Tips for Great Electrical Fitouts in Retail Spaces

When you have a shop or store, the look and feel can make such a huge difference to whether customers are happy to walk through the door – or whether they try to leave as soon as they possibly can.

Part of that fitout is definitely the department of your electrician, so if you want to end up with an awesome fitout then here’s what you need to think about with your commercial electrician.

Lighting

One of the most hugely important elements of your shop fitout are your lights.

If you have products on display, your lights will make sure they are seen and presented properly.

If you have an area of your store you need people to focus on, your lighting can control their focus and guide them in that direction.

Trying to set a certain mood? Yup, lighting makes it happen.

Your commercial electrician can help by making sure your lights are right for your purpose, and space, and that you have the appropriate coverage.

So if you want to show your store in the best possible light (pun totally intended), your commercial electrician should be able to help!

Power and Cabling

Any electrician can install some powerpoints for you, but a smart commercial electrician will work with you to determine the optimal placement of your power points.

Not only where they would be in your store, but also things like their height, whether they should be low profile/slim line or regular, and also whether you can run your cabling behind walls or skirting (or skirting ducts) or under the floor.

A smart commercial electrician will know how to place your powerpoints to limit any potential wires running across the floor – not only are they ugly, but customers these days are looking for any excuse to “accidentally” trip over.

Office Layout

In most shops, you’ll have space for either an office, admin or receptionist area.

Your commercial electrician should be able to advise you on how to best maximise that layout with lighting and cabling.

Sometimes simply moving a desk to another location can open up better options for hiding cables.

And of course – the last thing you want is glare coming off your computer screens! The right lights and right light placement can make all the difference in the world!

Timing

If it’s a new fitout, you can definitely have your electricians work all day every day.

But when you’re upgrading an existing fitout, you might not have that luxury.

Make sure your commercial electrician is able to accomodate your timing requirements, even if it’s outside trading hours.

And of course, since we’re talking about timing – don’t forget you really want to make sure that your electrician can show up on time!

A lot of the feedback we get from our clients is how impressed they are that we show up on time and how unusual that is. Isn’t it a real shame that doing what you say is NOT the norm?

Future Requirements

Usually if you’re signing a lease, it’s for 5 or possibly 10 years.

While your power and lighting requirements are set now, have you considered where they could be a few years down the track?

Is your business likely to grow? Will you need more office space? Will you need room for more product?

These questions are important to ask during your initial fitout, to make sure they can be incorporated later more easily.

Conclusion

So if you’re fitting out your shop and want to make sure you get the right advice and support the first time, get in touch with us. We’re experienced commercial electricians for shops and would love to help!