Tip

To lure potential customers into your shop, place colorful displays of flowers, balloons and other merchandise outside the front doors if this is permitted.

Place thick rubber mats on the floor in the back portion of the shop to prevent falls and worker fatigue.

Flowers are a popular commodity used to commemorate many of life’s most significant moments, including births, weddings, graduations, and deaths. They can communicate everything from love to sympathy, and enrich virtually any environment with their myriad colors, scents and shapes. Because they are both uplifting and indulgent, many consumers buy flowers as a special treat for themselves. For these reasons and more, a floral shop can be a rewarding and profitable business. For a floral shop to succeed, however, it must be an inviting and easily navigable space. Use these guidelines to design a welcoming and effective floral shop layout.

Divide the shop into two primary sections: the front, where customers are free to roam; and the back, where employees assemble arrangements, store supplies, and keep files.

Place a refrigerated cooler with clear glass doors in the front portion of the shop. Use the cooler to display a variety of fresh bouquets and arrangements available for sale.

Distribute buckets of fresh, available cut flowers in the cooler and around the front portion of the shop. Place buckets on tables and on the floor. Filling the front portion of the shop with fresh cut flowers will create an enticing, pleasing and fragrant environment for customers.

Display other merchandise, such as potted plants, vases, baskets, cards and stuffed animals in the front portion of the shop. Position merchandise on tables and shelves.

Leave plenty of room for customers to walk around in the front portion of the shop. Make sure walkways are wide enough to accommodate customers who use wheelchairs.

Set aside an appealing nook in the front portion of the shop where you can sit and meet with customers at length about their plans for weddings and other events. Place a small table and chairs in this meeting area.

Separate the front portion of the shop from the back portion with a counter. Place the cash register, telephone, credit card machine, packets of floral preservative, small cards, pens, and plastic card picks on this counter.

Designate the back portion of the shop as the employees' work space. Furnish it with counters where employees can assemble arrangements. Place a smaller refrigerated cooler in the back of the shop to store extra flowers and arrangements for special orders.