12 Tips for Great Fitting Room Design

The design of a fitting room is an important aspect in the shopping process. Whether you’re purchasing clothes or shoes, it’s important to have your size and style accurately translated into the space. Here are some pointers for designing great fitting rooms that will allow people to purchase with ease.

The “ada fitting room requirements” is a blog post that has 12 tips for great fitting room design. The blog post includes all the necessary information on what to consider when designing your fitting room.

People use your fitting rooms to try on clothing and make final judgments on whether or not to buy anything from your business. A well-designed and welcoming fitting room will encourage customers to use your fitting rooms, resulting in increased sales.

You may make your fitting rooms one of the highlights of your company with outstanding design and innovative features. A well-designed fitting room will increase sales, draw customers away from their computers and into your store, and boost customer satisfaction.

To make your fitting rooms a success and boost your company, follow the advice below:

1. Determine the size and location of your fitting rooms.

You must first identify the size and placement of your fitting rooms before you can begin creating them. Because the major purpose of a fitting room is to allow consumers to try on clothing, you’ll want to make sure they can do so without colliding with walls or fixtures.

We’ll go through what you should think about when situating and spacing your fitting rooms, as well as some best practices.

Space

Fitting rooms typically take up roughly 20% of a garment store’s total square space. This amount, however, may vary based on the requirements of your fitting room.

Bikini shops, for example, will definitely stay to the 20% guideline or perhaps go a bit under since their items take up little space. A gown store, on the other hand, would most likely need greater space to fit its enormous gowns and allow customers plenty of room to move about.

When allocating fitting room space, you should generally provide room for the following items:

• Provide a location for clients to keep their personal items, such as a table or cubby. Customers will be able to store extraneous stuff in storage, freeing up room and attention to try on garments.
• Seating: Make sure there’s enough room for a chair or bench. Seating is critical to fitting room design and generating a positive client experience, which we’ll go over in more depth below.
• Allow enough space in the fitting room for consumers to take a step back and view their complete body without leaving. Many consumers prefer not to leave their room when trying on clothes, therefore offering adequate space for them to view themselves without leaving would enhance many shoppers’ experiences and raise the probability that they will buy.
• Consider the size of your items as well as normal try-on volumes to ensure that adequate space is available once the room is full with things. Customers will have a difficult time walking through a congested or overcrowded area if it is full with items. Additionally, buyers will be less likely to continue browsing if the space seems crowded after just a few things have been added.
• Number of Rooms: When I was operating my business, I soon realized that when calculating how many rooms you need, you need factor in fitting room traffic during peak hours. Saturdays, for example, were the busiest day at my store, requiring three fitting rooms on average. We set aside three rooms for our busiest hours to ensure we were ready at any hour of the day. Allowing for peak times will guarantee that you are prepared for your busiest shopping hours and that clients will not be kept waiting for lengthy periods of time.
• Customers shopping with children, in groups, or in a wheelchair may be offered a bigger fitting room option by certain businesses. These rooms are usually 1.5-2 times bigger than ordinary rooms and may accommodate multiple people as well as a stroller or wheelchair. For companies that handle a lot of families, groups, mothers with children, or handicapped customers, family fitting rooms are ideal.
• While some clients choose to spend their whole visit in their own private room, many others may leave to view themselves in the clothing, show others, or seek assistance from a sales representative. Make sure your fitting room area has enough space and a decent mirror so consumers can show off their appearances without feeling constrained or like they have to go far.

A large fitting room allows consumers to put on their clothes and see how they look. (Image courtesy of Lovely Bride)

Place

When it comes to fitting rooms, you should put them at the rear of the shop. Customers will be more likely to go through your whole shop, peruse all of your inventory, and add more things to their cart if fitting rooms are located towards the rear. Furthermore, this location places your fitting rooms outside of valuable retail area, allowing them to fade into the backdrop.

Check out our guide to designing your shop layout for additional information on where various aspects of your business should go and how much space they should take up.

To prevent obstructing store space, these fitting rooms are located at the rear of the shop. (Image courtesy of TripAdvisor)

2. Comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements

In addition to providing appropriate space for activities, you should verify that your fitting rooms comply with Section 803 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Section 803 discusses suitable hook heights, chairs, door closures, and floor space so that your fitting rooms are inviting to everybody.

3. Use Light That Is Neutral

One of the most critical factors in having a well-designed fitting room is proper lighting. It will make or break how well clients can see themselves in your products.

The lighting in fitting rooms is sometimes referred to as task lighting in retail lighting.

Work lighting is a kind of lighting that is used to illuminate a space where a certain task or activity is carried out.

Typically, each fitting room will have its own task light, which will be installed either above the room as a pendant light or in the room as a sconce. Customers will have clear vision in their area and illumination will not be hindered when fitting doors are closed if lights are installed in each room.

When selecting bulbs for your fitting room, be sure to choose ones that are as neutral and natural as possible. Dark, too bright, or colored lighting may obliterate or obscure features, giving customers a misleading sense of how your items truly appear and possibly leading to brand mistrust. Neutral lighting, on the other hand, is the most flattering and shows things in their finest and most realistic light.

To create bright and appealing settings, each of these fitting rooms has its own light source. (Image courtesy of The Every Girl)

Experiment with several lighting options until you discover one that works best in your environment. Many elements, including natural light, ambient light, and the layout of your shop, will determine what works best. For additional information on lighting your company, as well as a description of the many lighting kinds and fixtures available to you, see our lighting guide.

For extra light, several establishments employ illuminated mirrors. The mirror’s strong lights assist consumers in seeing details that would otherwise be missed in normal lighting, but they are not bright enough to replace the main light. Lit mirrors should only be used to supplement your primary light source, not to replace it.

4. Mirrors: Reflection and Positioning

Mirrors are, without a doubt, the most crucial feature of your dressing rooms. Customers use mirrors to assess how well your things fit them, and they have the power to make or break how customers feel in your apparel. To increase sales and enhance customer experience, invest in high-quality mirrors and strategically install them around your business.

Reflection

The way your mirrors show their topics might influence whether or not a buyer decides to buy. A distorted reflection will misrepresent your offerings and may even cause clients to mistrust you.

To assist sell your products, offer consumers a better perception of your business, and contribute to a great customer experience, use mirrors that produce correct reflections.

For example, at the rear of my boutique, we had a large mirror for clients to utilize for full-body reflections. I’ve taken customers to the huge mirror on many occasions when they were indecisive about an item of apparel. The buyer would nearly always buy the goods after seeing a flattering and accurate picture of themselves.

Choose a mirror that isn’t prone to bending and misrepresenting its topic. Customers will see a familiar and accurate image, not an unattractive or distorted one, if the mirror is well-made. The simplest approach to see whether this is true is to stand in front of your mirrors and look for any distortion or misrepresentation.

A three-sided mirror with vertical lights is used in a boutique. (Image courtesy of Style Mark)

Placement

To facilitate shopping and customer-associate contact, keep mirrors inside and right outside your fitting rooms.

A fitting room’s inside and outside mirrors. Savvy Mainline (L) and Kitch Guys.com are the sources (R)

Customers who prefer to shop on their own will be able to make independent judgments by placing mirrors within the space. Outside the fitting rooms, clients may utilize the mirrors to check how they appear from a distance, in various lighting, or while showing friends or relatives.

Customers are also encouraged to come out on the sales floor and engage with colleagues as a result of this arrangement. My shop, for example, has two enormous mirrors in the front and rear of the store. Our customers were drawn out of their dressing rooms by the enormous mirrors to view themselves, and someone on the floor was able to help them.

These interactions between consumers and employees allowed customers to ask inquiries and get style advice while also giving possibilities for associates to upsell.

When you urge a consumer to upgrade their purchase by adding another product or selecting a more costly option, this is known as upselling. Check out our in-depth article on upselling for more information.

We would have missed those encounters, as well as the sales and great customer experiences, if the enormous mirrors outside the dressing rooms had not been installed.

5. Make sure your colors are all the same.

You want your fitting room to be the same color as the rest of your shop. Use bright colors that reflect light and use neutral tones and patterns. All of these strategies will assist you in better presenting your goods and selling more of it.

Your fitting rooms will blend into the backdrop if you choose colors or patterns that match the rest of your business, and you will avoid disturbing clients who are shopping on the floor.

A monochromatic color palette will visually lengthen and expand your area.

To make the fitting rooms mix in with the rest of the shop, this merchant chose the same paint color and black drapes. (Image courtesy of Engage Customer)

Furthermore, selecting a neutral color or wallpaper for your fitting rooms will help consumers to concentrate on the apparel and how it appears rather from getting distracted by a loud color or pattern. If you want to include color or patterns into your fitting rooms, textured wall designs, subtle patterns, and subdued hues are a fantastic alternative.

This fitting room has subtle wallpaper that adds interest without becoming obtrusive. (Photo courtesy of Lonny)

Finally, to make your fitting rooms look more large and to improve your lighting, choose light colors. Light colors reflect light better than dark colors, thus your light source will be more effective and the whole environment will be brighter. In contrast to dark tones, which may make a room appear gloomy and crowded, light hues offer the idea of greater space.

Light white fitting rooms blend into the backdrop, providing a bright and airy environment in which to try on items. (Image courtesy of Raven and Finch)

6. Make Seating Available

Seating is one of the most critical things to incorporate when adding fixtures to your fitting rooms. Customers would appreciate having a chair or bench to sit on while changing into and out of clothes, as well as a spot to keep their belongings or for another shopper to sit if they are sharing a room. Overall, sitting makes shopping simpler for clients and enhances their shopping experience at your store.

In fitting rooms, you’ll often encounter bench seating. To optimize both sitting and storage space in your fitting rooms, use a bench to create a hybrid seating and table configuration. If there isn’t a bench available, you’ll most likely notice a tiny chair made to take up as little space as possible so as not to obstruct the changing room. If you choose for a chair rather than a bench, be sure to provide extra storage options such as hooks or a side table to ensure that clients have somewhere to store their belongings.

Customers may sit and store their belongings with the help of a stool and hanging bars. (Image courtesy of 7btin)

You should ensure that there is sitting in the area of your fitting rooms in addition to giving a seat within. Depending on your location, you should supply two to five chairs to accommodate bigger events. Seating outside the fitting rooms is ideal for fellow shoppers and provides a handy location for onlookers to see their pals flaunt their new outfits.

For example, outside of the fitting room area of my business, there were two huge recliners. Because these were the natural posture for boyfriends and wives when their girlfriends came out of the fitting rooms and showed them their ensembles, we fondly dubbed them “boyfriend chairs.”

Outside these fitting rooms, a sitting arrangement provides the ideal area for guests to relax and watch their friends try on clothing. (Image courtesy of VMSD)

7. Create a sense of privacy

Privacy is one of the most critical factors in ensuring that your consumers have a positive image of your fitting rooms. Whether you use doors, curtains, or another barrier, you want your clients to feel safe and comfortable when they use your fitting rooms.

Curtains, half doors with a gap beneath and above, and full doors are the most prevalent alternatives for entrance coverings.

Doors with a curtain (Source: Etsy)

a door that opens in half (Source: Pinterest)

Doors are completely open (Source: Fast Company)

Curtains are the most popular choice owing to their inexpensive installation costs, simplicity of installation, and ability to save space. The most important thing to remember when ordering curtains is to get enough fabric to cover the whole entrance. To make clients feel comfortable and eliminate gapping concerns, I recommend getting drapes that are several feet longer than the width of your doorway.

Half doors are somewhat more costly, but they can be secured, giving your clients an extra degree of protection. Full doors are the most expensive choice, and if you don’t already have fitting rooms built into your business, you’ll need to create a free-standing structure. They are, nevertheless, the most private door choice and provide the most sumptuous experience for your guests.

8. Provide options for hanging

You should create hanging areas for consumers to hang their purchases from your store, in addition to giving a place for them to store their personal things. While some businesses choose a single hanging bar for a space-saving option, I recommend using many hooks and bars and even labeling them.

People will typically have their initial choices as well as yes, no, and maybe alternatives when they try on clothes. Having labeled bars or hooks for each of these categories can help your customers remain organized and keep their area in order.

What if I told you that Due of disorganization or a bad physical appearance, 64% of consumers have left a business without completing a purchase.

Additionally, since all of the things that are going back into the floor will be in one place, this hook technique will make it simpler for consumers and sales employees to clear up rooms. An empty area will encourage customers to try on more things, resulting in increased sales.

To assist consumers keep organized, a retailer marks its hooks with “Possibly” and “Definitely” lettering. (Image courtesy of Reddit)

9. Use Minimal Fixtures to Decorate

While some aesthetic components, like as sitting and storage, are required, you should not overcrowd your fitting rooms with decorations or furniture. Your fitting rooms should be very functional, with simply the fittings that help with the fitting procedure and nothing else.

Additional items take up needless space, obstruct change, and divert buyers’ attention away from their chosen goods. When setting up your fitting rooms, consider if anything in the area is distracting or unnecessary. Remove it if the answer is yes!

Fitting rooms may be beautiful even if they adhere to utilitarian simplicity. Lighting, floor coverings, seats, and wall colors may all be enjoyable. The main message is that the items you place in your fitting rooms should have a purpose and should not take up space that might be used for anything else.

To optimize space, fitting rooms have minimal décor and just give the instruments that are required. (Image courtesy of Lichtbasis)

10. Hire people to work in your fitting rooms

Customer-associate interactions, as previously said, are a wonderful tool for boosting sales, and you should facilitate such connections wherever possible. The area surrounding your fitting rooms is one of the ideal areas to do this.

One or two staff should be stationed in your fitting rooms at all times to assist customers with things like retrieving another size from the floor, assisting with zippers and ties, answering inquiries, and styling them.

Customers will often seek assistance and ask inquiries in the area around your fitting room. Make sure you’re ready for it, and that you’re ready to profit on all of the customer-associate encounters that will undoubtedly occur.

As customers try on items in their fitting rooms, a sales representative is on hand to help them. (Image courtesy of The Guardian)

11. Promote Special Offers and Social Media Channels

When a consumer walks into your fitting room, they are already a captive audience that has connected with your brand and is on the verge of making a purchase. You should take advantage of this opportunity with ads, social media plugs, and loyalty programs to remind consumers of possibilities and increase sales.

We placed leaflets advertising our social media accounts in the fitting rooms of my store, for example. We knew the fitting room audience was interested in following us on Instagram and Facebook since they were familiar with our brand. Our signage took advantage of this link and aided the growth of our channels.

We also had additional leaflets that promoted our specials and discounts. These flyers were wonderful because they reminded clients of the possibility of discounts while they were contemplating whether or not to buy, making them more likely to do so.

While you should utilize your fitting rooms to promote your social media and loyalty programs, as well as to remind consumers of special offers and discounts, your displays should not be distracting. Make your displays small, hang them in front of your clients’ eyes, and employ flush-mount solutions. Keep your signs compact and flat with the wall to enhance visibility without distracting from or obstructing foot traffic.

For your fitting room displays, you may use digital displays, paper signs, posters, or frame choices. Check out our entire guide on merchandising and displaying your items and signs for more information on the many display formats for your company.

Above the racks where people hang their clothing is an advertisement for a new lotion. (Image courtesy of Confero Marketing)

12. Make Fitting Room Technology a Part of Your Plan

One of the ways that brick-and-mortar stores differentiate themselves from their internet rivals is via fitting rooms. Despite the increased popularity of convenience and at-home shopping, more than half of customers still prefer to buy for apparel in stores rather than online, citing the availability of fitting rooms as a major influence in their decision.

When it comes to clothing, customers still prefer to purchase online.

The ecommerce sector, on the other hand, is becoming more high-tech, and it is doing more to provide customers with the benefits of in-store buying online. Businesses should explore incorporating technology into their fitting rooms as the internet market becomes more competitive, in order to offer an interesting experience, make purchasing simpler, and continue to attract people.

What if I told you that

By 2028, the market for fitting room technology is expected to be worth $15.43 billion, representing a 25 percent annual growth rate.

We’ll look at some of the benefits that fitting room technology may provide for your company below.

Mirrors with Intelligence

Mirrors with Intelligence use scanning software to detect the contours of a shopper’s body and have an RFID tagging system that gives the mirror access to a merchandise database. Using these technologies, the smart mirror can allow shoppers to:

• Virtually try on clothes
• Purchase a different size on the internet.
• Using a QR code, they may finish their transaction in their room.
• Get recommendations based on the goods people choose.

Mirrors with Intelligence are also great because they use scanners rather than cameras, allowing customers to maintain a sense of privacy while changing.

For a great source of Mirrors with Intelligence, check out Detego.

Virtual Try-On Areas

Virtual Try-On Areas are mirrors that use augmented reality (AR) or artificial intelligence (AI) to allow customers to virtually try on clothing items or beauty products without physically touching the items themselves. The technology creates a live image of the customer in the piece of clothing so that they can check the size, style, and fit of a product they’re thinking of buying.

Virtual Try-On Areas take all the hassle out of trying on clothes—you don’t have to undress. This makes the consumers’ jobs easier and allows them to try on more clothing in less time. Additionally, because of the virtual try-ons, virtual fitting room mirrors don’t have to be rooms at all. You can place the mirrors anywhere in your store, without worrying about privacy or having to create a barrier.

Using augmented reality imagery, a lady sees herself in both a black and a red outfit. (According to NPR)

Memomi creates one of the best AR mirrors on the market and is an excellent resource for implementing Virtual Try-On Areas into your storefront.

Buttons for Associated Requests

An associate request button, which tells your colleagues when someone needs assistance, is another feature you may implement in a fitting room. These buttons make receiving customer assistance a breeze and enhance your store’s overall experience.

Buttons for Associated Requests can be an incorporated feature on your smart mirror or exist independently as a call button. Whatever you choose, these buttons are a great feature for promoting interactions between your employees and customers and helping drive your sales.

This smart mirror has a “Request Button” that makes it simple for consumers to receive help. (Image courtesy of Facelet)

Conclusion

Fitting rooms are an important element of beginning a retail company, and with the appropriate design and functionality, they can be a powerful tool for increasing sales and improving customer satisfaction. With a 66 percent possibility of purchasing anything once they reach the fitting stage of buying, fitting rooms have unquestionable power. If you follow the advice above and add the proper design features, your fitting rooms will help you grow your company.

The “fitting rooms meaning” is a blog post that gives 12 tips for designing a great fitting room. It’s written by the author of “The Fit Room”.

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