How to design a clothing store

A positive customer experience is invaluable for any type of business. It’s what your reputation, image and future sales depend on. It has an influence on product quality, the service offered, customer service and a store’s interior design.

The space should be strategically designed to tempt people to buy, and invite more customers through the door.

Store interior design

First of all, the door and display windows should be as wide and transparent as possible – not to mention easy to open – to motivate customers to enter without any physical barriers.

When designing shops and commercial premises, having a predefined route is key to enabling customers to access all the products in a logical order. Subtle ways of inviting them to take this route include using furnishings or other decorative accessories, whilst keeping the threshold or entrance of the shop at the top of your mind. This is the first two to five metres a customer walks.

It’s where they’ll take in the overall interior design of your store; lighting, décor, colours, etc. without necessarily paying attention to what’s for sale. As such, it’s advisable not to put branded items in this area.

Instead, place the pieces you want to make the biggest impact to the right; customers will always look in this direction when they enter a space. Clothes shops often create their store design scheme by placing their most marketable items in this area, whether because they’re new for the season, or stand out for their pricing or innovative style.

As the customer makes their way through the store, you can use certain elements to slow them down. Think seasonal signage, low tables or special offer displays.

Designing clothes shops with resistant flooring

Flooring plays an important role in your overall scheme: how it looks will have a bearing on your brand image. Technical porcelain tiles are known for being one of the best options for shop – or even shopping centre – floors.

The excellent properties of full-body technical porcelain make it ideal. It’s resistant against high pedestrian traffic, scratches caused by moving furniture (shelving, hangers, etc.) and falling objects (hangers, garments or shoes, etc.).

And it’s also easy to clean and maintain – an important consideration for somewhere that needs to stay looking pristine, day in, day out.

Shopping centre flooring

Technical porcelain tiles are also a great option for shopping centres, and can give any space a sense of continuity. From the individual boutiques, to communal areas and outdoor terraces. These tiles are also suitable for gardens or any outdoor paving, given their excellent resistance to adverse weather conditions.