Convenience Store Floor Plans are critical to meeting your sales plan. If your store has narrow isles, poor lighting, or feels claustrophobic, people will want to get in and out as quickly as possible. If however your store is well lit, has pleasing graphics, wide isles so people can move comfortably past each other, and is well stocked but not overstocked, your customers will linger and spend money. With your margins being squeezed at the pump, you need that in store revenue to keep you in business.

Especially if your store is older/smaller, consider an interior remodel. Your investment is far less than opening or building a new store. When you think layout, think in terms of the newer stores. If you haven’t recently, visit a new QuikTrip, Racetrac, Wawa, or other big regional chain store – shop for ideas. Look at winners in the Convenience Store News Design Contest and explore design ideas on the internet.

Once you have a general idea of where you want to go, talk to an expert. Good Design is Priceless, bad design can cost a fortune. Talk with an architect or designer that specializes in Convenience Stores. Even if you don’t engage their services, the ideas you get will be valuable. You may find that the benefits they bring to the table outweigh the investment in their time.

Recognize that adding design features and reworking your whole convenience store floorplan requires an investment of time, energy and dollars, but the return on that investment is both immediate and long lasting. With proper planning on the front end of the process however – the total investment can be reduced and the return can be increased.