Walk through Checklist
Outside Appearance
Building
- Maintained
- Overall appearance
Windows
- Appealing
- Seasonal
- Clean
- Coordinate with inside theme/appearance
Parking
- Compare to stores in vicinity
Inside Appearance
Store Layout
- Consistency in store appearance, merchandise
- Use background music and fragrance to improve the overall ambiance of the store
- Use in store signage and directories to help customers find their way through your
store - Allocate as much space as possible to the selling floor
- Balance space allocation with customer needs and wants, so keep related
- departments together
- Organize shelving, racks and fixtures based on how you want customer traffic to flow
- Don't underestimate the power of color
- Flooring should be consistent with the color scheme and the overall image of the store
- Lighting also affects the image of a store
- Fixtures must also be consistent with the overall image
Shelf & Display Management
- Match your display with the items you advertise and build displays around high-margin or fast-moving items
- Display the best sale items near the front of the store
- Display large items at the front of the store to encourage the customer to take a cart
- Except during storewide sales, avoid having too many marked-down goods in the same display
- Give ample amounts of display space to impulse buys, such as candy, magazines and sundries, and display these items near the register
- Keep displays simple
- Feature seasonal, up to date goods
- Use color or props
- Make sure the displays are well-lit
- Have a theme for each display
- Cross-merchandise displays
- Use waterfall fixtures to display featured apparel items and position them in the front of the store
- Do not use handmade signs on your displays
Cleanliness
- Straighten displays every day
- Clear the aisles
- Apply a fresh coat of paint
- Schedule maintenance for non-business hours
- Keep the floors dry
- Mark changes in floor levels clearly with signs
- Properly apply floor wax
Loss Prevention
Plan the store layout to deter shoplifting by using the following techniques
- adequate lighting
- displays at eye level
- neat merchandise displays
- high value items behind counter or in locked cases
- lock entrances/exits that customers do not use or that you cannot see
- attach noisemakers to unlocked exits
- two-way mirrors
- observation booths
- visible cameras - real or dummy
- concealed cameras
- dressing room attendants
- merchandise chains and cables
- electronic article surveillance devices or ink tags
Merchandise
- Stock unusual items and hard to find sizes of common items
- Lower prices on selected items
- Increase the breadth and depth of merchandise selection to go beyond what the
competition carries in certain departments or categories. - Offer an extended warranty or service contract - and advertise it
- Visual merchandising
Quality and appearance of merchandise
- Clean
- Pressed
- Crowded/Space
- Age/season
Employee attire, attitude and behavior
- Neat attire
- Clean appearance
- Helpful
- Customer oriented