Make the most of a small space

Having a small store can present many problems when trying to set up your business. Here are a few tips for maximising the space you have and really getting the most of out of displays, whilst keeping your costs down.

1. Paint an accent wall in a bold colour, this will not only brighten up your store but will make the store look bigger. You could also use eye-catching wallpaper with striking prints to make a feature wall and mix up textures to create interest. 

2. Think vertically! Customer's really engage with products displayed on various levels and at different heights. Use a collection of our different shelving units to create displays of varying heights, drawing the eye upwards, which will give the feel of your store being more spacious. 

3. Use lighting creatively! Lighting is so important, especially in small spaces, as they often have dark corners that can end up making your store look pokey and unappealing. Light up those corners, otherwise the space is as good as lost. 

4. Use your shelves effectively, this means making sure they don't look cluttered. Arrange your products so that customer's get the best view of them. If they're awkward items, consider using our shelf dividers to gather them together and make sure different products don't mix together, otherwise the shelf may look a bit chaotic. It may be worth using wire stacking baskets as a great way to promote impulse buys of bulk items, making them easy to pick up at the last minute.

The Versatility Of The Wire Basket!

In the world of retail, there are so many options of how to display your products that it's easy to feel overwhelmed with it all when it comes down to actually having to choose. One of the main things to bear in mind is to maximise the use of space and make sure your store doesn't look cluttered. 

If you have lots of loose items that need to go somewhere together without spilling out onto other product space, wire baskets are a great way to go. Coming in either three tier or five tier, the wire basket units are ideal for items such as single crisp packets, fruit and veg or loose toys such as balls. They are great for display, presenting the customer with an easy, eye-catching view of the product, whilst keeping the items neatly gathered together. The unit is lightweight and easily moved, making them great for temporary or window displays. The stack is a simple way to use different heights to create interest at different levels, which is a great way to attract customer attention whilst saving space! 

If you want just the baskets and have space to play with, our wire stackable baskets are another great way of keeping looser items together yet well displayed. These baskets come as individual units, but can be stacked on top of each other or used on existing shelves as a way of keeping the shelf tidy. They are great to use along the queue area to encourage impulse buys while customers are waiting. They are very versatile and are perfect for placing end of line products, promotions or sales items. Great for fruit and veg, special offers or for placing at the end of gondola units to promote that special product.

How To Use Corner Shelving

Corners in shops can tend to be dark, awkward areas that get neglected by customers and shop-owners alike, but they don't have to be!

By using corner shelving, you can really make the most of your shop corners. These units are free standing and are angled to slot into the corner as a continuation of your shelving, leaving you free to put products on the shelves as normal! Available in a range of different sizes, these versatile display units can be used for any products for an effective display. We have a variety of units ranging from 1.8 to 2.1m tall, with base widths from 300mm to 570mm, giving you options of how wide you want the unit and how tall. Depending on your products and customer base, it is worth considering how high you want to place your products and whether you need a wider base to display products that may not sit so well on narrower or higher shelves.

When filling your corner shelves, it's a good idea to put popular, frequently bought items in the corner as it then draws people down your aisles, meaning they are exposed to more of your products and more likely to make impulse purchases as they pass by.  

Be sure to use enough lighting in the corners to make sure your products are well lit, it's no good leaving your products in the dark! Lighting can make all the difference, so use it carefully and illuminate those products to get them flying off the shelves. 

Your Store Decor

Decorating a store is very, very individual and of course depends on the sort of shop, the sort of products you sell and the size of the premises, not to mention the budget you're on. So when it comes to decorating and dressing up your store, you need to bear in mind your target audience and think creatively. 

For the general shop theme, colours set tone and mood in a shop, so bear in mind the type of atmosphere you want to create. Research colours and effects, for example, red and orange in a food shop can promote a feeling of hunger, whereas pastel hues and whites can be calming and relaxing, which is ideal in a shop selling bath salts and spa products. Spend time considering the mood you want in the store and carefully select your colour scheme. 

Creating eye catching displays are a great way of drawing a customer's attention to a product that otherwise they would have glossed over. Such displays need a clever use of colour (but not too many different ones) otherwise the overall look will be tacky and childish (unless, of course, you are advertising children's products!). So pick your colours carefully and use them to brighten your shop and create focus points to attract customers to a particular promotion or sale. 

The good thing about our units at Shelving4Shops is that they are versatile and re-usable, so you can rework it each time you need a new display. Pegboards are fantastic for promotions as they are so easy to work with and are quick to amend or rearrange when you need to change over a product or advertise a special deal. They are also ideal for hanging items, such as necklaces or signs, for example, and give a bigger space to create really eye catching displays. Don't forget the minor details either, such as the finishing touches. Whether it's a particular piece of artwork behind the counter or a bowl of sweets for customers to help themselves to, it's the small touches will get your store remembered.

All About Us!

Shelving4Shops was born under the supervision of parent company Shoptek UK Ltd. Shoptek are one of the leaders of the market, in the sourcing and reselling of supermarket shelving and shop equipment. 

Shelving4Shops goal was to provide a high quality, suitable and affordable alternative when used shelving was not available, giving our customers options when it came to fitting out their shops. We have over 15 years of experience within the retail shelving sector, which we use to give you the best service possible when you are dealing with us. Our team has a wealth of knowledge to help you build up, match or add to your current system. We also can offer advice on the best shelving for your particular retail area, advising on how best to utilise and maximise your display and space available. 

We have a vast network of contacts working on the ground within the world's major manufacturing centres. We are constantly on the lookout for new, stronger, more reliable and cheaper equipment, to update and expand our selection that we can offer our clients. We know that kitting out a shop with all the right equipment is an expensive business, so we try and source the most cost effective equipment to help you make your business work. We source as much used shelving as we can to give our customers the choice of helping the environment and reduce outgoings, recycling is great but can be expensive, so we try and do as much as we can to help you save money!