SHELF OBSESSED

There are many different career paths a practicing pharmacist may take, including:

• Community pharmacy
• Clinical pharmacy
• Hospital pharmacy
• Ambulatory care pharmacy
• Consulting pharmacy
• Hospice pharmacy
• Academic pharmacy

...and at least a dozen others.

The colors utilized in your pharmacy design are a key element in creating the type of emotional impact you want to have on your customers. It starts with your outside entrance and carries on as your visitors come through the door. Whether your store is located in a mall or out on the street, your customers will likely have just a moment to notice you and be attracted to what you have to offer. The use of colors can be a big part of this attraction. Here are some tips for using color to create an attractive and emotionally compelling pharmacy design:

Whether you're building a new pharmacy, remodeling an existing one, remodeling a vacant commercial space into a pharmacy or simply upgrading your current pharmacy shelving with something newer or better, you can learn a great deal by studying the results of those who have gone before you in a similar venture. As a pharmacy owner or manager, it may come as somewhat of a surprise to you that when pharmacy builds or remodels are getting put into motion, the planning stages often require as much or more time to complete than the actual construction phase. Here's where the old "measure twice, cut once" comes into play.

Today's best-designed independent pharmacies are a far cry from their big-box, chain store competition for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the flexibility they incorporate into their pharmacy design. Great design brings the environment of a pharmacy to life, creating a welcoming feeling to those who visit and a comfortable and efficient place for staff members to spend their days. The creation of a safe, warm, and inviting shopping experience can be fostered through the use of attractive lighting, including natural light brought into your space through the installation of skylights or windows on exterior walls. Pleasing colors can be utilized for walls, fixtures and signage, and even the addition of some attractive, non-pollinating greenery can produce a relaxing effect on customers.

The psychology of selling is nothing new. Salespeople have used different types of tactics to help make sales for as long as buying and selling have been around. And, although face-to-face sales is somewhat different from selling in a retail store environment, customer behavior follows certain reactions to sales techniques, both subliminal and overt, and pharmacy customers are much the same as any other shoppers.

Everything seems to be changing so rapidly these days, especially where technology is concerned, and pharmacy design is no different. New shelving and fixtures have been developed in the last few years that, when replacing old and tired pharmacy shelving, can make a world of difference in how things look in your store as well as how well they sell. The psychology of drugstore sales is an area that shows promise regarding the subliminal responses of customers to your store layout, and much sales success has been tied to pharmacy design, including the style and placement of shelves and fixtures.

If you're looking for ways to increase your profitability and improve the customer experience in your pharmacy, take a good look at your retail fixtures and shelving. Nearly everything in view inside your pharmacy retail section is being displayed on retail fixtures that can't help but speak volumes about not only the quality of products being offered, but also the quality of care and service you provide. Think about it. What are your retail fixtures telling customers about your store?

When remodeling an existing pharmacy or building a new one, planning ahead with your shelving design and placement to make things as convenient and as accessible as possible for customers is important. When customers are spending time in the front-end merchandising area of your store, you want the shelving design to guide them through the aisles in a natural way so that they have the opportunity to view all the different sections of your retailing space. This can be done by precise placement of the shelves used for the display of products in the center of the store. Usually, modern-style gondolas are best for doing this.

With everything your pharmacy shelving does to enhance your drugstore operations, from organizing work flow in the back-end area to showcasing everything you have to offer in the front-end retailing section, it only makes sense to pay particular attention to its design and placement. Some store owners make the mistake of thinking of their pharmacy shelving as merely incidental to the business. They may not fully realize what an important part shelving plays in influencing the way customers perceive not only their store, but also the level of care and service typically provided there.

Whether your inclination regarding your business is toward using the very best high-quality or custom-made pharmacy shelving or you'd rather save money by going for shelves and fixtures at the lower end of the price range (or even purchase used equipment), you can bet that your decision will affect the tone and style of your drugstore for years to come.