Brick and Mortar is a big investment – and an even bigger opportunity

There’s no doubt that omnichannel shopping is here to stay. But with more than 90% of grocery volume still going through physical stores, optimized store and floor planning is as important as ever.

Average sales per square foot of selling area ($/sf)

42k

Median total store size in square feet

ROI per store on just $1 increase in $/sf

Every square foot counts – optimized store layout maximizes customer experience

Should that category really be placed up front? Do health and beauty services drive more traffic than banking or a QSR? Why guess when you can plan, assess, and optimize.

One chance to make a great first impression

Customer-centricity is key to thriving in an omnichannel environment. And the store layout – from its impact on journey mapping to its ability to influence basket size through merchandising and promotions – is a key part of the customer experience.

Customers may not understand the difference between macrospace and microspace decisions, but their basket size and trip frequency will provide very direct feedback. More than just an operational toolset, our store and floor planning solutions incorporate customer decision trees, purchase behavior, and analytics to optimize the space plan.

A new normal could mean even greater traffic

FMCG retailers like grocers will always be important outlets. As omnichannel shopping captures more of the stock-up and refill trips from the center store, customers are still looking for a destination that provides value-added experiences. And if grocers and other essential retailers start to become anchor stores where malls or department stores used to be, the importance of services and new departments could become even more important. Store tests and new formats are expensive to implement – our store space management solution can de-risk that investment.

Less activity, more productivity

The last thing retailers need is a new set of tasks or processes to complete. Our integrated workflow allows time-strapped category managers to run efficient analyses in an intuitive UX and to share their work directly with members of the store team. With guardrails such as the ability to define rulesets and assign integrated planogram templates. Category managers using our store and floor planning solutions will be more productive and effective.

Penny Wise. Pound… Wise.

You’ve heard it before – don’t be penny wise and pound foolish. The same applies to macrospace planning and store optimization. A great deal of time, money, and resources are often dedicated to microspace (shelf) planning and assortment – which are important. But macrospace is equally deserving of investment dollars, given that these decisions not only impact many feet of shelf space all at once, but can be the difference between a new customer shopping once or becoming a loyal patron.

We identified the need for help optimising our stores. In reality, to do it manually with the tools that we had such as Excel databases and our own time, would just take too long for us to be able to do it in a timely manner in order to realise growth opportunities.

Mark Wilkinson Head of Space Planning