Whole store design

Grocery

Convenience
Store

Coffee
Shop

Bubble Tea
Shop

Bakery

Dessert
Shop

Snack
Store

Home Goods
Store

Electronics
Store

Nail Salon

Clothing Store

Pharmacy

Stationery
Store

Hardware
Store

Liquor
Store

EziDone provides one-stop store design services that integrate store layout,
customer circulation and retail equipment, with overall planning based on consumer behavior to ensure
practical and efficient solutions.

1. Who Are Your Target Customers?

The first step is to define your store’s target customers. With existing business
district survey data, identify your primary and secondary customer groups. With teamwork, we
build a detailed and vivid customer profile.
2. What Are Customers’ Shopping Habits?

We understand customers’ shopping characteristics and demands from two aspects.
First, frontline staff. As a saying goes, The scene holds the key, and answers can be found
on site. Employees serving customers directly can best capture real customer insights.
Second, we analyze and summarize historical data to further explore customer shopping habits.
3. Evaluate Competitors’ Strengths

To understand your competitors, we conduct research across multiple dimensions:
store environment, pricing, merchandise, display, operation and service attitude. We assess the
overall strength of competing stores, compare them with your business, stay objective and
achieve a clear understanding of both sides.
4. Assess Your Own Store Strengths

Avoid subjective judgment. Through cross-department communication and internal
performance review, we objectively analyze your store’s strengths and weaknesses. We benchmark
against competitors and industry leaders to identify gaps, laying a solid foundation for future
optimization and goal setting.
5. Extensive Local Market Research

This refers to in-depth research within your local business area. We investigate
peer stores in the same industry, grasp market trends, and identify benchmarking models for
reference.
6. Define Store Opening Objectives

Based on the above five steps — customer profiling, target demand analysis,
competitor strength evaluation and industry trend research — we set clear and practical store
opening goals.
7. Evaluation Criteria for Successful Store Design

A successful store design is measured by four standards: customer satisfaction,
staff recognition, higher sales volume and improved profit margin.
8. Fully Implement Confirmed Plans

Once goals are confirmed, we fully implement and execute the plan steadily.
Meanwhile, goals can be adjusted timely if the business district environment changes. Many
merchants complete store design successfully, yet fail due to insufficient execution — such
cases are very common in the industry.

1. Youth-oriented

Stores need to continuously attract younger customer groups, which is the
foundation of long-term store development. Meanwhile, we adopt a strategy of cultivating younger
management teams and service staff.
2. Fresh Food-oriented

Store merchandise moving toward fresh food offerings, fresh food further
processed, and processed items developed into casual dining and snacks represent progressive
levels of fresh food upgrading. Standardized fresh food categories and deep processing of fresh
ingredients have become new industry trends.
3. Specialization

Future store merchandise will move toward professional upgrading: food categories
with high refinement, basic fresh food with standardized specifications, and processed fresh
food with professional positioning. This restructures the overall merchandise portfolio and
transforms stores into professional fresh lifestyle outlets.
4. Miniaturization

Store miniaturization is a mainstream industry trend. Based on local business
district conditions and competitor positioning, we define a reasonable store size and adhere to
the principle of appropriate scale for store opening.
5. Refinement

Refinement means creating an elegant and high-quality store environment,
introducing high-value premium products, upgrading hospitality service standards, and
emphasizing artistic merchandise display and immersive sales atmosphere.
6. Discount-oriented Operation

Discount positioning is a core business strategy. By optimizing the supply chain
system, we build price competitiveness while maintaining consistent quality. Adhering to the
philosophy of premium quality at fair prices, we achieve optimal overall cost performance.
7. Experience & Entertainment-oriented

This transforms the store from a simple shopping venue into an immersive
experiential destination. Through themed and interactive spatial design, supporting services are
enriched and store grade elevated, attracting and retaining customers with shopping enjoyment
and unique on-site experiences.
8. Efficiency-oriented

Improving overall operational efficiency is the core goal of modern store design.
By scientifically planning the three major circulation routes — customer flow, logistics flow,
and staff flow — we achieve highly efficient store operation.
9. Diversification
Diversification covers diversified marketing scenarios and diversified sales scenarios.
- Diversified Marketing: Attract in-store traffic through membership
  operation, WeChat private domain marketing, short video platforms and other
  multi-channel approaches.
- Diversified Sales: Offline in-store shopping remains the core channel,
  while expanding home delivery services to realize online–offline business integration.
- Many new stores currently rely on low-price promotions to attract customers. However, as
  market competition intensifies and consumers pursue higher quality and better
  experience, store operation must shift gradually from low-price marketing to value-based
  marketing. Low pricing can boost traffic and sales in the short run, but in the long
  term it squeezes profit margins, damages brand image, reduces customer loyalty, and
  easily triggers vicious price wars.
  
  The core of business operation is to deliver real value to customers, rather than merely
  catering to low-price demands. We respect product value, deeply understand customer
  needs, build long-term trust, and continuously provide professional service and product
  value to achieve sustainable and stable store development.
10. Digitalization

With advanced technologies and digital tools, we implement digital upgrading across five major
modules: store operation, merchandise management, supply chain system, consumer profiling and
internal management. This effectively reduces operating costs and comprehensively improves
operational efficiency.

1. Customer Circulation Route
The customer circulation route refers to the walking path of customers during their
in-store shopping. Since customers’ moving direction can be guided in a planned manner, it
is also known as the customer guidance route.

It is the core of store layout planning, divided into main aisle and secondary aisle.

The main aisle is the central passage that guides customers from the entrance to the deepest
area of the store. In layout planning, the main aisle should be designed as long as
possible, subtly extending customers’ walking path and staying time. This allows customers
to browse more products and creates more sales opportunities. The main aisle carries around
80% of customer flow and is the widest passage in the store.

The secondary aisle serves as a branch passage outside the main aisle, with a narrower
width.

Customer circulation design is based on consumer behavior and merchandise grouping logic.

First, customer convenience is prioritized: luggage storage, shopping cart access, entry,
checkout and exit should all be user-friendly.

Second, the layout shall conform to customers’ consumption habits, psychology and aesthetic
preference, including circulation routing, category arrangement and product display.

A well-designed customer circulation route can boost store entry rate, eliminate layout
dead corners, and increase average customer spending.

The width standard applies equally to main and secondary aisles, allowing two customers to
pass each other comfortably.

The average shoulder width of one person is about 45cm, so the single-person design width is
set at 60cm. The aisle width shall be adjusted according to store size and peak customer
density.

The calculation formula:

60cm × 2 + 60cm × X

A basic 120cm width allows one person to pass comfortably; X stands for the number of
additional people that can pass side by side.

Practical width standard:
- Small store : Main aisle 120~150cm; Secondary aisle above 90cm
- Large retail space : Main aisle above 250cm
2. Logistics Circulation Route

The logistics circulation route connects the receiving area, warehouse, processing room and
other back-of-house facilities. As the second key circulation system of a store, it ranks
second only to customer routing in importance.

It needs to coordinate parking layout, receiving entrance, freight elevator, warehouse and
fresh food zone.

Key principles for receiving entrance design:

① No conflict with customer entrance;

② Sufficient dedicated parking space;

③ Proximity to elevators;

④ Internal connecting path to warehouse shall not cross the main customer circulation route.

In short, logistics routing shall optimize the connection of receiving, freight elevators,
warehouse and stock replenishment paths. The shorter the circulation line, the higher the
operational efficiency.
3. Staff Circulation Route

The staff circulation route refers to the walking paths for employees, including commuter
passages and in-store working routes. This part is often overlooked in conventional store
planning, yet it should be highly valued for medium and large stores.

Staff routing needs comprehensive consideration of staff entry, personal storage, rest
& drinking area, restroom, security check, exit and stock picking routes.

A reasonable staff circulation design improves work efficiency and effectively reduces
internal theft.

Normally, the staff entrance is combined with the goods receiving area for unified security
management. Staff storage, lounge, dining area and restroom are arranged in a centralized
zone, bringing convenience to employees as well as standardized loss control.

Circulation layout design is the core of overall store design, among which customer routing
determines the success of store operation. Layout schemes shall be customized flexibly
according to property conditions and corporate positioning, adapting measures to actual site
and business demands.

Whole store design

What We Can Do

Process

What is a good Retail or Hospitality layout design？

1. From the Customer's
Perspective

2. From the Employee's
Perspective

3. From the Store
Operations Perspective

How to Start a Retail or Hospitality Store

Design Directions for Retail or Hospitality Stores

Circulation Layout Design Theory

Whole store design

What We Can Do

Process

What is a good Retail or Hospitality layout design？

1. From the Customer's Perspective

2. From the Employee's Perspective

3. From the Store Operations Perspective

How to Start a Retail or Hospitality Store

Design Directions for Retail or Hospitality Stores

Circulation Layout Design Theory

1. From the Customer's
Perspective

2. From the Employee's
Perspective

3. From the Store
Operations Perspective