Flag Shopping Experience

As many of us are gearing up to reopen our retail stores, this is a great time to audit your retail store. This session really opened my eyes of what is important to a shopper and what would improve the flag shopping experience at CQFlag.

Omnipresent

At CQFlag we have an online presence as well as a brick and mortar store. Our retail location has a very small shopping area as well as office space for our employees. We also have a very large warehouse that stores our flags, accessories, equipment, and very large flagpoles. One important lesson is our online presence should match the retail experience at the store. The look and feel should be omnipresent. For instance, if our website has a modern look, we should consider modern signage and fixtures.

Curb Appeal

We talk to our customers about curb appeal and how important it is. From the landscaping, signage, parking, to the overall look and feel of the building. Does the general public know what we do when they drive by? Can they see themselves shopping at Custom Flag Company? Using flags is one way to let the public know what we do. The movement of flags attracts buyers. Flags can identify your brand or advertise your products. We fly flags in front of our store, now I need to think about what message I want to convey to the customer driving by rather than flying a flag just because it is fun.

Signage in the Store

This point hit home. We were challenged to avoid sign pollution or sign creep. No handwritten signs, no scotch tape, oops. It was suggested that we should develop sign design guidelines. This helps our customer know where to go and the products we offer. This is something we need to tackle immediately.

Warehouse Makeover

Making the warehouse inviting and informative needs to be a priority. Since our retail area is so small our customers are often in our warehouse “shopping”. We can add banners, wall decals, and signage to educate our customers. Improving lighting, painting some walls to make the warehouse feel warm and welcoming needs to be a priority.

Small Stuff

Little things like a splash of color, lighting, and smell could make Custom Flag Company inviting or off-putting. Since our walls are all grey, we should add a pop of color to direct and engage our customer. Our lighting is all florescent box lights, we need to consider adding different lighting to showcase our product and add warmth. Since our office is so small, our “kitchen” is the walkway between the shop and the warehouse. If a customer comes in just after lunch, they are likely to get a “trip around the world” with the smells of our lunches.
These are just a few items that are on the top of my list to tackle to help make your shopping experience one that is memorable.

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