In the world of brick-and-mortar retail, standing out from your competition is crucial – especially in the wake of Covid. After months spent in isolation, e-commerce and click-and-collect have become the norm for many of us. Now that shoppers can physically return to their favourite stores, it’s more important than ever to create an aesthetically dynamic and easy-to-navigate experience for your customers.
So, what’s the key ingredient to your visual merchandising success? It’s shelving! We’re here to talk you through some innovative shop shelving ideas and how to best make them work for your retail space. Take a look at these options for some serious shop shelving inspiration!
Short on floor space but still want a dynamic way to display your stock? Floating shelving could be the solution for you. There are boundless options for floating shelves, so you can customise the design to be tailored to your space. Whether you like the look of wood, metal, or even glass, there is a floating shelf to suit. This style of shelving also benefits from showing off your stock from different angles, which is great for products like homewares which may feature all-over design elements.
If you have large amounts of stock to display in a generously sized commercial retail space, gondola shelving is a smart and cost-effective visual-merchandising helper. Not familiar with gondolas outside of the canals of Venice? Allow us to explain. Gondola shelving is an adaptable, free-standing metal shelving system that uses cantilevered shelves. These shelves extend from one or both sides of a rigid vertical back. Gondola bays really go the distance with versatility – they can be updated to include shelves, trays, lights, sign panels, side and end panels and our new exclusive range of sign holders.
For a business that sells smaller and more delicate items, glass shelves are a great investment. Whilst glass shelves can be more fragile, this also encourages shoppers to be gentle with the stock that is placed on them. From an aesthetic perspective, they lend themselves very well to upscale products like jewellery and porcelain items. A clear, clean, and glimmering glass shelf can draw the eye whilst also allowing your stock to stand out. While glass shelves may have a reputation as being easy to scratch and crack, their engineering has come a long way. Scratch-resistant and special reinforced varieties are available if you are concerned about damage.
No matter what the general aesthetic of your store is, it’s nearly impossible to go wrong with wire and metal shelving. The clean, crisp, and neutral palette of a silver metallic allows your stock to shine. Heavy-duty metal shelving is also seriously versatile – you can add rubber wheels for easy movement, as well as individual shelves within the unit that can be adjusted to the spacing you desire. Wire and metal shelving are also both very hardy, so if you have heavier, bulkier stock, you don’t have to stress about damaging the shelves.
It may sound obvious, but making sure that the stock on your shelves is clearly visible is super important. Whether your space is a little on the darker side or you just want to add some extra oomph, LED shelf lighting is a cost-effective solution. The easy-to-install design of this particular lighting means that you can retrofit your existing shelving without having to remove your merchandise – just install, plug it in, and reap the benefits that some extra illumination affords you.
Modular shelving is another entry that boasts the sought-after versatility that commercial retailers need. It is designed to be highly flexible, garnering a reputation as a shelving style that marries function and aesthetics. It can be put together and reconfigured in a number of ways, and is easy to break down, transport, and reassemble. Modular shelving is particularly useful if you have a pop-up or semi-permanent retail space at your disposal because you don’t have to commit to any hard installations or cumbersome assembly.
When it comes to bang for your buck and versatility, exploring portable shelving options such as gondola shelves can provide you with a chance to create original shop shelving solutions. Portable shelving units give you the opportunity to easily re-merchandise your store space. This allows you to experiment with floor layouts to see which flow of foot traffic works best. If you utilise portable shelving correctly, you can give your space a facelift as often as you want. Some of the options listed above can be made portable with some customisation, but if you’re starting from scratch and have your heart set on a more mobile shelving set-up, it’s worth investing in a product that is designed to move.
These are just some examples of a wide range of shop shelving ideas. With any of the above options, or perhaps even a combination, you can create original shop shelving solutions that are completely customised to your needs. Happy shopfitting!
