If you need new retail shelving now and can't quite afford everything right at the moment, you can still budget to save, get what you need, and keep moving forward even with limited funds.
How to get the retail shelving you need even when your budget is limited
- Figure out what you can do now, and what you can do later
What in your current stock of retail shelving can be made to work for the next season, and what needs to be replaced immediately? Replace those truly shabby or broken down shelving components and fixtures that can't be used anymore with new, and make do with older shelving that may have seen better days but is still serviceable. For example, perhaps glass shelving needs immediate replacement, while your gondola shelving can wait another season for replacement.
- Mix old with new for an eclectic look
If you have shelving and fixtures that are in perfectly good shape but are out of date or not the style you want, make them work for the time being by mixing them in with newer pieces that complement them for an eclectic look. You may still want to replace the older pieces at some point, but they'll work for now so that you can spend your money on retail shelving you must have right now.
- Take a look at new materials
Today, retail shelving comes in a variety of colors, styles, and materials. You can often choose shelving made of plastic -- for example -- that's just as sturdy as metal and looks just as good, but is much less expensive than metal. Again, you may not want to replace all of your shelving and fixtures with less expensive materials, but you can certainly choose a selection of pieces – some wood, some plastic, some metal, and/or some glass – that will fit your budget and give you everything you need.
Doing construction? Consider doing it in stages
If one of the reasons you need to replace all of your old retail shelving with new is that you're doing construction, you can break down your large construction project into smaller phases. If you are ultimately going to overhaul your complete interior, for example, you and your contractor can sit down and figure out what needs to be done when. Set up a time frame and budget for each phase, so that you only have to focus on one at a time.
If you have the money to re-floor and repaint now and that needs to be done first -- for example -- but that leaves you only enough money to replace a few shelving units and fixtures, you can do that now; then, replace the remainder of your shelving and fixtures in the next phase, when you'll again have the budget to do so.
Ask your contractor to work with you
You and your contractor can work together to create a schedule so that the project you are undertaking will be broken down into smaller, more manageable phases. Not only does this make it less expensive for you to re-carpet and repaint, but it also lets you replace shelving and fixtures as you can afford to do so. In addition, by working with your contractor to get the construction done in phases, you can leave your store open during the entirety of the construction (or nearly so) and thus keep the money coming in.
If you plan well, you can budget for shelving to save, and still get what you need without cutting corners. All it takes is a little forethought and some patience.
