How Shop Shelving Has Helped Shape Modern Retail

Retail has changed dramatically over the years in line with the way we shop. If you were to compare modern supermarkets or high street shops with their equivalents 100 years ago you’d see a great many changes. Probably the most noticeable change is the size difference in shop floor space. In the early 1900’s many shops where small, if you wanted vegetables you’d go to a greengrocer, if you were looking for a suit you’d visit a tailor, nowadays large supermarkets serve up everything under one roof and high street clothes outlets have shop shelving bursting with clothing. The reason for this expanse in shopping space is due to supply and demand. As trade routes have opened up and companies started mass production of items, prices have been driven down making items that used to be expensive now very affordable. In order to be able to properly fulfil consumers’ needs shop shelving has had to change and here’s how:

Making The Most Of Available Space

Space has often been the biggest obstacle for shop owners when looking to allocate stock. In times past shops where often very small and the floor space restricted mainly due to fixed shop shelving and large counter areas. As shops became larger fixed shop shelving started to become impractical as it meant shop keepers or business owners were unable to change the floor plans layouts. The solution came in the form of moveable shop shelving, shelving that was mounted to wheels, with a simple brake attached meaning they could be fixed into place.

Speeding up stock placement

Another disadvantage of a small shop is the limited aisle widths, meaning that traditionally you would have to carry stock by hand, which could be very difficult and time consuming. Now large supermarkets and larger shops can move the wheel mounted shop shelving around in order to create spaces large enough to accommodate trolleys and pallets full of stock. This means that a much larger amount of stock can be brought onto the shop floor and saves both time and physical effort.

Offering stock flexibility

Older style shops have to think carefully about the stock they order, as some larger items might not fit onto the shelves. This is due to old fashioned fixed shop shelving. Modern retail businesses have learnt from this restrictive shelving conundrum and embraced height adjustable shelving, which allows the shelf height to be set at different levels, depending on the item/s being displayed.

It’s interesting to learn how shop shelving has changed to accommodate new retail trends and needs. It will also be interesting to see how it continues to evolve.