Today’s world

It’s fun looking at old photos - they show us how life was in the olden days, and whether things have got better or worse since is the subject of plenty of debate. One thing is certain; things just aren’t the same. Looking back at the shops of yesterday, we can see they were quaint and often quite sparsely stocked, but it didn’t matter because whatever you wanted could be brought in at a later date. The speed of the change has been quite alarming, and nowadays if you don’t keep up, you get left behind.  

Customers have also changed. At the time the old photos were taken, popping round to the local shop was something of a neighbourly expedition. You frequently didn’t see what you wanted, so you ordered it, and then you waited for it. Today’s customer is not quite so keen to wait, and if it isn’t in your shop then they will go elsewhere, which amounts to lost sales and lost income for you. So how do you keep up with the demand and the pace of life today?

The answer is, put simply, keeping a larger stock and keeping a finger on the pulse of what's on demand. Larger stocks mean larger stores, but if that isn’t an option then you may have to take a long hard look at the way you are displaying and storing your stock. Have you maximised on the wall space? Have you made the most of your floor area? Are there wasted nooks and crannies where you could actually put in another display, to enable the customer to be confident in finding just what they want?  

If you think that there is more potential for using your available space, but you aren’t quite sure how to go about equipping it, give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512 or visit our Leicestershire showrooms with a floorplan of your premises. The extensive range of shelving that we offer can make the most of your property, and we will be happy to help you find the solution to keep up with customer demand in your store.     

Innovation

Sometimes, your business can feel like it's in a rut; the same customers keep coming in and the same demands are dealt with. While it’s good to have loyal customers providing consistent sales, if new custom isn’t created then they could become a dying breed, especially as many customers turn to the internet and find convenience in having goods delivered to their door.  

Somehow, you have to generate a way to bring new customers through your door. Maybe your business is an old well-established family business which hasn’t seen much change over the decades, or it might be that you have taken on old premises and not had the finance to bring about much in the way of change. Whatever the situation, there comes a time when it is right to think about refurbishment and change.  

You may have had many ideas for updating your premises, but failed to find a way to do so without feeling unsure of the outcome. Innovation frequently involves taking risks, without which change cannot be achieved.

At Shelving4Shops we offer a versatile range of used as well as new shelving and equipment for any size store, from the small corner shop to the largest of supermarkets.  

Having had over 15 years of experience of fitting out shops, we are in a good position to advise you and help you choose the right sort of shelving, whether you want wall shelving, free-standing gondola shelving, peg boarding, wire shelving, or dump bins, in order to bring your store up-to-date in today’s modern retail world. We can help you every step of the way from the planning to the fitting. To take advantage of our expertise, give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512, or call in at our Leicestershire showrooms for a personal chat.  

Time and space

One thing everybody has is space and time - the thing that sets us apart from each other is how much we have and what we do with it. We might spend a lot of time moaning about the fact that we don’t have enough space, and we might employ our time better by thinking creatively about how to use the space we do have.  

If there is no possibility of increasing your ground floor space it could well be time to stop bemoaning the lack of it and start to think more positively. What is it that you want to achieve with the space that you have available to you? By being clear about your objectives, you can begin to work towards the goals that you have in mind.  

One need might be to increase display space for a particular product, and to do this you may find that you can increase your shelving heights.  For instance, the 2.4m high wall shelving that Shelving4Shops offers might just give that extra bit of space that you need. 

You can rearrange the shelves on our units to suit your product. Our wall shelves offer various depths suitable for a diverse range of products, and to enable flexibility the shelves can be rearranged easily every time that you want to change your display. The units of shelving can also be connected together to create one long run, which looks tidy as well as being an efficient use of available space.  

Give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512 if you would like to discuss ways in which we can help you to achieve more shelving space for your needs.  

Banish the muddle with peg boarding

It’s Monday morning and the rubber hits the road again. No time for a coffee break, no time for a relaxing lunch, and definitely no time for a quick tea break in the afternoon - does that sound familiar? Whilst you want the business, it seems difficult to maintain order in the midst of the rush.  

We have all been in stores which seem to be in a perpetual state of chaos, partly due to a lack of organisation and a lack of time to put things back in their proper places. Mess is never appealing to a prospective customer! Sometimes there's simply been a lack of planning, and the places to put things just don't exist.  

Peg boarding is a way of introducing order and maintaining it. Leaning things up against walls or stacking them on the floor is really just a mess waiting to happen! When it's easy to put something back where it came from, customers will do so, but if it's more challenging then things will be dropped on the floor or put back where they don't belong. Clutter can become a hazard, as well as a nuisance, and nobody wants accidents to happen.

Peg boarding is a method of displaying items that are not easily stacked, and it can cater for both large and small items. Your merchandise can be hung by pegs or hooks, effortlessly arranged to suit the size of the product and so make display easy to manage. Simply achieved, it makes your life much easier as well as enabling your customers to clearly see what you are offering.  

Shelving4Shops offers peg boarding as wall units, gondola units or as an end bay - it's simple and versatile to use and keep in order.  

For more information give Shelving4shops a call on 01455 221512.

The skeleton

A shop is a bit like a skeleton, and the shelves are the bare bones to be built on and help create the shop's whole personality.  Good strong shelving means a fully functioning unit, and if the shelving system is aging and beginning to fail then it does need replacing - a bit like having a hip replacement!  

If your shelving has seen better days, it may well be time to think about refurbishing your store. Our main company, Shoptek UK Ltd, are specialists in clearance of supermarkets, and we can clear stores quickly and efficiently with the minimal amount of disruption to the flow of your business.  

Shelving4Shops, a trading company of Shoptek UK, caters for large and small supermarkets and stores that need a refit. The shelving solutions that we offer are suitable for just about any kind of store, from books to clothing, from pet shops to fresh produce. Our extensive experience in the business of shelving and refurbishing means that we carry stocks of used as well as new shelves, which are available to customers who wish to either recycle or use recycled shelving. The recycled shelving will also help to keep your costs down, freeing up extra finance for other projects in hand.  

Not only do we supply the bare bones, but we go a little further in supplying the things that make the shop work that little bit more simply, such as the ticket strips, cash registers, wire baskets and dump bins which all make your store ready for action.  

To find out more about how we can help to refresh and renew your store, give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512 or call in to see our showrooms in Wolvey, Leicestershire.  

You can’t judge a book by its cover

The proverb says that you can't judge a book by its cover, which is taken to mean that even when the cover of a book looks a bit boring it might prove a really good read. However, often if the cover of the book looks a bit dull, you don’t hang around to find out whether or not the proverb is true - you pass it over for one with a bit more of a lively presentation.  

The same is true for a shop; if the shop window display is dull and boring,  many people will not bother entering the shop to find out whether or not it might be interesting. The shop window is the deciding factor that captivates or turns away potential customers.  

To make a point of interest, you will want to draw the potential customer’s eye to focus on something which is colourful or interesting. It might create a question or stimulate their appetite to find out more, thereby drawing them in to your shop. It’s a good idea to change your window display frequently to maintain people’s interest, and to do this you will need a variety of easily changeable and versatile shelving and accessories.

Shelving4Shops offers many different kinds of shelving, including wire baskets and wire dump bins, which are especially useful for shop windows as they are easily transportable and therefore easily removed when changing the window theme. Try stacking colourful and seasonal matching products, or try a minimalist approach with just a few well-chosen goods laid out artistically on a contrasting background. Either way, you will find that Shelving4Shops has just the right kind of equipment to display your goods. Whether you want standard shelving, wire shelving or peg boarding for your window, we can meet your needs.  

Give Shelving4shops a call on 01455 221512 to find out more about the shelving we offer, or call in at our Leicestershire showrooms to see it for yourself.  

Too tidy?

It may be hard to believe, but according to research customers are hesitant to mess up to an extremely tidy and organised shop display. That means that if your shop is just a bit too tidy, people will hesitate to handle and touch your stock - an important aspect of shopping, as it helps the customer familiarise themselves with the item and make up their mind about purchasing it.  

For example, how often do you go shopping for clothes and run your hand over a garment, instantly giving a verdict based on the feel of the fabric? Women are particularly tactile shoppers, and will be deterred from bringing things into disarray by this method of sampling if the display is just too pristine. Some shops deliberately give their goods the ‘jumble sale’ look, simply to encourage a hands-on customer experience. The goods then look as if a previous customer has rooted through them, and the new customer is then not so reluctant to do so themselves.  

However, conversely, customers will also be deterred if the merchandise is in a disorganised heap, as there is no visual attraction. It is necessary to somehow bring about a happy medium; making the products available and attractive without the turn-off factor of too much mess.

To display your goods, whether the shelf is tilted or flat, you will need shelf dividers to separate different stock and shelf risers to prevent things falling off on to the floor. Shelving4shops can supply them in acrylic or chrome, depending on your needs - how you deal with getting the balance right between chaos and order is then up to you!

Give Shelving4shops a call to further discuss your requirements to display your goods effectively, or call in at our Leicestershire showroom at Hinckley Road, Wolvey, LE10 3JG, to see how you can utilise the equipment we offer to maximise your customers’ hands-on experience.  

Making the most of customer’s shopping habits

Sometimes life is a bit of a mystery, and the art of shopping is a skill learnt by experience! Likewise, the art of selling is a skill that's learnt and then adjusted according to the kind of customer that you are wanting to attract.  

Some shops are geared towards attracting men, simply because of the products that they are offering, and needless to say, they have to consider the shopping habits of men. Many men do not enjoy shopping, but when it is a necessity they usually like to dive into a shop and out again as quickly as possible.  

To make the most of a man’s shopping trip, many shops like to offer other products to engage their interest whilst they are in the shop. There are many ways of doing this, and one is to direct their steps around the shop by means of creating aisles with gondola style shelving. The major products which a man seeks are usually placed at least half way down an aisle, ensuring that the customer will be able to appreciate other merchandise which he might need, on his way to finding the thing he really came for! Surrounding the major selling products are items of interest deemed particular to the same customer, particularly focusing on men’s habits and men’s interests. The strategically-placed gondola shelving then directs the customer past other attractive merchandise before he arrives at the pay point.  

Gondola shelving can be placed down the centre of a shop, creating retail space either side of the unit, and thereby maximising on the floor space.  Units can also be joined end-to-end for the length of the shop. 

Shelving4shops offers gondola shelving in a variety of heights, from 1.4m to 2.1m, whilst the shelving itself also comes in a variety of widths which can be adjusted to meet your requirements.  

The little things in life

For some, tracking down the perfect answer to a problem is time-consuming, and requires a lot of focus. Whether the problem concerns the right sort of clothing for a special event, an ingredient for a delicate dessert, or a particular tool for an artist, the quest takes one into a shop to hunt. 

It is quite a specific challenge, but one which you as a shop owner can maximise on, by giving a basket to the newly-arrived customer. It is both a welcoming gesture and one designed, of course, to encourage them to spend money in your store.  

Even the humble shopping basket has a role to play in the grand designs of planning and strategy.  By being given a basket, the customer is both encouraged and enabled to buy more than one thing. Without a basket, they are restricted to what they can carry, but with a basket the possibilities are increased and with careful planning the customer is introduced to more ways of how to solve their problem than just the one thing that they were focused on purchasing when they arrived.  

It must be acknowledged that one item looks a little lost in a large basket, and some people also feel embarrassed to take a basket to the checkout with only one item in it. So, frequently, more than one item is placed in the basket, creating an ease of sale which maybe hadn’t been considered beforehand.  

Shelving4shops supplies not only the major things such as shelving, chiller displays and refrigeration units, but also the little things like shopping baskets, cash registers, security mirrors, which help your store provide more of an enjoyable shopping experience for your customer and more of a profitable enterprise for you.  

Call Shelving4Shops on 01455 221512 to find out more of the ways we can help to supply the little things to help you, as well as the larger equipment.

Setting up shop with Shelving4Shops

If you are new to the retail trade, it can be difficult to know where to turn for help when you are trying to establish yourself in a way that's going to attract customers as well as being financially viable. How much of a risk can you take without being foolhardy - and on the other hand, how conservative do you need to be without becoming boring?  

After planning your budget and finding the right premises for your venture, the next step will be to plan how you are going to set out your store. Whether you are planning for a large or small store, Shelving4shops can give you as much or as little advice and guidance as you want.  

For over 15 years our customers have benefitted from our wide experience - we have helped establish and refurbish large supermarkets as well as small shops. Not only have we supplied the shelving and equipment for setting up shop, but we have also guided some customers every step of the way as they have contemplated the best layout for their store.  Sometimes only experience can understand the problems and the pitfalls to avoid, and no one wants to discover those after they have set up! 

We can also help you stick to your budget by supplying used shelving which has been removed from supermarkets when they have undergone a refit.  Some of these supplies may be too large and deep for a smaller shop, but we welcome all enquiries and will do our best to meet your needs. We are happy to supply new or used shelving to suit your budget and your shop.  

To find out more about our friendly and expert service, give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512 or call in at our Leicestershire showrooms for a chat to see how we can help you get your project off the ground.  

Keep pace with increasing demand

Nowadays, we are all too aware that the retail trade is fast moving and ever-changing. The changes can be large and wide-ranging, or the smaller everyday changes that affect the flow of customers through shop doors.

When it comes to your own customers, they too are in a changing world, and frequently demand up-to-date service and up-to-date supplies as well as a wide range of choice. A wide choice means larger displays which we can help you provide. Shelving4Shops appreciate this demand, and we're willing to accommodate yours and your customers' preferences. 

Shelving4Shops understand the need for updating and ensuring your shop offers a modern service. We can assist you with keeping abreast of today's demand, helping you to update your premises by supplying equipment and shelving to accommodate the varied and interesting range of stock that your customers demand.

Both our wall shelving and gondola shelving come in different heights and widths, providing as much extra space as you need. The units can be placed end-to-end, giving a long run of shelving capable of holding a wide variety of goods. If that isn’t sufficient, we also have corner shelving of different heights and base sizes which can fit into corner spaces that may otherwise be wasted. Dump bins can also be utilised and placed near checkouts, to give extra stock for the customer to browse whilst waiting to pay.  

Whatever the space available, we can help you to maximise on it. Just give us a call on 01455 221512 if you need more help to keep pace with the changing speed of customer demand.   

Time and space

One thing everybody has is space and time - the thing that sets us apart from each other is how much we have and what we do with it. We might spend a lot of time moaning about the fact that we don’t have enough space, and we might employ our time better by thinking creatively about how to use the space we do have.  

If there is no possibility of increasing your ground floor space it could well be time to stop bemoaning the lack of it and start to think more positively. What is it that you want to achieve with the space that you have available to you? By being clear about your objectives, you can begin to work towards the goals that you have in mind.  

One need might be to increase display space for a particular product, and to do this you may find that you can increase your shelving heights.  For instance, the 2.4m high wall shelving that Shelving4Shops offers might just give that extra bit of space that you need. 

You can rearrange the shelves on our units to suit your product. Our wall shelves offer various depths suitable for a diverse range of products, and to enable flexibility the shelves can be rearranged easily every time that you want to change your display. The units of shelving can also be connected together to create one long run, which looks tidy as well as being an efficient use of available space.  

Give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512 if you would like to discuss ways in which we can help you to achieve more shelving space for your needs.  

The psychological approach

Although psychology is a big part of the art of selling, it has to be acknowledged that no matter how many good ideas you might have, in the end you have to have the right equipment with which to display and help sell your products.  

One idea, which is well liked by both the customer and the retailer, is to provide seating in your store. Weary customers can take advantage of the generosity of the store, and once seated they are usually facing posters, adverts, and shelves displaying carefully selected merchandise which they had not previously thought of purchasing. Seating a customer also increases the time they spend in a store which, of course, also increases sales. A well-rested customer is often better than a tired one!

If you want to take advantage of this kind of provision for customers, you will need a good display of clean-looking, reliable shelving such as Shelving4Shops can supply.  

You might choose to put magazines in a prominent place, for example, as the glossy pictures attract the eye and there seems to be a magazine for every interest under the sun! Men, women, and children are all drawn to browse amongst the wide ranging subjects.  

Shelving4Shops magazine units are well suited to meet your requirements, whatever magazines you choose to display, as the units are adjustable to serve your purposes. They can be connected to other shelving units or stand alone. The base shelf can be used for stacking bulkier newspapers, and can be supplied in different sizes as needed. Shelves can be adjusted to catch the eye of the intended customer, for example using lower shelves for children, stocking certain magazines specifically catered to them where they can reach them easily.  

If you would like more information about our magazine shelving or any other shelving units or shop equipment, give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512, or call in to see it for yourself at our Leicestershire showroom at Hinckley Road,  Wolvey, LE10 3JG. 

Simplicity inspires creativity

In the business of life, we are sometimes so taken up with cramming everything into the day that in the end we achieve very little; before we have barely taken time to complete one task, we are moving onto the next.

Often the ethos seems to be that more is better - but is it really true? When the pace of life is slower and we pause long enough to think, we actually get time to enjoy and value what is happening. It’s the same when it comes to shops - when the shelves aren’t full to bursting, you can see the products more clearly and actually appreciate them much more.  When there is less clutter, there is more room for imagination and inspiration.

Although you can stack our shelving high with no problems, a better option may be to take time to space things out a little more. All our shelving is adjustable, so you can put goods as close together as you like, or make them more widely spaced if you want to give a less cluttered appearance. Your customers may welcome stock that isn't crammed onto the shelves, as it gives them the opportunity to be more creative in their own thinking and planning.  

The components of our shelving are interchangeable, and therefore it is easy to configure them to suit your needs. They are also free-standing, to enable you to put them where you like without the bother of detaching and reattaching them to walls. You don’t need to worry if you choose to stock heavy items on them either, as the units are made from heavy-duty powder-coated steel, and are therefore both tough and well-built.

Give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512 if you would like to discuss your needs for shelving in more detail, or browse our website to see how we can meet your needs for reliable and versatile shelving in your store.  

Difference

Thanks to the media, there is often an emphasis on everything being the same. We are encouraged to wear the same jeans, eat the same health food, drive the same fast car, or shop in the same shops - but sameness creates boredom! 

One thing which can make your store appealing is being different to the one next door. Customers often seek out something a little bit different, and if you can equip and decorate your store in a new way you may well entice more customers through the door, simply because of the difference.  

Therefore, it's important to give considerable thought to your floor plan when thinking about equipping your shop to draw in more trade. When the doors of your store open to a bright eye-catching display, which is interesting as well as different, inquistive customers will be drawn in.  

If you have a convenience store, you can put together a variety of wall shelving, gondola shelving, peg boarding and dump bins to create a unique and individual experience for your customer. Whilst catering for customers’ day-to-day needs, you can take advantage of the versatility that is a particular characteristic of our shelving supplies. Put together runs of gondola shelving and finish off with an end bay, on which you can have an eye-catching display. A dump bin can be placed near the checkout to give extra interest, with special offers or bargain buys. Because our shelving is adjustable, you can accommodate a changing display with ease, and therefore maintain interest for the customer who regularly returns.  Shelving can be moved up or down, whilst peg boarding can also be altered to suit the products on display.  

Give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512 to find out how we can help you to give your store unique appeal, by supplying you with our versatile new and used shelving.  

Colour blocks

Of course we usually think of shelving as a very necessary and physical need for a business, whatever is being sold, but shelving can do much more than just hold stock. If it is used imaginatively, it can be transformed into an aesthetic and creative opportunity.  

Usually goods are displayed in categories - the same sort of things being displayed together, to enable customers to find what they are looking for. It makes sense to have some sort of method, but even when the goods that you are selling are fairly utilitarian, imaginative use of colour and form can be an added bonus. 

Bold blocks of colour will make people look twice, and what they didn’t notice at first they will register as they look again. This is an especially useful tactic to employ if you have a special promotion. By placing a promotional bay at the end of a gondola run, the customer will be guided to the product and linger to learn more. Be careful to ensure that the widths of the shelving units are the same, otherwise not only will you create an untidy look, but you may also introduce a trip hazard. By ensuring that the heights of the racks are also the same, you will have created a neat and professional looking display.

A promotional bay, or end bay as it is sometimes known, is a shelving unit which can be placed on the front or back of anexisting gondola rack. 

Because our racking is interchangeable, it is easy to change the display whenever you want, and therefore as seasons change and demand changes with it, our shelving systems are ideal to accommodate the different needs and different promotions. 

Call Shelving4Shops if you would like to discuss the shelving that we offer or if you want a quote for your existing plans. Call us on 01455 221512, or visit our showrooms at Hinckley Road, Wolvey, Leicestershire LE10 3JG to see more of our shelving solutions. 

Extra space

It doesn’t seem to matter how much shelving space you have, it just never seems to be enough! Shelving4Shops can not only help you to maximise on the space that you do have, but also provide extra ideas to give you innovative solutions to your ongoing challenges. 

Shop accessories, such as dump bins, wire stacking baskets and wire shelving, can be a useful alternative for either displaying promotions or just catching the customer’s eye to see what useful extras will complement their already selected items. 

Wire stacking baskets are a useful addition to any store and can be used in a variety of ways, singly and in tiers. You can change their purpose week to week, as it takes no effort to move them around to highlight a different product. By placing them at the checkout point, they can encourage a customer to add previously overlooked items to their own basket of shopping as they wait to pay. Special offers or end-of-lines can also be offered at this point, and especially create a novel way to move left over stock along. Leftover stock can clutter up shelves unnecessarily - the wire stacking baskets free the space up to enable fresh lines to be displayed, whilst not wasting the old stock.

The adjustable wire dump baskets that we offer are another inventive way of displaying special promotions. A line of dump baskets keeps the customers interest at the checkout, whilst maximising on opportunities without taking up more shelving space.

Free standing, lightweight wire shelving can be used to solve a temporary need, or a more longstanding problem when standard shelving will not suit.  It can also be used for window displays or a short term promotion. Its lightweight and moveable nature lends itself to be a useful addition to any store. 

Call Shelving4Shops on 01455 221512 to discuss your needs for extra space, with one of our experienced staff.

Inspiration

Are your shelves just holding your goods, or are they displaying them in an imaginative and attractive way? You can tell when someone totally believes in what they are selling by the way that they are displayed. Some shelves are mundane, and to be quite honest, totally boring, whilst others show an original use of space and structure, and goods are displayed both attractively and helpfully. There is an understanding of the customer’s needs, as well as the importance of good design, in the display. 

To captivate your customer’s interest, don’t be afraid of experimenting with your displays. If your experiments work, keep using your approach, and if not then simply try something different. 

The shelving that Shelving4Shops offers is incredibly versatile, so it can be adapted to suit your needs, and it lends itself to many different styles when you are trying out different approaches. 

The shelving is suitable for a wide range of businesses, from hairdressers to toy shops, grocery stores to pet shops. You name it and we can offer the ideal solution to your business’ needs.

We maximise on the need for simplicity and functionality, but also appreciate that customers want to enjoy their shopping experience. Whether you are looking to refurbish your store, set out an entirely new layout, or just add to your present system, our wide range of budget-friendly equipment can meet your needs.

We also carry a stock of used shelving, which means that if you are on a tight budget we can help by either supplying the shelving or buying your old equipment. As our experienced team remove shelving from large supermarkets as well as smaller units, we often have a wide variety of equipment available - however, it does mean that demand is dependent on supply. 

Because we normally have a good supply of used shelving in storage we can do things quickly, meaning that there is minimal disruption to your store’s routine. 

To find out more about both our used and new shelving, give Shelving4Shops a call on 01455 221512.