Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique has assembled 6 ways to give your store the edge in battling competition with new trends in store-front designs. Aesthetics that strengthen store relevancy, green initiative, cost-effectiveness are all being innovated. This article will help you determine how to supplement franchise design, or update your existing pet franchise to keep your space an engaging retail and grooming space.

Expanding Outdoor Areas and Open the Doors

Studies suggest that customers respond to stores that have open doors and outside seating areas. In the pet grooming franchise, lobbies are typically inside, but when weather permits you may want to consider incorporating an outside lobby for clients waiting on their dogs to finish their grooming, or just as a place for customers to enjoy the space outside. Outside chairs and umbrellas that create ambience bridging the gap between walking traffic area space and your retail space.

Place water bowls and treat tasting displays outside. This will increase customer interaction with products, and entice walking traffic into the store. Outside is also a place to use signage and display. Promotional signs and sales entice customers. Consider placing Splash and dash Groomerie & Boutique window panes in the front of your store. These window panes feature logos and cute designs of pets. This will keep the sun out and customers in.

Shopper-Tainment

An emerging trend is to “create a show” in your store. Customers like to be entertained while they shop and peruse products. For example, outside of the pet industry restaurants are adopting more Hibachi-esque styles of cooking in order to “wow” their customers. In the pet franchise, this translates into Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique franchise packages. The color pallette and store designs are incorporative of the “wow” factor that customers look for in retail space. Packages make use of spectacle and entertaining designs.

When groomers present their dogs to customers after a grooming this is a great time to take advantage of this marketing trend. Putting down a red carpet–referencing dog shows—from the grooming area to the check-out counter, makes the interaction feel more entertaining. Customers are already excited to see their pets with a new buzz, and cutesy additions generate even more excitement.

Reducing Store-Front Size

Turnkeys that feature smaller footprints are a focus in today’s franchise market. Regardless of the franchise you are researching, the rule “less is more” stands true. Smaller retail space means less operating costs. Smaller footprints mitigate rent costs, lower turnkey costs, and reduce utilities.

An example of start-up that exemplifies this is Saladworks. The start-up franchise reduced their prototype store-front by a little under 1,5000 square feet. The size reduction saved them $14,855 according to the franchise disclosure document. Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique have turnkeys that are usually between 1000 to 1300 square feet. This makes for an already proportionally affordable store-front.

Another design method that saves money is to arrange equipment and merchandising effectively. If you can combine work spaces, than do it. If your bathing area is too far from your grooming table, forcing groomers to do extra cleaning and owners to install drains, just move the equipment. Take advantage of surge protection power strips that will increase power efficiency. Power strips with charging and USB ports help simplify equipment tangling and spacing.

Green Technology

The best way to both save money and appeal to today’s consumer is to try and incorporate eco-friendly additions. Customer’s tend to show more loyalty toward franchises with green initiatives.

Technology like solar power, high-capacity AC units, Energy-Management systems, and LED are all installations to look into. Many franchise owners are hesitant to invest in green technology because of the up-front cost. This technology will pay for itself over time when you save on power bills. Many successful store-fronts are bypassing hardwired light fixtures in place of cheaper and more engaging clipped-in lighting.

Take Care of Millennials

One of the most enigmatic and important market demographics to understand are the millennials. Trends that appeal to millennials become mainstream trends shortly after. Millennial consumer targeting helps improve overall store design because it relies on tech-enabling your retail space. If you do not already have free access to WiFi for customers in your pet franchise–you should. WiFi has become a mandatory feature of stores and is considered an expectation for customers.

Taking advantage of various free applications for customers to “check-in,” like Pinterest and Facebook are good vantage points for not only customer appeal but free advertising. This allows you to reach customers solely in your region, maintain promotional services, and is fun and engaging with customers.

Studies also suggest that millennials also respond to eco-friendly decor like ambient light fixtures, benches, and table-tops. If you are striving for green design use signage to let your customers know.