Benefits of 3D Modelling in Retail Space Design

27 January 2022

Rony Fernandes

Store designers make it look simple and easy, but there have always been challenges in incorporating retail marketing needs into retail design drawings and retail 3D modelling. Designers/architects are required to translate 2D drawings to 3D models so they can efficiently design, create and share store designs for faster approvals and thus streamline the design process.

Why is the layout of a retail store so important?

Retail store layouts use space strategically to influence customer experience. A retail store layout can have an impact on how customers interact with the store merchandise, which then will affect their purchasing behaviour.

Two important aspects of retail store layouts are store design and customer flow.

Store design involves the use of strategic floor plans and space management, including the placement and lighting of furniture, displays, fixtures and signage.
Customer flow includes the study and regulation of how customers navigate through a store. Retail store layouts can influence customer flow by using furniture and displays in interior spaces and exterior spaces for people to gather and interact. Even the design of the entrance, exterior window displays and signage can affect customer flow.

Research indicates that customers prefer to navigate the floor of a retail store on their own rather than be attended on and directed to a spot by a sales assistant. The pattern of customer flow varies for different retail types, the size of the store and the type of customer. Retailers must maximise and optimise available space for profitability by accurately identifying its customer flow. The use of 3D models can help do that.

Other benefits that ensue from utilising 3D retail design include:

Showcasing a store’s design layout using retail BIM modelling allows stakeholders to make quick design changes for minor and major modifications throughout multiple potential stores.
Animating 3D models to show all the features of a store design, such as ambient lighting and customer flow.
Storing data in a 3D model to be used by all stakeholders at any stage in the design or construction process.

Why would retail designers, in particular, want to model their designs?

Analysis & Modifications

3D models can be used to represent a store design layout to understand and analyse how the design concept is brought to life through design details and fits in with manufacturing budgets.
Using 3D models lets 3D designers work easily on store design, and the model can be refined without making additional sketches.

Measurements

Today’s 3D modelling software can show viewers the size of a space relative to other known objects.
This real scale of objects and spaces allows retailers to see how large or small the space will be and what furniture it can accommodate.
The sizes of windows and doors can be modified to make space for marketing collaterals.

All-round Views

A 3D model can afford a 360-degree view, so that the retail space can be viewed from all angles, seeing the most minute details and can be analysed and changed to better represent brand characteristics.
Interactive 3D presentations allow viewers to zoom in and out, rotate the model and view it from different angles to predict customer flow and behaviour.

Promotion & Marketing

Photorealistic 3D models can be easily added to any commercial, presentation or advertising for effective promotion of the retail store.
Quality animation of a retail store can help marketing campaigns succeed, as it can show how attractive and convenient the retail space is for fast, easy shopping.

It is, therefore, relevant that retail 3D modelling benefits retail space design in many ways. For retailers, the diverse skills required to master detailed retail design may sometimes be found overseas. Retail space planning support can be sourced offshore, where high-quality retail design drawings and retail BIM modelling services are trustworthy, cost-effective and accurate.

XS CAD has valuable experience providing retail space planning and detailed retail design services for retail-chains and retail store design companies. Our range of services for retailers across the world, include 3D retail design, retail space design, retail design drawings and retail BIM modelling services. We have proven to be a preferred offshore retail design services provider, due to the high quality of our drawings, 3D modelling and 3D walk-throughs, created by using Revit, 3ds Max, V-Ray, Adobe Photoshop and After Effects, Illustrator and BIM Collaboration Pro for cloud collaboration.

Learn more about our architecture services.