Lost In Space

Space planning will help you sell more accessories and drive profit performance. /

Imagine being lost in space — floating around with no defined direction. Last year, we wrote in Running Insight about the value of adding accessories and essentials to a product assortment. The purpose of having these items is to ensure that your location is a one-stop-shop for all running needs.

While expanding the assortment is important, retailers must consider how it’s presented in-store. Retailers should thoughtfully insert accessories/essentials into the entire in-store customer journey. We refer to this as “space planning.”

Otherwise, accessories might be presented in a way that does not entice the customer to buy. In other words, lost in space.

Selling Space

Sales per unit area (commonly, by square foot) is a measurement of success for a physical store. The value reflects several factors — merchandising decisions, footfall, the ability of staff to sell and more.

For context, Apple stores are best-in-class at $5600 per square foot. The average value for retailers in the U.S. in 2020 was $325 per square foot. More importantly, the average value has been decreasing for some time. This is likely due to e-commerce growth with the customer able to buy products anywhere, anytime. So, getting customers to visit repeatedly and make larger purchases can improve sales per unit area.

Therefore, it’s even more important to focus on optimizing store space. The key is to weave accessories/essentials throughout the customer journey in-store. This includes utilizing different store areas: feature tables, walls, cash wrap and fitting room space. Also, “dead” space, like the top of fixtures.

We provide a few tips in this article and showcase a local, small business, Source for Sports in London, Ontario, Canada, as a demonstrative example.

Best Sellers = Best Space?

Although it seems counterintuitive, bestselling items need not occupy “prime” space in your store.

Best sellers are the best for a good reason — this is because of the brand’s strength. Consider On and Hoka footwear as examples for running. These items are a strong customer draw. Also, they may be the main driver of the first visit. The power of that draw holds regardless of where the product is in-store. As such, these products are better placed up on a wall versus taking up prime real estate on the shop floor.

Source for Sports has a strong presence of Yeti-branded products — coolers and tumblers in various colors. The team has arranged most items on the wall and the bright colors grab attention. The added benefit is that customers must walk through the store to get to the product, then again

By Liza Amlani and Raj Dhiman

to cash out.

Almost like how the hotels in Vegas have you walk through the casinos to get to your desired restaurant. It’s the same idea.

This opens up an opportunity for product discovery.

Product Discovery:

The steak always benefits from a potato on the side. Similarly, footwear benefits from being next to relevant accessories for running stores.

The idea is to create a one-stop-shop for all pre- and post-running needs. Make it easy for the customer to visualize (and buy) everything they need by having products near each other. This enables the customer to discover all relevant items.

For example, running shorts, tanks, socks and insoles are great to group with footwear. You can even have a mannequin showcasing