Jay McIntosh –
Consultants Rich Kizer and Georgeanne Bender will give a presentation during the Las Vegas furniture market at 10 a.m. Monday, July 24 (see page 30 for details).


Here’s a summary of the talk they gave at the Western Home Furnishings Assn. annual meeting in Hawaii in May.

KONA COAST, Hawaii — A store starts making an impression with a shopper in the parking lot, say retail consultants Rich Kizer and Georgeanne Bender.

If it’s dirty or has potholes — and especially if it’s too poorly lighted to feel safe after dark — then some cleaning or repairs are essential, they say.

Kizer and Bender led a WHFA seminar here on store design with a fast-paced talk loaded with suggestions on how a retailer should present itself, inside and out. They covered the basics, such as what color scheme is most pleasing and where to place the most important signage, and offered tips on how to best serve today’s aging consumer.

After the parking lot, consumers quickly will form opinions about the rest of the store, said Bender.

“People judge books by their covers. Shoppers judge stores by their storefronts,” she said. She recommends a “nice, clean, simple storefront that represents your brand.” Signs are fine, but make sure they can be read in four seconds — the usual attention span, she said.

Another suggestion: Managers should try approaching their stores from various directions, since store windows look different from different angles. For this reason, window displays often are more effective if some product is shown at an angle rather than facing front.

Just inside the door, Kizer and Bender said, is a “decompression zone” of five to 15 feet, where the shopper is getting used to the store. Oddly enough, product displayed in this area might be overlooked, while something a little farther in will command attention.

After the decompression zone, they said, a store should slow the shopper with a “speed bump” — a display of “fabulous merchandise” that’s hard to resist.

“Speed bumps should be changed frequently,” said Bender. “I would not leave a speed bump in longer than 30 days.”

Kizer said the right front portion of most stores is the prime real estate, the place to display a design story, or high-profit or seasonal items, since most people will walk a store floor counterclockwise.

The end of the journey, the left side or left center, is the logical place for a cashier.

The consultants also suggested taking steps to make shopping comfortable for aging baby boomers. Some 55% of people over age 55 have some form of arthritis, Bender said, and don’t want to stoop down to look at something.

Aging eyes also need more light to read and larger letters — nothing smaller than 16-point type in product information, Kizer said.

And while a shiny floor might seem classy, it also can look slippery. “Older customers are afraid they are going to fall,” said Bender.

They also suggest that a store’s interior colors be 80% neutrals and only 20% accent colors. Any more bright colors will make shoppers uncomfortable.

“Everywhere customers look in your store they should immediately be drawn to something intriguing,” said Bender. She and Kizer, who are online at www.kizerandbender.com, also recommend marketing to senses other than sight:

* Hearing. Disco is “the sound of money,” but don’t play it too loud.

* Smell. Stores can use scented candles, if they can be safely lighted or placed on a candle warmer, or other ambient aromas.

* Taste. Customers always appreciate food, such as cookies or cups of coffee or hot cider in winter.

* Touch. Furniture retailers can welcome customers to sit or lie on the merchandise.