealers make their own shop fittings, and in one or two cases this may produce a well-crafted solution, but no more than that. Acquiring individual sales units from elsewhere, for instance from bankrupt stock, usually makes only a limited contribution to an attractive store layout. When it’s a question of using unusual colours and shapes to create an effect in a pet store, professional shopfitters need to be called in. They have the experience and…