Crafting the architecture of a retail environment can help dictate interior design. Retail interior designers are trained to learn what will attract the customer to certain areas of the store, while complementing outside architectural elements.

Window displays can be an important part of retail design when the windows are located in an indoor or outdoor mall. What the customer sees when walking by will determine if they will come in and shop. Bright colors are a must; our eyes are attracted to them! Most likely some sort of metal might be added in with jewelry, lamps, appliances, etc. Ah, they’ve grabbed your attention now!

Inside displays are set up to guide your eyes directly to products. A “pathway” is created to allow visitors to easily walk from display to display and not get caught in a “dead” zone. This improves foot traffic, which is great for boosting retailer profits. Lighting can be an added advantage; with the right amount of light focused on an item, our eyes are drawn to the display. When products are placed on shelves shadows can take away from the coloring. To prevent this, lights are placed above the shelves to keep our interest.

Color inside the store is a huge factor in keeping you inside. This might mean the products themselves or with coloring on the walls. When color is used on the walls fixtures themselves tend to “disappear,” keeping the eyes concentrating on brighter colors. Often you will find the bright colored walls towards the back of the store or near the sales counter. This will unconsciously lead the customer to the back (and hopefully they will buy more if they walk through the entire store). Some stores like to keep the walls, flooring, and fixtures very neutral. This is likely to allow the store to avoid appearing “dated” or clash with seasonal color trends. It is then up to the visual merchandiser to be able to pop the products by their color. Often you will see this in clothing stores, souvenir shops, or furniture/accessory stores.

When visiting your next retail location, consider how the outside architecture influence the interior design. You may notice some cost-saving, profit-boosting elements!