Spot plan

Also called: store layout

A spot plan is a rough or preliminary layout of a building or store. The spot plan describes where the various departments will have a place.

Spot plan for a commercial building

In an office building, the layout of the spot plan is often determined by the structure of the organization. What departments are there? How large are they? In what ways do they work together? For example, what requirements does a department have in terms of furnishings? And how can all these features best be incorporated into the building?

Spot plan specific to a store

Even when dividing a store area, the spot plan determines where the various departments will have their place. Here, however, the departments are also the various product groups of the assortment. Thus, the floor plan determines how customers will find their route through the store and which sightlines can be created.

For example, you often enter a supermarket in a fresh department such as fruits and vegetables, which gives a very different atmosphere than a narrow aisle with high shelving. Instead, by strategically positioning certain items further down the store, customers are invited to visit a larger area of the store.

This routing offers opportunities to trigger them with offers, for example. Psychological aspects also come into play; for example, a customer is more likely to choose unhealthy products if there are already fruits and vegetables in his shopping cart. At the same time, a layout must be logical and practical for the customer.

When a company maps out where there are opportunities to grow or open a new branch it is called a white-spot plan.