Your retail space needs botox and filler to stay looking fresh, too 💄

Okay, before we start, let me just acknowledge how much I hate the fact that I’m using a woman’s aging as the centerpiece of this article, but you all already know that I do my part in smashing the patriarchy AND I love a perfect metaphor. So here we are.

I saw this meme the other day about how Anne Hathaway looks pretty much exactly like she did 20 years ago. Now we all know why that’s the case, right? Clearly the woman won the genetic lottery, but she’s also been “investing” in maintaining her 19-year-old face since she was 19.

Now I’m sure this meme was trying to sell me something to stick in or on my face, but do you know what the image mashup made ME think of? You guessed it. Retail spaces.

Retail spaces age. They show wear and tear. They shows the signs of use – of a life well lived…just like faces. But just like dear Anne Hathaway chooses to keep her face looking as fresh as it looked two decades ago, retailers have to make intentional efforts and investments in keeping their spaces as ✨glowy and radiant✨ as they were on opening day.

We’ve all been inside stores and restaurants that feel tired and a little worse for wear. Dirty baseboards, torn upholstery, tired wall colors…you know what I mean.

The day to day of retail operations is incredibly demanding on the physical space, and it’s even more demanding on our human attention. And I’ll be the first to admit that when you’re busy running your business, it’s natural to go a little blind to the accumulating corner dust or fingerprints on door frames. But guess what? Just like reliable Hollywood misogyny, customers notice and judge us accordingly.

Now obviously if we all had Anne Hathaway’s budget, we could consistently microneedle and botox our retail spaces to keep them looking amazing year over year. So what can we do with limited resources? A lot. Here are just a few recommendations:

Keep seasonal signage FRESH. Nothing says lazy like a “Spring Salad” on the menu in August. Remove outdated promotional items the second they expire.

For the love of Andi Sachs, replace dead lightbulbs and dark letters in exterior signage immediately.

Pay for periodic professional deep cleaning. Your staff will not deep clean your store the way it needs to be done..especially if you operate a foodservice business.

Budget for periodic interior upgrades. A fresh coat of paint, reupholstered couches and banquettes, new decorative light fixtures, changing up the displays all keep things interesting for your returning customers.

And to double-down on this metaphor, I’ll argue that keeping your space looking ageless is an investment in your customers. Showing that you’re putting in the effort (and money 💸) to stay attractive tells your customers that you know they have other options and you want to keep their attention and love. Youth and beauty are fleeting and fickle…just like customer loyalty.