Boutique Layout

Figuring out how to layout your boutique can be a challenge. If you are a new boutique owner, chances are that you have plenty of ideas about how you want your boutique to look. Now, fitting your ideas into the space that you end up with, could be another story. You also want your boutique to have an "effective" layout, enticing customers to make purchases. We've compiled these tips and ideas from professional retail designers to help you figure out how to make the most of your space, create an effective selling environment, and keep things in line with your vision.

1) To make sure that the design of your store is effective for selling, think about how a customer will feel as they enter the store and make their way through it. You want to grab their attention early on to get them interested. Then you can show them what you're all about. People make judgments within the first few seconds of laying eyes on your store. Most people will be skeptical when scoping out stores that are trying to get their business, so you want to answer those nagging questions that are going through their minds. They will be trying to figure out your price range, which brands you carry that they already have an interest in, and whether or not you have items that they haven't seen before. If you can answer these types of questions with your initial window and storefront displays, then you will already be ahead of the game.

2) Once inside, people will be asking themselves different questions. They will want to know if they will have the shopping experience that they expect of boutiques. Will they be digging through bins stuffed with discount merchandise? Will they be endlessly sifting through racks and racks of t-shirts? Will they be able to find their size if they do find something that they like? You need to make sure that the environment matches your vision of the store, so that people will feel the atmosphere that you are hoping to provide.

3) Creating the kind of space that you want with a small boutique space can be difficult, but not if you use slatwall. You can maneuver slatwall accessories around to perfectly display a variety of different sized products together. Merchandising in this way will help people to see what goes together and gets them to look at items, like jewelry, that they may not have been interested in before. You can also use slatwall panels to create custom accessory and clothing racks around your store.