Interior decor is essential for any place. The type of furniture required, the lighting, and the organisation of various items in a place decide the place’s vibe. Such a practice in the commercial world is known as shop fittings. Planning, evaluating, and executing how a shop or store would look is a process. It is categorised as a trade service. In simple words, it is nothing but the interior decoration of a store.
Shop fitting is a profession. It is gaining popularity nowadays as customers are attracted to a store based on its looks. It is a type of marketing that can be pretty advantageous. This is also referred to as silent marketing, as people walk into a store by themselves based on the store’s appearance and not due to outside persuasion.
The Process of Shop Fittings:
i) Planning- This is the first and foremost step that involves measuring the space available in a shop. Based on the dimensions, an estimate is made on how the shop can be divided into different sections. The division of a store or a shop depends on the type of business carried out, the outlet’s size, and the store owner’s appearance.
For instance, a departmental store can be divided into shopping, sales, and customer service. Likewise, a library is divided into fiction, thriller, and kids sections depending on the category of the books. In this stage, an estimate is made on how much space is required for different purposes.
ii) Selection- This is where the designers select various types of furniture, including racks, drawers, sofas, chairs, tables, cutlery, etc. The material, size, and furniture type depend on the owner’s budget. For example, a small retail store would require two or three chairs for the sellers to sit and simple racks where the products are arranged. On the other hand, a major departmental or multispeciality store would require sofas and tables for better customer service and support since people are bound to spend a long time in such stores. A customer’s investment in such stores is also high; hence the treatment is better.
The choice of lighting is also essential in deciding the place’s vibe. For example, a car shop would go for a minimalist appearance, while a jewellery store is fitted with numerous bright lights so that the product’s lustre is appropriately seen.
iii) Evaluation- Once the furniture type and other fittings are decided, carefully consider the available budget, chosen fittings, and the alternatives that have to be done. The possible options are always advisable as they come in hand when something goes south. Wooden racks and cement racks are two common types of other options that every interior designer of a shop follows.
A layout is designed on the computer on how the shop would look after all the fittings. The computer’s structure can change if one does not like the outcome. Forming a hypothetical arrangement is always beneficial as it helps formulate different looks of a store. Moreover, once the furniture, lighting, and fittings are done, it is impossible to make changes.
iv) Execution- This is the last and final step followed by providers of shop fittings. This is the stage where all the factors come together to formulate the pre-decided layout. Then, the budget, size, the furniture’s material, racks, lights, and the colour to be painted on the walls are implemented. This process takes a week to a year, depending on the complexity of the work and interior design. If the number of changes is more, it may take longer and vice versa.
