Finding your first retail store’s location 

What should a growing e-commerce retailer consider when they are looking for their first bricks and mortar store?

 

Your e-commerce store is thriving and you have a well established online customer following. You have successfully tested physical locations to sell your products, perhaps a: 

• Market
• Pop-up store
• Shelf-rental space
• Home-based

Now you are seriously considering a permanent bricks and mortar store. So what are the next steps and how do you select the right location? 

Don’t assume that a busy location equals the right location, you could end up lost in the crowd and paying a premium to be there. Instead focus on your customers and ask yourself who are they? What are their behaviours offline and where do they go? 

 

Customer: Location. Demographics. Psychographics. 

 

 

How well do you know your online customer? You have presumably built a customer profile and researched relevant keywords and phrases, searching competitors websites that appear prominently on search engines to learn from their design and content. You’ve spent time researching the social media landscape and which are the best platforms for reaching your audience. 

From this research, have you identified where your customers frequent in the real world? If you have this information already—then great, you can start to use this to find the best location for your store. 

If not then it is a great time to start researching where your customers like to spend their time using your online channels. For example, if you have a customer database, you can reach out to your online customers to form a focus group and gain insights into their real world habits and hangouts. 

Try running polls via social media and join online communities that your customers use. Don’t be shy to speak to customers directly — starting conversations with your online customers is a great way to understand and engage with them, helping to build brand awareness of your business and your interest in a physical store. 

Research your competitors and find out which ones have stores and where these are located. There are very few stores that thrive in isolation, but you will want to select a location that isn’t already saturated or that clashes with your type of market. Finding a location with businesses that complement yours is a good strategy, for example, if you sell high end fashion for women are there similar stores nearby— a high end shoe store, beauty salon or hairdresser? 

 

Will your online customers be the same as your in-store customers? 

 

Online customers tend to be specifically seeking you (or at least your product) out, rather than general browsing. They have used keywords to search for and find you. They tend to be more price driven, having found the product they want for the best price. 

 

Many retailers report that their in-store customers are more loyal than online customers and that they have more opportunity to build a relationship and connect with them, often meaning that they will value service and advice over price (of course this is within reason!). 

 

While your online customers are certain to want to visit for an in-store experience and the opportunities that will provide (e.g. to test and see products in person), a physical store can attract new customers who are in the area for another purpose; perhaps they are killing time between appointments or shopping for something else altogether. 

 

Attractive window displays and signage are vital as they will draw people into a store and once in-store they are much more likely to make an impulse buy compared to when they are shopping online.

 

People buy through different channels and increasingly are using multiple channels to purchase products and services. Whether a retailer is looking to set up their first physical store or go online they always need to have their customer journey in mind, providing them with a seamless shopping experience whether it is online or offline—think one brand, one unified shopping experience. 

 

Broadening your customer base with online and in-store experiences 

 

Take an example of a jewellery and accessory gift store. Let’s say their typical customer is female in the 30-55 age bracket, who enjoy browsing in-store and attending in-store events for face-to-face engagement, where they can find out more about the brands stocked, the designers and so on. 

 

That loyal in-store customer generates an online customer, their partner (or other family/friend), who are gift buying and want to buy from a trusted brand that they know that person likes and recognises. They want speed and convenience to discreetly purchase a product and are not interested in the special browsing events that the in-store customer enjoys.

 

Adding value for customers and personalising their shopping experience whatever channel they use will give any retailer an edge over competitors. Mapping out the ideal customer journey helps retailers to build a more personalised experience across all their shopping channels, understanding how their customer demographic can change between these channels and where the touchpoints are between themselves and their customers before a purchase is made.   

 

Location, location, location!

 

Finding the right location for your first store is a huge step and so taking the time to research where your customers frequent is an important first step in helping you on your journey to becoming a bricks and mortar retailer.