Store Layout Course

Lesson 1 • Business Goals and Layout Alignment

Links layout decisions to KPIs such as sales per square foot, basket size, and dwell time. Students evaluate layouts against measurable retail performance targets.

Lesson 2 • Retail Space and Its Purpose

Defines the functional role of store space in connecting merchandise to shoppers. Anchors all subsequent layout decisions in business and customer objectives.

Lesson 3 • Core Layout Terminology

Introduces essential vocabulary used throughout the course, from traffic flow to fixture density. Shared language enables precise communication with merchandising and operations teams.

Lesson 4 • Shopper Psychology Fundamentals

Covers attention, perception, and decision-making as they apply to in-store navigation. Connects psychological principles to layout choices made throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Entrance and Exit Design

Covers decompression zone sizing, entrance sight lines, and exit placement relative to checkout. Proper entrance design maximizes the percentage of the store shoppers actually visit.

Lesson 2 • Traffic Flow Mapping Techniques

Introduces observation, heat-mapping, and path-tracking methods to document actual shopper movement. Students produce annotated floor-plan traffic maps as a core deliverable.

Lesson 3 • How Shoppers Navigate Stores

Examines natural movement patterns, entry behavior, and path tendencies across retail formats. Provides the behavioral foundation for all traffic-flow planning in this chapter.

Lesson 4 • Aisle Strategy and Width Standards

Establishes primary, secondary, and feature aisle hierarchies and their recommended width ranges. Students apply width standards to a floor plan to balance capacity and comfort.

Lesson 1 • Measuring and Auditing Existing Space

Teaches floor-plan measurement, linear footage calculation, and space audit documentation. Accurate measurement is the prerequisite for any reallocation or redesign project.

Lesson 2 • Space Productivity Metrics

Defines and calculates GMROI, sales per linear foot, and inventory turn as space productivity measures. Students benchmark a sample department and identify reallocation opportunities.

Lesson 3 • Space Planning Principles

Introduces productivity-based and customer-mission-based approaches to space allocation. Establishes the decision framework used in all subsequent space-planning exercises.

Lesson 4 • Planogram Development Basics

Covers shelf-level space planning, facings calculation, and basic planogram construction rules. Students build a simple planogram for a single category using standard software conventions.

Lesson 1 • Fixture Density and Spacing

Establishes density standards that balance merchandise capacity with comfortable shopper movement. Overcrowded fixtures suppress sales; this section quantifies the optimal range.

Lesson 2 • Fixture Types and Their Functions

Surveys gondolas, four-ways, round racks, tables, and wall systems with their merchandising strengths. Matching fixture type to category and customer behavior is the chapter's central skill.

Lesson 3 • Fixture Plan Creation

Integrates fixture type, height, density, and placement decisions into a complete fixture plan. Students produce a fixture plan for an assigned store section as a graded project.

Lesson 4 • Fixture Height and Sight-Line Planning

Explains how fixture height affects sight lines, store navigation, and perceived spaciousness. Students adjust fixture heights on a floor plan to open or define zones intentionally.

Lesson 1 • Cross-Merchandising Techniques

Introduces in-aisle cross-merchandising, cross-category displays, and solution-based merchandising. Students design a cross-merchandising display that links two complementary categories.

Lesson 2 • Building a Category Adjacency Map

Teaches a step-by-step process for creating and validating a store-level adjacency map. Students produce an adjacency map for a full-format store using a provided category list.

Lesson 3 • Seasonal and Promotional Placement

Plans seasonal resets and promotional placement within the permanent adjacency structure. Students create a seasonal placement overlay for a holiday period without disrupting core adjacencies.

Lesson 4 • Shelf-Level Merchandise Placement

Covers eye-level, reach zone, and floor-level placement rules and their effect on sales velocity. Students apply placement rules to a planogram and predict the impact on category performance.

Lesson 1 • Display Types and Construction

Surveys vignette, lifestyle, and mass-display formats and their appropriate retail contexts. Students select and construct a display type matched to a given category and customer profile.

Lesson 2 • In-Store Signage Systems

Defines wayfinding, promotional, and informational sign hierarchies and their placement logic. Effective signage reduces shopper friction and reinforces the layout decisions from prior chapters.

Lesson 3 • Brand Identity in Store Environment

Applies brand color, typography, and tone-of-voice standards to in-store visual and signage elements. Students audit a sample store environment for brand consistency and propose corrections.

Lesson 4 • Lighting as a Layout Tool

Explains ambient, accent, and task lighting roles and their effect on merchandise appeal and navigation. Students specify a lighting plan for a store section that supports the visual merchandising scheme.

Lesson 1 • Service Counter and Desk Design

Addresses customer service desk, returns counter, and specialty service area placement and flow. Proper service area design reduces congestion and supports positive post-purchase experience.

Lesson 2 • Technology Integration at Checkout

Evaluates self-checkout, mobile payment, and scan-and-go technologies and their spatial requirements. Students adjust a checkout zone plan to accommodate a specified technology mix.

Lesson 3 • Checkout Zone Strategy

Covers checkout placement, queue management, and the relationship between checkout design and overall traffic flow. Checkout is the final touchpoint and must align with the store's layout logic.

Lesson 4 • Accessibility and Inclusive Design

Applies universal design principles to checkout lanes, service counters, and aisle clearances. Students audit a checkout zone plan against accessibility standards and revise accordingly.

Lesson 1 • Presenting Layout Recommendations

Develops skills for communicating layout findings and proposals to store operations and leadership teams. Students deliver a structured layout recommendation using data, visuals, and a business case.

Lesson 2 • Interpreting Shopper Data

Teaches analysis of heat maps, dwell-time reports, and conversion funnels to diagnose layout problems. Data interpretation skills connect measurement to actionable redesign decisions.

Lesson 3 • Conducting a Layout Audit

Provides a structured audit framework covering traffic flow, space productivity, fixture use, and signage. Students apply the framework to a case-study store and document findings systematically.

Lesson 4 • Key Layout Performance Metrics

Defines conversion rate, sales density, dwell time, and basket size as primary layout KPIs. Students calculate each metric from a provided dataset and interpret the results.