Not long ago, trial or fitting rooms were arguably the most neglected section in any retail store. They were, in fact, an afterthought and constructed in whatever space was left in the store. Gradually, though, retailers are realising the crucial role trial rooms play in the customer’s buying decision and, thus, giving them their due space.
Envision Retail, a London-based consultancy, recently found out that customers who use a fitting room are 71 per cent more likely to buy and buy twice as much as those simply browsing the sales floor. Moreover, if customers are provided with attendant services in the fitting room, the study says, they will buy nearly three times as much as the casual browser.
As Ken Nisch, chairman of retail consulting firm JGA, says, “Not too long ago, fitting rooms were primarily about privacy and separating you from other people. Now, retailers realise it’s a way to enhance the moment of decision.”
While designing a trial room, a number of factors, such as its location, size, decor, temperature, lighting and mirrors, need to be kept in mind in order to enhance the customer experience.
On the ideal location of the trial room, Priya Dhananjay, head – design services, Antelope, a Bangalore-based interior design company, says, “Accessible trial rooms in very section of the store is a must; especially where there are clothes that will be tried more often. Within each section, too, while it is important to have clear signs and directions on where to find the trial room, it is not always necessary to locate it in the prime merchandising area.”
Echoing similar thoughts, Manu Neelakandhan, design director, Idiom Design & Consulting Ltd, says, “The trial room has to be closest to the ‘most tried’ category of garments. It needs to be central enough to be easily accessible from different parts of the store, while ensuring a certain degree of privacy. Importantly, it must be easily locatable without assistance from the store staff.”
One size doesn’t fit all
There is no ideal size of a trial room. The decision on the right size depends entirely on the retailer – based on the look, positioning and merchandise that the store carries. “The minimum size used to be around 4×5 ft – just to make sure there was enough elbow space to move around comfortably while changing. But in recent times, the average size is anywhere between 5×6 ft to 11×12 ft. Some retailers even add space for friends or spouses, in an effort to make trying on garments more appealing,” Priya says.
Besides the location and size of the trial room, another important aspect that needs to be considered is the number of trial rooms. How many trial rooms are sufficient to maximise customer experience? “The number of trial rooms is based on the size of the store and the kind of apparel it sells – both in terms of price and fashion. Inexpensive merchandise, for instance, does not require as many trial rooms as a high-fashion and fitting-centric apparel does; usually speaking, about two trial rooms for stores up to 1,000 sq.ft selling prêt-à-porter,” says Ashmit Alag, chief designer, Transform Design.
No more queues
Stressing that the number of trial rooms in a store depends on the footfall in the section and the merchandise itself, Priya says, “Areas with high footfalls require more trial rooms to avoid long queues of customers. Some kinds of merchandise require more trials before a customer can come to a decision. Apparel where fitting is more important (for example, jeans) than other criteria require more trial rooms.”
The retail planning, Priya believes, should be done to avoid queues for trials, except during festive seasons, etc when long queues are expected and unavoidable. Generally speaking, if there is more than one customer waiting for longer than a couple of minutes, it means there are not enough trial rooms. It might well translate into loss of sales for the retailer and is worth looking into.
When designing or looking to improve a fitting room, functionality should be a primary goal. Customers want plenty of hooks to place and sort their garments on, as well as seating and space to move around.
“A ladies trial room should have better access to hang their bags, clothes and probably more hooks to hang more hangers because they tend to try on more clothes than men do,” Priya maintains.
Alag emphasises that the waiting area can benefit from mirrors outside, plus merchandising accessories in the waiting area can trigger additional sales from interested customers waiting for their turn.
Neelakandhan agrees, saying the brands are also increasingly being sensitive towards the companions of those using trial rooms and providing for impressive waiting lounges. They, in turn, act as prompters for decision making and sales. Smart retailers use the waiting area as spaces for impulse shopping.
The current trend
The current trend, Priya believes, is to have lighter and brighter trial rooms, as opposed to neutral shades used in the past. The right kind of lighting in trial rooms is extremely important. The use of overhead fluorescent lighting has given way to more natural lighting to help the customer see the true colour of the merchandise and the way it appears to go with the skin tone.
"Have mirrors on meeting walls – walls next to each other forming an ‘L’ – as per the layout plan. Have sufficient lighting in the ceiling corners to enable uniform lighting falling off the walls and onto the merchandise worn," suggests Alag.
Priya adds, “Some common complaints from customers on trial rooms range from minor irritants like doors not locking to more serious ones like bad lighting or wrongly placed mirrors. Some retailers have used mirrors that tend to ‘flatter’ rather than give a realistic view. The move is now to provide mirrors that provide a realistic view. This reduces returns and exchanges to a large extent.”
Apart from being functional in every way, the trial room must echo the feel of the store. As Priya says, “Stark fitting rooms make a customer feel they don’t belong to the store anymore.”
Neelakandhan thinks, “Décor of a trial room is the prerogative of the brand’s retail identity and its designed retail experience. There are as many designs and experiences of a trial room as the brands themselves.”
While the temperature of the trial room is the same as that of the store, it tends to get warm as a lot of changing takes place in a constrained atmosphere. “Some retailers provide fans inside, while others have trial rooms that do not reach right up to the ceiling to keep air circulation going. Increasing the size of the trial room makes for a cooler environment,” says Priya.
Minimise pilferage
Fitting rooms have historically been particularly prone to shoplifting. By carrying merchandise into trial rooms, shoppers can conceal merchandise with the intent of not paying for it. Stores often allow only a restricted number of items to be carried into a fitting room. The other solution being used involves assigning employees to monitor fitting rooms. Both these options involve a high level of customer intervention by the employee and can be inconvenient not only to customers, but also to employees, especially if they are required elsewhere at the same time. Therefore, a number of retailers are now adopting the RFID technology to ensure that loss due to shoplifting is minimised.
The last word
Neelakandhan firmly believes that the impact of trial room design on sales is as intangible as that of customer service on store commercials. Indians spend their penny wisely and when it comes to apparels, trials are the best and fastest way to aid decision-making.
It can, therefore, be said that retailers willing to provide a truly international experience to customers can no longer afford to neglect the trial room. Though the trial room alone can’t change the customer’s buying decision from a ‘no’ to a ‘yes’, a poorly designed trial can probably make the customer change an otherwise ‘yes’ into a ‘no’, which is something no retailer would want!
