We get that you might think we’re biased (after a few decades in the landscaping biz, we definitely have some kind of favoritism for our industry), but it’s actually pretty logical to provide your retail center or store with a professional team to take care of all your needs. Partnering with professionals can help to boost your store’s aesthetics, encourage shoppers to spend more time perusing your shop, and even help to mitigate other costs that you might not have considered.
When it comes down to it, partnering with a professional landscape team is one of the best ways to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to run a top-notch retail store or center. Check out a few of our landscaping ideas below, as well as a few reasons we whole-heartedly believe that a professional landscaping partnership can ultimately benefit your business!
This is in no way us saying that what you’re selling or how you’re selling it isn’t going to be enough to draw in new customers, retain your current clientele, or help you expand, but the fact of the matter is, aesthetics is going to matter at your brick-and-mortar shop. No one wants to go into a retail store that’s sort of mangy and unkempt on the outside, right? As much as we preach that “what’s on the outside doesn’t necessarily guarantee it’s the same on the inside,” that doesn’t exactly apply to how people think about retail centers. Truth is, people are going to choose to enter into your shop based on what the outside of the place looks like. If its ragged and overgrown (unintentionally), that’ll probably affect your customer base. If it’s plain and not much to look at, that will probably affect your customer base. If it’s so-last-season, that might affect your customer base, too. If you choose to partner with an expert landscaping team, you might be able to avoid all of those disasters!
Aside from the very direct aesthetics problem, professional landscaping can solve a myriad of other practical issues like lighting, security, and more, for a relatively affordable cost (when compared to other, more expensive solutions).
For starters, you can use landscape design to dramatically reduce your energy bills by intentionally planting trees and tall shrubs to block out the sun’s warming rays from your retail store. More than that, they can provide welcomed insulation (if planted and designed correctly) to help keep the cool air inside of your retail store or center. Consider planting big, leafy, sun-block trees that shade east-facing and west-facing windows or walls!
Smart landscaping can also help to solve several safety issues that you might not know how to remedy. For example, a professional landscaping team can help to solve drainage problems, maintain your landscape to ensure there’s no dangerous overgrowth, and even help you design a landscape that protects your privacy. Check out a few of our landscaping security ideas here for more information!
Liability is a big deal at retail centers, you should know that better than anyone, so if you were able to make affordable choices that would propel your shop toward safer solutions, wouldn’t you want to implement that? Landscaping professionals can help limit that liability you fear. How, you might ask? For starters, maintenance is going to cover a good majority of those trip-and-fall accidents by cleaning up cracked walkways, ripping up tree roots, and making sure the bushes aren’t reaching out and snagging a foot. Further, professional landscapers will trim back those long limbs and bushy trees that might block a pedestrian’s or a driver’s view, providing everyone on your campus better visibility!
Once you’ve gotten to the primary goal of getting people to actually get into your shop, what’s the next goal? Make the sale? Sure! But how do you do that? You have to provide a space that allows people to peruse comfortably in order to give them the time they need to find exactly what they’re looking for. The best way to do this is to include features in and around your retail space that encourages comfort, relaxation, and a no-rush attitude. Consider adding in fun features like a calming fountain outside, plenty of benches to relax on, or a screened in patio or garden area for your guests to enjoy. All of these features – and others, too – can provide your guests with a relaxing, beautiful, aesthetic place to take a break and ponder on what other purchases they might like to make!
We know, we know, it’s Florida, so you might be reading this and chanting “what seasons?”, but just because we don’t have the frigid winters and changing falls that other states have doesn’t mean that we can just slack on seasonal landscaping! This applies to maintenance, sure (practical things like irrigation check-ups before some of the mildly colder weather comes in), but also to seasonal aesthetic changes. There are always seasonal changes to be made, whether it’s as simple as dividing and replanting bulbs, changing out the flower beds, or implementing a few special seasonal touches. Landscaping companies can help you out with this!
Like we said, professional landscaping can’t solve every issue for your retail space, but it can certainly remedy dozens of common troubles as well as mitigate costs and prevent future issues. We hope our article helped to provide some insight on landscaping for your retail space. If you want to chat about your specific space, have questions about your options, or simply want to talk landscaping, we’d love to hear from you. Give our office a call at (727)-201-3947 to talk with us directly about how we can help! Want more landscaping inspiration, tips and tricks, or just some fun information? Check out our blog for weekly updates on the landscaping biz, the latest trends, and helpful info for your landscape!