Spring cleaning season is here, and while many of us are tackling clutter at home, shoppers expect their favorite retailers to do the same thing with their brick-and-mortar stores.
It’s common sense that as the seasons shift, retailers need to adjust store layouts to make room for new inventory and keep up with evolving shopping behaviors. Shoppers are looking for fresh, well-organized retail spaces that make their in-store buying journey easy and enjoyable. Conversely, a cluttered or outdated floor plan can frustrate customers and lead to lost sales.
Historically, seasonal resets — retailers' version of spring cleaning — have often created friction by requiring frequent updates to store layouts and product placements. But now, AI-driven space planning tools like Realgram AI make it easier for retailers to keep up — dynamically adjusting layouts, optimizing product placement, and improving both the customer experience and sustainability efforts.
The Shortcomings of Traditional Space Planning
For years, retailers have relied on static planograms to support seasonal inventory turnover. But these pre-set layouts fail to reflect real-time inventory at the individual store level as well as changing customer needs by store location. This leads to:
- Empty shelves with out-of-stock products
- Overcrowded aisles with excess, outdated, or seasonally inappropriate inventory
- Store associates wasting time trying to execute planograms that include unavailable or outdated products
AI-driven space planning eliminates these inefficiencies by automating layout adjustments based on live inventory data while also accounting for store-level planogramming rules and other business goals. This means stores can keep displays fresh, avoid clutter, and ensure merchandising decisions are based on real-time needs and inventory, not outdated projections.
Spring Cleaning for Retail — Out With the Old, In With the New
A successful spring reset isn’t just about introducing new products — it’s about making space for them. Poor inventory turnover creates clutter, making it harder for shoppers to find what they need.
Optimizing Store Flow with Data
A well-designed store layout helps customers navigate effortlessly while maximizing sales opportunities. AI-powered planograms analyze real-time data to ensure product placement aligns with both shopping patterns and business objectives.
AI-powered planograms can be configured to:
- Group frequently purchased products for added shopper convenience
- Position seasonal promotions at optimal points on each fixture
- Use customer behavior data to guide placement decisions that boost engagement and sales
- Prevent product overallocation to minimize waste and reduce environmental impact
By adapting store layouts to real-time shopping behaviors, retailers can create an experience that keeps customers engaged and increases sales.
Keeping Store Layouts Fresh and Relevant
A well-planned store is both efficient and engaging. It’s an environment that draws shoppers in and encourages purchases.
AI-driven planograms help retailers:
- Position seasonal products in high-visibility areas to attract customers and drive sales
- Curate displays that reflect local shopping preferences, ensuring relevant products are featured
- Guide shoppers through the store with an intuitive layout, making it easier to browse and buy
Retailers who neglect to refresh their layouts risk losing foot traffic to competitors that offer a more engaging and seamless shopping experience.
Meeting Evolving Shopper Expectations in Q2
As temperatures rise, shoppers want more than just new products. They expect a refreshed, well-organized store environment that reflects the season. Whether they’re searching for spring essentials or browsing for inspiration, a well-planned store layout can enhance their shopping experience and drive sales.
AI-driven space planning helps retailers optimize layouts based on real-time data, improving traffic flow and product visibility. For example, VR space planning tools allow brands to test and refine layouts digitally before making changes on the floor, minimizing disruptions.
Similarly, heatmapping and behavioral data can reveal shopper movement patterns, helping retailers make the most of high-traffic zones while also uncovering underutilized areas. If a section isn’t drawing foot traffic, insights into layout or product visibility can inform adjustments that improve flow and encourage deeper in-store engagement.
Retailers that leverage AI-powered technologies to honor and adapt layouts to these types of evolving shopping habits can create in-store environments that encourage exploration, increase foot traffic, and drive seasonal sales.
How AI Supports Different Retail Sectors
As retailers transition into spring, it’s important to recognize that each retail vertical faces unique space planning challenges. AI-powered planograms ensure store layouts are responsive to industry-specific needs and shopper preferences.
Consumer Electronics
Limited stock items, like new smartphone accessories, must be placed strategically to ensure high visibility and availability. AI-powered planograms adjust layouts as inventory arrives, ensuring popular or seasonal products are displayed immediately in high-traffic areas.
For products that reliably change each season or year (like phones) AI-powered planograms ensure product swaps work in perpetuity. For instance, rather than denoting that the “Spring 2025 phone” should sit at the top shelf of a fixture — and then needing to update the planogram again to reflect “Fall 2025 phone” when seasons changes — retailers can more simply specify that the “newest phone” should sit on the top shelf and allow AI to automatically update merchandising plans as new inventory arrives.
This approach saves time and avoids empty shelves if certain stores are delayed in receiving the latest inventory.
Apparel
Fast-changing fashion trends require frequent display resets. AI adjusts layouts in real time to keep trending products front and center while phasing out slow-moving or older styles.
With the rise in apparel micro-trends, inventory updates may now happen multiple times within the same season. Historically, embracing micro-trends and their quick-turn inventory changes required highly experienced store associates, efficient and responsive HQ planogramming guidelines, and a company culture where employees feel motivated to execute.
Realgram AI takes the pain out of this process, automating merchandising strategies to ensure micro-trend products are easily woven into existing displays at optimal locations and while inventory is still trendy.
Grocery and CPG
Visibility and turnover are key for perishable goods. AI optimizes shelf placement by considering factors like product shelf life and demand to reduce waste and markdowns.
Again, micro-trends and consumer behavior have a deep impact on the success of in-store merchandising efforts. For example, TikTok search phrases like “Spring time food ideas” and “Food to make in Spring” yield over 40 million and 60 million results respectively.
When new recipes or food trends catch fire, shoppers flock to stores expecting to easily access the related inventory. Responsive AI-powered planograms can help retailers meet this expectation and win sales.
Ready to Optimize Your Store Layout?
Spring resets can feel overwhelming, but smarter space planning can lead to a more profitable spring season. Retail space planning strategies are evolving. AI is at the forefront of this transformation — and so is the team at Optimum Retailing. Don’t let the next seasonal shift catch you by surprise.
AI-driven retail space optimizations like Realgram AI make the process more seamless, leveraging real-time, store-level inventory data and automated planograms to:
- Improve store layouts for better customer flow and engagement
- Reduce markdowns by strategically placing inventory
- Ensure every product is positioned for maximum visibility and sell-through
- Streamline workflows to protect the employee experience
Learn how Optimum Retailing can help you streamline store layouts, reduce clutter, and boost sales this spring.
