Sales in 08? Traffic harder to get...

Getting people to your transaction area is harder than last year and won't get easier... but wait, there's help!

Fred Schebesta (online) and Dennis Price (offline) are experts on TRAFFIC. Let's hear their advice:

FRED: Traffic prices are increasing! Budgets are tighter and traffic harder to come by... that's just the beginning of the crisis.
Download your Free copy of Fred's report on:

"The Crisis in Website Traffic in Australia."

DENNIS: Storefront Statements

An entrance is an important aspect of store design and the primary rule is that an entrance should be inviting and not present a barrier to a prospective customer. This is achieved by:
1. no steps
2. good lighting,
3. wide enough,
4. no merchandise/fixtures,
5. easy access for pregnant/handicapped.
Because the front of the store is the most productive, many retailers crowd this area (aka 'trading out') to display specials, and create a 'discount' image.
Entry statements should be changed at least monthly. Retailers should not wheel out the same bins week after week after week.
The colours that are best suited for the in-store experience are not the same colours that are most attractive and visible or attention-getting at the entrance.
Entry statements must be designed with the context of adjacent tenants in mind - and this means achieving sufficient contrast to clearly delineate the retail store from its neighbour.
Entry statements should be co-ordinated with the window display. It creates a much better impact.
Designers have to do the important things right:
1. Repetition/ Rhythm
2. Framing
3. Contrast
4. Colour-blocking
5. Creating focal points
6. Clever iconography
7. Functionality (security, durability of materials etc.)
8. Layout, design and visual merchandising are the most effective, most productive, 24/7 sales tools available to a retailer - and the RetailSmart ones know it.
Dennis PriceIs a retail expert and lectures at Macquarie Graduate School of Management