The elements of the brands are in place. The brand research is done. So, the first step in a long staircase, leading to success is stepped. But what about the most important step--the next step--planning.

Depending upon the brand, its services, and the customer behavior patterns, most of the sales and the engagement would come from one major platform. 80% of the returns come from 20% of the investment. Think of that last-minute crash course that the smart friend gives you five minutes before the exams that gets you through.

Marketing, like anything concerning the human psyche, is the game of human behavior. But there are certain steps that can be taken to hedge the bets. And that's what research and planning agencies do. And, it is an ongoing circle.

Fuelled by detailed data gathered about customer behavior, the reason it is a continuous process is that it works on feedback.

And before anyone argues again the necessity of research and planning, know that most people suffer from --"my mind keeps saying no but my heart keeps saying yes syndrome".

That's why research and planning services are so important, especially when it comes to availing of retail store planning services, research is the first and the most crucial part and will set the very foundation of your store and its future.

The brand influence and presence are spread out into the market through numerous mediums. However, hands-on products and services require greater sensory experience, in order to build trust between the brand and the potential customer, which makes the retail store one of the best investments.

It combines the information hub and sales front in one place. Here are the chief components that are considered while designing the retail store and how research and planning would go about achieving them.

The retail store is primarily concerned with driving sales led by a positive experience. And so, the design of the retail store can be influenced by three separate broad factors.

1. The More The Merrier

The More The MerrierThe primary component would be to increase the traffic of the store and to drive the steady supply of that traffic to the store. The brand would be at the forefront of what's new. Monitoring the rising trends and making sure that the store's display shows exactly what would tug the strings of the hearts of the potential customers. In addition to that research can include pursuing through the public forms or conducting surveys.

The research and planning would narrow down the type of customer base at what most of the marketing needs to be focused on.

The initial step of the research for updating the retail store design would be to look for patterns. Once the initial attention is captured and the crowd is moved to the store. The growth is exponential because potential customers choosing the brand would cause more people to choose it as well.

So, ultimately, primarily what the brand would do is to find the patterns for implementation at the front of the retail store, attract the customers and get the ball rolling.

2. All It Takes Is 7 Seconds

The retail store has caught the attention of the buyer to be. Now what? Often the design aspects can be divided into two. The conscious and the unconscious. Conscious is what the potential customer thinks and experiences as they go through the store and unconscious is how the arrangement makes them feel.

The conscious decision is logical and takes time to fully form. However, the unconscious decision is made in the first 7 seconds after the potential customer enters the store. After the initial contact, it is the brand's responsibility to devise strategies to make the customer stay longer in the store.

The effect and the strategies are highly dependent on the brand and customer's expectations. The research can be concerned with factors ranging from material to color schemes. The best way to determine the favorable factors to zone in on is to keep an eye out on the experience the customer is having in similar establishments. In the end what any retail store needs is to have the customer choose them over the rest.

For determining what would retain the loyalty of the customer base is social media for more candid research.

3. Make The Space Functional Not Big

The store's traffic is through the roof (not literally, hopefully) and the color schemes and nudging of online presence have created an air of trust around the store. You are sure that that you would be the first choice when it comes to your specialties.

But all is not finished yet. Now, comes the experience. Retaining the masses means nothing if you don't close any sales. And when it comes to the in-store experience, the layout plays a huge role.

While deciding the layouts or updating the existing one. First, the areas of concentration of masses are recognized by the brand. Along with the areas of the bottle-necking. Because the last thing a customer needs while choosing between the two irritating shades of blue t-shirts is another customer bumping into them.

Also, given the brand and the value, it sustains, drives the design and layout of the retail store. Also, the brand is tasked with coming with a profitable plan. For instance, is it a convenient store that would benefit most from a compact arrangement or a niche high-end store that would require a free-flowing layout with sharper points of focus to prompt quick decision-making, exploiting the trend relevant to the time period?

One thing that any brand needs to excel at is balancing possibilities with feasibilities. While exploring new ways and plans to carve out customers of that sweet-sweet market pie.

With the dawn of new technologies, the research and planning may be handled by the brand and their dear friend AI. With the introduction of artificial intelligence comes hyper-competence. The artificial intelligence at hand, might not be dexterous in its utility but sure is hyper-competent in the task it is made for. Therefore, the computer-generated algorithms would prove instrumental in recognizing patterns and pressure points in the customer's behavior.

With rapidly growing technology, research and planning have become easier and complex at the same time, along with increased responsibility and expertise of the brand. 

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