19 Store Improvement Ideas for Retailers

Rising operational costs, the disruption of supply chains, and competition with ecommerce stores are all creating challenges for retailers looking to open a retail store. 

The good news is: in 2024, Capital One reported 72% of retail sales were from brick-and-mortar stores. And according to a 2024 JLL report, around two-thirds of people prefer shopping in person over online. 

But to widen your margins in order to keep your doors open, you’ll want to improve your store in as many ways as possible. Even small strategic improvements can make a big difference. So, let's explore some practical store improvement ideas to tackle these challenges and turn your store into a more profitable, customer-friendly space that keeps people coming back for more.

Store layout and design

A well-planned retail store layout shapes the entire customer experience, influences buying decisions, and can impact your bottom line. Here are some key strategies for creating a layout that will keep customers coming back. 

Optimize traffic flow

Optimizing your store's traffic flow isn't just about aesthetics—it's about maximizing every square foot of selling space. To optimize foot traffic through your store:

• Understand how customers naturally move through spaces. For example, theInvariant Right concept states most American shoppers will turn right when entering a store. Place bestsellers or photo opportunities here to lure customers in.
• Create clear pathways. Make sure your aisles are wide enough that customers won’t feel crowded or trapped. Clear pathways also help your store be more accessible.
• Use technology. With AI and Shopify apps like Dor, you can track foot traffic data through sales as you experiment with different layouts.

Remember, the goal is to create a shopping experience that feels natural while guiding customers through your merchandise. Regularly analyzing traffic patterns and having the willingness to adjust based on customer behavior will help ensure your layout continues to work for you.

Strategically place products

Visual merchandising—where you place products throughout your store and on your shelves—also affects sales. For example, using the concept of the invariant right to your advantage, you could create a "power wall". Put your more eye-catching displays and seasonal items to the right of your entrance. 

Products placed at eye-level (about 5-6 feet from the floor) get more attention than items on other shelves. Shoppers also scan shelves the same way you would read a book—from left to right. Placing your most profitable items in these spots can further increase sales for those products. 

You could also place complementary products near each other—like placing phone cases and headphones next to compatible phones, or vases next to flowers. 

Don't forget about your checkout area—it's perfect for impulse buys. Stock it with small, affordable items that customers won't think twice about adding to their purchase, bumping up your average order value (AOV).

Create experiential zones

Successful retailers are transforming their spaces into interactive destinations where people can explore, learn, and connect. According to research done by Akeno, up to 80% of shoppers are willing to pay more for enhanced shopping experiences and 32% actively seek out in-store experiential moments.

Consider where you can create these experiences with zones in your store’s layout. You can use these areas for:

• Hands-on product testing stations
• Instagram-worthy photo spots
• Workshops and demonstrations
• Personalization stations where customers can customize products
• Comfortable spaces to relax and recharge

The key is to make any experience feel like a genuine extension of your brand that adds value for customers. Don't just create experiences for the sake of it—give each zone a purpose. Remember to regularly update and refresh these areas to keep the experience of your retail store fresh and give customers new reasons to visit. 

Improve your store’s accessibility 

Making sure all your customers are able to access your retail store, as well as your products, is the first step to any sales strategy. 

Start with physical access and think about practical things:

• Doorways should be wide enough for wheelchairs and mobility devices (with automatic doors if possible) 
• Keep aisles clear and unobstructed 
• Install elevators or ramps between levels
• Provide accessible parking near the entrance
• Make information accessible with large, easy-to-read fonts
• Braille elements on important signs
• Clear communication in multiple formats (visual, audio, written)
• Use non-slip flooring
• Provide quiet zones for customers who might be sensitive to overwhelming sensory experiences
• Make sure the checkout counter is at an accessible height and card readers are reachable from a seated position

Physical accessibility isn’t where things end. Train your team to offer assistance without being intrusive, communicate effectively, understand service animal etiquette, and operate accessibility equipment. This matters—brands are missing out on an estimated $338 billion every year because their stores and or products are inaccessible.

Technology

Whether you're running a small boutique or managing multiple store locations, technology can help make your store more efficient. 

Choose the right POS

Your point-of-sale (POS) system is the command center of your entire retail operation.

Rather than cobbling together different systems with third-party connections, opt for a POS that offers native integration with your ecommerce store platform. This means real-time inventory updates across all channels and the ability to handle modern shopping experiences like buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) without a disjointed tech stack.

The best POS systems unify your front- and backend data into a single commerce operating system. Shopify, for example, funnels your product information, order history, and customer data into a single dashboard. This eliminates the headache of trying to keep track of information across multiple platforms. 

Remember: your business is unique, and your POS should adapt to your specific needs. Good POS systems offer UI extensions that let you customize your checkout experience. For example, Shopify POS has UI extensions that allow you to integrate a loyalty program, manage complex inventory systems, or create custom discount rules that work for major corporations or local businesses.

Offer mobile payment solutions

Digital alternatives to cash—such as credit cards and digital wallets—have now overtaken cash and claim the top spot as consumers’ preferred retail payment method.

The benefits of catering to these preferences are clear: mobile payments are 63% faster to process than traditional card transactions, helping you serve more customers and reduce checkout queues.

To benefit from these upgrades, check that your POS system supports NFC technology. Shopify, for example, accepts a variety of retail payment methods without the need for a third-party payment processor, including:

• Chip-and-pin credit/debit cards
• Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Buy now, pay later with Shop Pay Installments 
• Gift cards
• Loyalty points

💡Pro tip: Shopify Payments turns your smartphone into a credit card machine with Tap to Pay. Instead of diverting customers towards a fixed checkout desk, you can use your existing hardware to process payments, retrieve inventory levels, and reference customer data from your smartphone.

Collect and use customer data

Personalization is no longer a buzzword. Studies show that three-quarters of all consumers expect a basic level of personalization when shopping with a brand. 

Personalization works by using data you’ve already collected on your customer. This presents the need for unified profiles—a complete cross-channel log of every interaction a customer has had with your brand both in-store and online. 

Platforms like Shopify, for example, make the following data accessible from your POS device:

• Interactions with sales associates in-store
• Products they’ve bought, returned, or exchanged (either in-store or online)
• Loyalty points they’ve earned
• Shipping options they’ve chosen 
• Emails they’ve opened
• Discounts or promotions they’ve redeemed

This is a superb way to improve your store and the overall customer experience. In fact, our data shows that brands using unified customer profiles have seen up to a 20% increase in order value, demonstrating the value of retail clienteling. 

Improve operational efficiency

The more efficient you can operate a retail business, the more revenue you can generate without proportionally increasing your investment in resources. The architecture of your business has a huge impact on how well you do this.

In fact, merchants who unify their POS and ecommerce systems see significantly higher operational efficiency and growth rates compared to those maintaining fragmented systems—and when you switch to Shopify, you can benefit from 11% lower implementation and integration costs.

When implementing any new system, start with a thorough audit of your current processes, train your staff well, and begin with core features before expanding. Remember: the goal is to create a system that works quietly in the background while making life easier for both your team and your customers.

Customer experience 

Upgrading the customer experience is one of the easiest ways to improve your store. Here are some pointers on where to start.

Use retail clienteling tools to sell

If you want to transform casual shoppers into loyal fans, you need to personalize shopping experiences for your customers using detailed insights. 

Take home furnishings retailer Jenni Kayne as an example. Its customers tend to shop omnichannel because the sales cycle is lengthy and requires a lot of thought. “You don’t buy a living room overnight,” its director of home experience Sam Mella says. “But if we had insights about these customers based on our previous interactions online and in-person, then we could follow up and thoughtfully guide them through the purchasing journey.”

Jenni Kayne migrated to Shopify to unify its customer data and provide a seamless experience across all channels. Now, retail associates can reference each customer’s unified profile to personalize the experience and increase engagement. 

Sam adds: “Deep down, relationships are the most important thing to us, and with Shopify, we can take the time to build those relationships as clients furnish their homes over the span of months and even years by always following up, making sure they’re happy, and then talking about building out the rest of the space.”

Effective personalization isn’t just about collecting data; it's about using customer insights strategically to enhance the shopping experience. The key is blending technology with genuine personal service. This means training staff on how to use the tools and customer insights to form authentic connections.

Train staff 

Your POS system is the hub information for your store, so start training retail staff on the basics: processing transactions, handling returns, and managing customer profiles. 

But don't stop there. Your team needs to understand how to leverage features like inventory lookup, loyalty programs, and mobile payments to create smoother shopping experiences. Create hands-on training scenarios that mirror real situations, like processing complicated returns or handling split payments.

Beyond technical skills, focus on the human side of the retail business. Train your sales team in active listening, problem-solving, and building genuine customer connections. They should understand not just what products you sell, but how to match them to customer needs and handle tricky situations with confidence.

Provide customer feedback systems

Understanding your customers is about actively listening to their experiences and using that information to make your store better. The best way to do that is by offering multiple ways for customers to share their thoughts. 

Digital channels like post-purchase emails, website forms, and social media provide convenient feedback options. In-store, consider using digital kiosks at checkout, receipt-based surveys, or simple comment cards. The easier you make it to give feedback, the more likely customers are to share their experiences.

Collecting feedback is the start—the real value comes from how you use it. Make sure to respond to negative feedback within 24 hours and acknowledge positive comments promptly. Track trends over time to identify common issues and monitor satisfaction. Most importantly, share relevant feedback with your team and recognize employees who receive positive mentions.

Offer a consistent experience across channels

Whether it’s online, in-store, or a combination of the two—you want a customer’s shopping experience to be positive, convenient, and consistent. A unified commerce system like Shopify eliminates fragmentation and data silos by feeding data you’ve collected on your customer back to a single source of truth. 

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Letting customers browse your complete catalog from in-store kiosks and order items for home delivery
• Giving customers the ability to check real-time inventory across all locations from your ecommerce website
• Offering buy online, return in-store (BORIS) to return items hassle-free
• Ensuring gift cards and store credit can be redeemed wherever they shop 

Create omnichannel loyalty programs

Customers are more likely to engage with brands offering loyalty rewards. But creating an effective loyalty program means making it easier to access and use rewards wherever they shop.

A unified rewards system lets customers check their points on their phone, earn rewards in-store, and redeem them online, creating a smoother, more engaging experience that leads to more sales. For example, pet food retailer Tomlinson’s uses Shopify to unify its loyalty and trade membership data across all sales channels. 

“We have to be able to track customer profiles and ensure the appropriate profile tags and discounts are associated with each profile for 365 days,” says owner and operator Kate Knecht. “And the Pet Club discount needs to be automatically applied to each transaction. There can’t be any manual extra steps. It needs to be seamless for the customer and for the team.”

Visual merchandising

Visual merchandising is silent selling. Displays and visual elements help to tell your brand’s story and showcase your products in the best light. It’s a chance to wow, pique interest, and introduce products to your customers.

Window display strategies

Your store window is your first impression to potential customers. A well-designed display could convince passersby to enter your store, even if they didn’t initially intend to. 

Create a clear focal point and work with different heights using platforms and suspended elements. This can help create visual depth and interest from various angles, as opposed to a 2D layout.

Smart lighting can make all the difference: combine spotlights for featured items, ambient lighting for atmosphere, and accent lighting for depth. You can test your display under different lighting conditions throughout the day.

Track how successful your displays are by monitoring foot traffic, viewing time, and sales of featured items. A good way to get instant feedback is to post displays on social media and see the reaction. Take note of what works well for future reference. 

Seasonal display rotations

Keeping your store displays fresh and seasonal is an easy way to capture the interest of passersby—even if they’ve walked past a handful of times before.

Take note of different holidays or events that you think your customers will identify with and start planning out your displays in advance. For instance, lean into fresh starts and renewal themes with light colors and natural elements for spring displays. For summer displays, opt for more vibrant colors and vacation vibes. Fall brings opportunities for harvest themes and cozy textures, while winter lets you showcase festive elements and gift ideas.

Plan your displays 6-8 weeks ahead and schedule updates during off-peak hours. If you want to make the most of your budget, invest in versatile display elements that can be repurposed across seasons. 

Interactive displays

Interactive displays let shoppers explore products in detail, customize items to their taste, and even virtually try things on before buying. These displays are more than flashy set pieces—they actually help your customers and can increase sales. 

You can also have areas where people can try your products out, like testing stations for lotion or makeup. Or you can offer areas where customers can personalize purchases with branded stickers, Instagram walls, or even photobooths. 

These interactive displays are the ideal opportunity to suggest complementary products, show personalized promotions, and even help manage store traffic by guiding shoppers to specific sections. When done right, displays feel like a natural part of the shopping experience, making browsing more enjoyable all while boosting your sales. 

Security and loss prevention

Many of these new security measures require a bit of initial investment. But even if your budget doesn’t allow such an investment now, it’s good to know what trends to look forward to in retail security.

Advanced CCTV with AI

AI-powered CCTV systems do way more than just record footage. These smart systems actively help prevent theft and enhance store operations through real-time monitoring and analysis. 

Using machine learning, advanced CCTV systems can instantly spot suspicious behavior like loitering or unusual movement patterns, and alert security staff before incidents occur. It can be particularly useful in high-risk areas like self-checkout zones, where it can detect ticket switching and unusual refund patterns. 

Interest in these systems is growing fast—about 37% of retailers plan to implement these AI-powered security features in 2025. If you have the money, the investment makes sense when you look at the benefits: reduced shrinkage, faster response times, and better operational insights.

But before splurging (these systems are expensive), make sure you’re in compliance with GDPR law and proper surveillance notices. Remember that AI CCTV can’t replace valuable staff training—and if your system can’t integrate with your existing store infrastructure, it will be of little use to you. 

RFID inventory tracking

RFID technology is changing how stores protect their merchandise and track inventory. Think of it as a super-smart barcode system that doesn't require line-of-sight scanning and can monitor multiple items simultaneously.

RFID systems use wireless tags that communicate with readers throughout the store, giving real-time alerts when tagged items leave designated areas. This can prevent theft and track high-value merchandise, and also keep inventory counts accurate and catch administrative errors that could lead to shrinkage.

While there's an upfront investment, retailers are seeing solid returns. Take Tecovas, for example. The Western wear retailer now experiences 99.5% inventory accuracy across all of its 30+ retail stores. This has helped avoid losses from shrinkage, stockouts, and increased operational efficiency. 

This technology is also continuing to improve and get smarter. New trends point toward AI integration and cloud-based monitoring systems that make remote management easier than ever.

Smart anti-theft systems

The best approach to theft is proactive, not reactive. Smart systems can help prevent theft before it happens by combining multiple technologies—like AI-powered cameras, RFID sensors, and smart shelf monitoring—to create a comprehensive security system.

Things like cameras that spot suspicious behavior, sensors that track product movement, and weight-monitoring systems at self-checkout all work together, sharing information in real-time and alerting security staff when needed.

Keep in mind, this technology is very expensive, and not totally foolproof, so make sure it makes sense for your store. Even Amazon pulled back and closed most of its cashierless Amazon Go stores that utilized smart shelves and cameras to track items. 

Improve store sales with Shopify

To improve store sales, you need more than tools—you need a unified commerce solution that seamlessly connects your online and in-store operations. Shopify provides exactly that, with natively integrated ecommerce and POS capabilities built on a single platform. This unified approach not only streamlines your operations but also provides comprehensive analytics across all sales channels, allowing you to make data-driven decisions that drive growth.

With Shopify's centralized platform, you can monitor customer behavior, track conversion rates, and gain actionable insights across both digital and physical touchpoints—all without the complexity of multiple systems or costly integrations. It's how leading retailers are future-proofing their business while delivering the seamless shopping experiences their customers expect.