Enhancing your store’s image with uniforms

Store atmosphere is the overall feeling or mood that customers experience when they enter your store. There are many factors that contribute to a good store atmosphere, such as interior design, lighting, music, and so on, but the people who greet your customers also play a crucial role. In particular, seeing employees in a uniform that matches the store’s image gives customers a sense of security and builds anticipation for the experience at the store. “Uniforms are the window of your company’s image to the outside world,” said Clérès Brisson, CEO of a uniform design firm in France. Many companies are adopting uniforms and using them creatively, and retailers are increasingly utilizing them to create a distinctive store image. With visual marketing all the rage, we took a look at the benefits of uniforms and what they can do for your store’s image and customers.

Pivotal role in highlighting expertise and credibility

Uniforms provide a consistent image throughout your store. A consistent image not only gives customers a sense of security, but also makes your store look more professional. A study published in Harvard Business Review found that when consumers were asked to interact with a uniformed employee versus a casually dressed employee, the participants in the experiment communicated nearly twice as much with the uniformed employee and believed the uniformed employee had more expertise. Raising consumer expectations for service in this way can invigorate the store’s atmosphere. Uniforms can be especially effective if you have demonstration and tester booths or sections in your beauty supply store.

People have different standards and interpretations of dress codes, so there is seldom a clear line. For example, an employee might come in with an outfit that isn’t drastically out of place but has accessories that bring the mood down, or a statement piece that draws too much attention. Uniforms can reduce potential conflicts in the store by eliminating these variables and distractions.

In addition, employees wearing uniforms within the store can be easily recognized by consumers from a distance, which helps improve service quality. In UTSA’s survey, ease of identification received the most positive responses, with 82.58% of positive responses about the benefits of uniforms. You don’t have to think about whether the person next to you is an employee or another consumer, and you know exactly who to ask, so you can focus on your shopping experience.

Uniforms also bring comfort and efficiency to employees. It saves time and money for employees by eliminating worries about what to wear to work, and the right design and materials make it easier for them to do their jobs. Uniforms have a direct impact on employee attitudes and service quality, so they can increase your store’s overall operational efficiency.

Fostering collaboration and teamwork among employees

Having employees wear a uniform gives them a sense of belonging. It also helps create a shared identity among employees, and teams with visually aligned identities are more likely to work together to achieve common goals. Experts say that psychologically, employees who feel a high sense of belonging are more engaged and committed to their work. The psychological benefit resulting from the uniform can lead to a harmonious work environment and increased performance.

INTERVIEW >>>

We visited A Trading, a company that has been making and selling uniforms for 16 years, to learn more about uniforms and ask them if they’ve ever received orders from a beauty supply. We also got valuable insight into the cost of uniforms and how they could spice up the store atmosphere.

What industries typically order uniforms?

Restaurants are the most common, and in retail, most orders come from businesses that work as a team. Those businesses include contractors, painters, and cleaning companies.

 In fact, uniforms are so fundamental to American businesses so much so that even people who work as solo have their logos emblazoned on their work wear.

For example, if you’ve ever called a handyman, you’ve probably seen them wearing t-shirts or polo shirts with logos. Customers would see the logo when they opened the door. It gives a professional look and feels a lot safer. It’s also walking signage. We’ve had a real estate agent who ordered a uniform. We embroidered the agency’s logo on a shirt to make it look much more polished and professional.

What about the beauty industry?

For beauty, we usually get a lot of orders when we have events. We don’t get many orders for uniforms worn on the retail floor, but we do get orders from people who recognize the benefits of uniforms. We’ve gotten nearly 200-piece orders from a few beauty supplies. They use it as a uniform in the store and also sell it to customers. Customers buy t-shirts because they are easy to wear and cost-effective.

Are there any uniform trends today that have changed in recent years?

We supply lots of round neck t-shirts and get more color print orders. Probably because printing costs have gone down a lot compared to what they used to be.

What is your minimum order, and how much can the price per piece go down?

The minimum order quantity is 12 pieces, and the more you buy, the lower the per-piece price. If you order 100 or more pieces with a single-color print on the front, we can do $4 per piece.

Please share some ideas to enhance the store image with a uniform.

You shouldn’t feel overwhelmed. Like I said, I think it’s a great idea to do something like a popular local restaurant does, where they have a cool design with their name on several items for sale, or you can do a giveaway event to get people excited about the store. We also recommend selling t-shirts with your city name printed, instead of your business name. There are plenty of t-shirts available for big cities like I Love New York or I Love L.A., but not for small and medium-sized cities. If you’ve been in business in a locality for a long time, you may find that selling local t-shirts helps you connect with your longtime customers.