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Retail store formats vary widely, from small footprint convenience stores to large format supermarkets, and from urban high streets to suburban shopping centres. These differences create a perception that optimised assortment and space plans, tailored store-by-store, makes scalability and operational efficiency seem out of reach.
While store format variability once posed significant challenges to customised planning, the convergence of retail analytics, AI, advanced merchandising tools, and cloud-based space planning platforms has made the idea of customer-centric store offerings a reality. Any retail format, regardless of size or location, can now be optimised to drive performance - unlocking new efficiencies, improving square metre productivity and delivering better experiences for every shopper, in every store.
At the heart of today’s space optimisation is data. Retailers now have access to granular sales, foot traffic, product performance, and shopper behaviour data, much of it in real time. With powerful analytics tools, this data can be used to identify patterns and opportunities specific to each store, while still aligning to broader business objectives. For instance, small stores in high-density urban areas may prioritise fast-turnover essentials, while larger suburban formats might benefit from deeper assortments and more promotional zones. Sophisticated assortment and space planning software can accommodate these nuances while maintaining consistency and efficiency in approach.
The latest AI and machine learning models further eliminate traditional limitations of store format variability. These tools can analyse historical and forecasted demand, product affinities, and local demographics to recommend the optimal product assortment and macro space allocation for every store. Rather than requiring manual adjustments or separate processes for each store size, retailers can now use adaptive models that scale across a store fleet. This allows even the smallest store to benefit from insights generated at an enterprise level, improving productivity per square metre across the entire network.
Importantly, the optimisation of retail space today is no longer just about fitting more product into finite space. It’s about aligning space to shopper missions and behaviours. Whether serving a rural community with a smaller, core range optimised for availability, to a high-volume metro store with rapid replenishment needs, retailers can now tailor layouts, adjacencies, and inventory decisions to match local expectations, and driving sales and customer satisfaction in tandem.
Retailers using the latest technology and processes to implement store specific assortments and macro space allocations are achieving sales and margin uplift that outweighs the cost of planning and implementation. In most cases, after an initial period of while the changes settle, returns head beyond 5% in the first 3 months from implementation.
Margin uplift: 5-12%per store
Sales uplift: 5-10% per store
Today’s technology and data-driven techniques means store differences must no longer be viewed as barriers. Instead, they represent opportunities to apply flexible, intelligent solutions that drive productivity across all retail spaces, regardless of size, format or location.
With some relatively simple data sets, we can help identify space productivity gains hidden throughout any retail network.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help improve performance, store by store.