Retail Flooring - What A Floor Can Do from FLOORChef

To summarise the retail floor series so far, we've pointed out the popular concrete finishes are now reaching the end of their first lifecycle (New Trend Emerging) and may be causing a retail design re-think based on recognised visual marketing principles (Grab The Customer).

While there's been a lot of talk about appearances and how important they are in attracting customers, it only touches on the wider role retail floors can play. It's not very helpful to say dull, lifeless floors aren't what you want in a retail setting because anyone can see that. The much harder task is to piece together what a retail floor should offer and that's what I'll get to now.

Open your mind with shop floors

The first piece of advice is to never underestimate the impact a retail floor can have. The right floor can modernise, brighten and open up a room in addition to looking fantastic itself. By settling for the easy option of neutral tiles or polished concrete, you could miss the opportunity to give the shop what it really needs. Don't get me wrong, tiles and concrete can be the perfect fit in the right shop, but the "right shop" isn't every shop as recent history may suggest.

Don't forget about colour for retail floors

I think the reason why the current trend has been so strong is because the power of colour in retail flooring has been forgotten. The market has been seduced by the ease and perceived versatility of concrete finishes and is missing out on the opportunity to promote their brand or even influence the customer just as NeuroRelay spoke about. Never forget, a retail floor can be so much more than just a hard surface to walk on!

More strings to the bow

That last piece of advice is that selection of retail flooring shouldn't stop at pretty colours or brand promotion because they can perform other roles as well. In particular, colour coding and line marking for shopper navigation is a big focus of visual marketing strategies, while the safety factor can't be ignored either. Anti-slip texture is an obvious one here, however even a lighter, cleaner surface can play a part in better safety through the easier detection of spills and other slip hazards.

If you have any questions about other roles retail flooring can play, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Keep Smiling,
Jack Josephsen
Head FLOORChef

For more articles on retail flooring, visit the YESChef! Blog