A modern retail store façade must do much more than its predecessors. The façade is no longer just about showing your name and advertising sales. Today's retailer needs their building façade to entice customers inside, sell products, boost traffic, and build community. How can yours do this? Here are a few key things it should do.

1. Provide a Clear View

A vital part of your façade is the view it provides of the store interior. Transparency has been shown to help increase customer foot traffic by allowing people to see the goods inside and be tempted in. Also, new customers may not be adventurous enough to enter a store they cannot size up to some extent. Solve both problems by making good use of your windows as a sales tool. 

2. Identify Your Brand

The branding of your business should be clear and obvious in its façade. This is more than just the name and logo. Branding is an all-encompassing set of ingredients that people come to associate with your business. It includes everything from font style and colors to quotes and designs or symbols. Customers should immediately be able to differentiate your business from nearby ones and competitors. 

3. Provide a Stopping Point

How can you get people to stop at your store? Slowing down modern customers can be challenging, so think outside the box. Consider encouraging lingering by creating a seating area outside. You might use an awning, trees, or even your façade itself to provide welcome shade. Make the façade interactive. Or use your windows to create an enticing interior interaction that draws attention from passersby. 

4. Tell a Story

Think about what you want the store's first impression to tell customers? Do you want them to see an old-fashioned retail market, a forward-thinking place to find new ideas, or an eco-friendly environment? Decide the story's goal first, then work backwards to tell it through your choice of materials, colors, architectural elements, and design.

5. Communicate 24 Hours

When the store closes, the façade should keep selling your business to potential customers. This means a well-planned lighting strategy, clever use of windows during the night hours, and branding elements designed to be seen at night or when the store is shut down.

Where to Start

Ready to start crafting the perfect façade for your retail business? Start by meeting with a commercial construction company in your area today. With their expertise and your clear vision, your new exterior will accomplish all these goals and more.