We probably do not achieve the most effective layout, as our building was built over 90 years ago for a different kind of business. Older buildings tended to be designed with a lot of back storage on the assumption that most of the merchandise would be kept fresh in boxes in the back while one or two examples of each item were on the floor. As a result, we store much more merchandise and show less than would be the case with a newer store. Current store design normally features very little storage, with most merchandise stacked out in the sales area.

Since the store is composed of two buildings joined, we don't have a standard traffic flow, and customers seem to go in and walk pretty directly to the department that they came to see or just wander back and forth. We don't get the sort of circular path that some of the larger stores have.

Our store has a 75-foot front, with a depth of 140 feet, which gives us a lot of front window space. Most of the front is used for seasonal display, and front displays are changed every two to four weeks. Since our average customer visits the store less frequently than that, some of our customers miss some of our displays. We show new and seasonal tabletop, housewares, gift, and baby and child merchandise at the front of the store. Our spring displays are heavier in bridal and tabletop, while our fall and Christmas displays feature more gift merchandise. Housewares merchandise sells year-round and is continually represented.

Each department has a home, and the basic location of each department changes infrequently. Our tabletop department, which is a destination department, is located farther back in the store than the other departments, and gets less impulse buying. Gift and housewares are better impulse departments for us, and are located toward the front. Sales areas (we call them boneyards) are located at the back of the store. Customers are slow to adjust to major changes in department location. We still have people who come into the children's department and ask what we have done with the housewares. The housewares department was relocated about five years ago. However, they do respond very well to new displays, and we try to rotate our displays so that there are fresh displays in two or three locations at least weekly.

We maintain two checkout areas. One is centrally located close to the front of the store, and one is located in the middle of the store toward one side. Our salespeople can observe most of the store from these two checkout areas, and customers are always within sight of a checkout counter. Most demonstrations which require special equipment or electricity are done adjacent to checkout areas, where there is more room for customers to stand and view the demonstration. Our checkouts have varying counter heights and accommodate customers with special needs or who wish to sit down while making a purchase. We have several seating areas in the store for family or friends, and a kid-friendly area in the baby and child department. We added an accessible restroom two years ago to meet ADA requirements. We test aisles periodically to ensure that most are wide enough for easy access and that there is a minimum of merchandise displayed on the floor.

Due to our larger storage space, we do not do a lot of mass floor displays. We do make exceptions when a display might impress customers with the quantity of product available. For instance, when we bought 237 place settings of Noritake Epoch Zoom Purple dinnerware recently, we did mass that out. Many of our displays are single items, however, backed up by boxed items in storage. Merchandise carried in backstock is normally fresh and boxed, but it must also be continually restocked.

We position sampling areas around the store and try to vary them to attract customers to each department. During summer months, we offer ice water with fruit slices each day; and during cooler months, do more coffee and tea demos. We try to sample product every weekend and move the sampling areas into each department to draw traffic to different areas of the store.

Just inside the front door is an area we leave open to allow customers to pause and be greeted before they continue to their area of interest. It is in this area that our salespersons greet, hand out coupons and ask an initial open-ended question.
Terry Monroe, Murphy's Department Store, Stillwater, Oklahoma


I design the cash wrap for easy flow for the customer. There should be pick-up, easy-sell items where the customers stand and wait for their turn to check out, and there should be ample space for them to place their items on the counter. We use shopping baskets in our stores which are very effective. Customers can't seem to resist filling them up!

As for store layout, we merchandise by section -- bakeware, cookware, cutlery, etc. We also lay out by style -- Italian, Japanese, specialty, etc. In addition, it's important to cross-merchandise where relevant. We also like to keep the shelves uncluttered and orderly, and the aisles clear for easy maneuvering; we don't want our customers to feel crowded or claustrophobic.
Mary Moore, The Cook’s Warehouse, Atlanta, Georgia

If you would like to comment or post a question to one of your retail peers, please send e-mail to mmoran@gourmetretailer.com.