With Black Friday and holiday shopping right around the corner, malls and shopping centers are preparing to be flooded with the highest volume of shoppers that they get all year. With a huge amount of business about to roll in and many people that will need to be able to navigate around the building, having high quality and carefully selected signs in a mall or shopping center is of the utmost importance. Not only are they needed to help facilitate the flow of traffic throughout the mall, but each individual business relies on their signs to help them create a strong brand image and invite shoppers to step inside. A sign that is outdated, worn out, or low quality could be hurting the potential of both the business and the whole shopping center, so it’s crucial to ensure that all signage is up to par before the holidays begin!
Directional Signage
Wayfinding signs are an incredibly necessary part of a shopping center, especially a large one. Having directories with clear and concise maps at multiple locations throughout the mall is vital, and at the major junctions there should also be signs indicating what’s nearby and how to get to major locations, such as different zones of the mall, large department stores, or the food court.
Emergency Signage
In the event of an emergency, all exits in a mall or shopping center must be clearly labeled, and it’s a good idea to have some directional signs indicating the exits spaced through the entire building. Additionally, fire safety items like fire alarms and fire extinguishers should be easy to identify via their signs, and the location of first aid kits and AEDs should be indicated as well. Ideally there will never be a situation where these signs are necessary, but having them in place is important nonetheless.
Food and Restroom Signs
After a long day of walking around a mall fighting crowds and lugging heavy bags, customers will be flocking to the food court in droves looking for something to give them a bit of a boost. A shopping center should always have signs with the location of the food court or any restaurants, and each individual restaurant will need its own sign, too. Signage that reflects the kind of food and experience a customer will be getting at any particular restaurant is necessary to help people make an informed decision about where they’re going to eat, and in the case of a counter service food court, clear and detailed menu boards are a must!
Store Signs
Retail signage is sometimes overlooked as a part of a business’s marketing and brand image. It’s often the first line of communication between a store and a potential customer, and a sign that is lackluster or doesn’t give an accurate picture of what’s on offer inside the store doesn’t make a very good first impression. In order to effectively promote a business, a sign must be well-designed and eye-catching, and convey the image and purpose of a brand to passersby.
Outdoor Signs
All shopping centers should have some outdoor signage, the most important of which should display both the name of the shopping center and the businesses that are inside. The location of this main sign must be given careful consideration, because it needs to be visible from the road and easy to read for any drivers going by. It would be a problem if people who were looking for the shopping center regularly drove past it because it wasn’t well labeled, or if potential business was lost through a lackluster sign that didn’t entice anyone to stop in and take a look around. In the cases of larger malls where a huge building and a confusing parking lot might become difficult to navigate, outdoor wayfinding signs become necessary as well, indicating the entrances as well as the locations of any major stores and restaurants.
Thoughtful, well-planned and well-placed signage can make or break the success of a mall or shopping center. If you are currently planning to update the signs in your mall or shopping center or add signs to a new one, our team of experienced signage professionals at Bartush Signs is ready to help you. Bartush Signs is the premier display signage company in Orwigsburg, PA. Contact us here to discuss your options!