The Do’s and Don’ts of Retail Store Painting

If you own a retail store, you know that every little detail counts when it comes to convincing those who walk in your door to make a purchase. Everything from the layout of the store, to the temperature, to the music, to the placement of the items on display racks, and more factors into how a person feels and plays a role in their purchase decision. 

Of course, your retail store’s paint job also plays a critical role in making your customers feel welcomed and in the mood to buy. 

But while a good paint job can help your business and boost sales, a bad one can have the exact opposite effect: it can turn people away.

To make sure that doesn’t happen to you, keep in mind the do’s and don’ts of retail store painting. 

The Do’s of Retail Store Painting

If you want to get the most out of retail store painting, make sure you do the following: 

Use Color to Create an Environment

Just like the color scheme of a restaurant can create mood and ambiance, the colors you use to paint your retail store will also contribute significantly to the mood and atmosphere inside your store. 

Brighter, warmer colors are going to make the store feel higher-energy and more upbeat, whereas cooler, darker colors, such as blues, blacks, and grays, are going to keep things more serious and relaxed. 

Of course, these aren’t set rules. But when you start thinking about retail store painting, keep in mind the type of environment you want to create when your customers walk in to shop.

Keep Your Target Customer in Mind

Although it’s important to use colors to create a good environment for your customers while they shop, it’s also important you try and match your store color scheme to your target customer. What are they like? How old are they? Why do you think they like your store?

If most of your customers are kids or younger adults, then you might be able to get away with bolder, bright colors. But older shoppers tend to want something more neutral and less distracting. 

Again, don’t choose paint based solely on what you think your customers want. You want to let your own personality and brand show through, too. But also keep in mind what’s appropriate and work to find a balance.

Accentuate Your Biggest Sellers

As you know, there is a strategy behind how and where you place items in your store. For example, putting high-margin items or top sellers immediately to the right of the entrance increases exposure since most people, who are right handed, turn that way when they first enter. 

You can use retail store painting to create a similar effect. Paint one wall a different color and then put items on there you’re trying to emphasize. Or, use paint to highlight a specific set of items, perhaps by placing them inside a box or some other design. 

This isn’t always an exact science, so feel free to play around with a few different things to see what catches people’s eyes and drives sales. 

Refresh Constantly

Nothing is worse for your retail store than a stale paint job. Peeling or fading paint, or worse, dirty walls that can’t be cleaned, send a terrible message to customers and are going to negatively impact sales. 

On the other hand, bright, fresh, clean colors show you care and that business is booming, something that will encourage people to make a purchase. 

There’s no rule as to how often you should paint your retail store, but we recommend at least every couple of years. But to stay fresh and up-to-date you may want to do it even more often, perhaps even once per year.

The Don’ts of Retail Store Painting

While a good paint job can really help your retail store, a bad one can do the exact opposite. Make sure this doesn’t happen by avoiding the following “don’ts” of retail store painting.

Don’t Make Small Rooms Seems Smaller

Darker colors tend to make spaces feel smaller and more boxed in. 

If you have a big, wide-open retail space, then using a darker color isn’t going to be a big problem. But if your store is smaller and more intimate, using dark colors could make it feel too small. The last thing you want your customers to feel is cramped and claustrophobic. 

If you do want to use dark colors, make sure you mix in other design elements, such as a window or a different-color third wall to avoid cutting the space down and making it feel too small and uninviting.

Don’t Distract from Your Products

You should  use paint to catch people’s eye and get them to focus on certain products, or feel a certain way, when they’re in your store. But you should not go so far with it that people are more focused on your paint job than on your projects. 

The only way you can do this is if you use some sort of outlandish design or include some loud art as part of your retail painting scheme. Instead, stick to solid colors that reflect mood and atmosphere and you should be in pretty good shape. 

Don’t Skimp on Paint

This is a rule that is true for all painting jobs: get good quality paint. Just like in all things in life, you get what you pay for. So, if you buy cheap paint, it’s going to come back to haunt you. This doesn’t mean you need to buy the most expensive one, but make sure you’re getting something of quality so that it will last the test of time and also produce the color effect you’re targeting. 

Don’t Wait to Repaint

Don’t wait until your paint is peeling, chipping, bubbling, or fading to repaint. If you do this, then it means you’ve let your paint stay up for too long and it’s likely having an adverse effect on the experience your customers are having inside your retail store. Instead, plan on painting at regular intervals, such as once every other year, to make sure you don’t fall behind and that your property stays fresh.

Don’t Try this Job Yourself

Lastly, because retail store painting is so important to the success of your business, you shouldn’t try and tackle this by yourself. Instead, hire some professionals. They will help you figure out which colors are best, and they will also produce a much better finished product. This is your business, after all, so you only want the best. 

If you think you’re ready for some new retail store painting, get in touch today for a free quote.