Learn our top 8 reasons why every great retail design and installation starts with an as-built survey
Think you know your retail space? Think again.
Those interior walls? Surprise—not the dimensions you expected.
The change rooms? Uh oh—two inches narrower than planned.
The grand opening schedule? Suddenly unworkable.
Budget? Nearly maxed out.
Your retail renovation plans? Back to the drawing board.
You should have started with an as-built survey.
An as-built survey is a detailed record of your retail space as it exists today. Think of it as a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” survey.
Whether you’re renovating, taking over a new retail space, or planning a global rebrand and redesign of your multi-unit store locations, your first step must be an as-built survey.
Trust us—design and construction plans, or that survey dating back to 2019, won’t give you a full and accurate picture.
What You Need to Know About Retail Surveys and Data Collection
Retail surveys give you the data you need to accurately assess and understand your retail space. The brain is funny—it can play tricks on us, showing us only what we want to see and believe.
Retail surveys give you the real facts and data, ensuring you have exactly what you need to make the best decisions about retail renovation, design, and installation.
Whether you’re ordering new signage or planning a complete rebrand and store redesign, you need to know:
- Ceiling heights
- Number, dimensions, and precise locations of each window
- Baseboard heights
- Signage location and types
- Type and number of overhead lights
- Dimensions of mirrors in change rooms
- Depth of glass display tables
- Entrance width
- Checkout counter depth and height
- Storage room dimensions and fixture details
We collect this data and more using a range of retail survey types including:
- As-Built or Architectural Surveys: document the physical layout, dimensions, and structural elements of a space to ensure accuracy in planning, design, and construction.
- Matterport Surveys: an interactive digital walkthrough of your retail stores, allowing you to virtually explore and see a location on your computer, phone, or tablet without being physically present.
- Field and Site Audits: are non-drawing data collections and checklists of information about your retail space such as store layout details, product placement, visual merchandising, and store branding compliance.
- Interior Surveys: a precise measurement and documentation of the internal layout, including walls, ceilings, fixtures, and mechanical systems, to support space planning, renovations, and retail installations.
- Fixture Verification Surveys: confirm the presence and condition of fixtures in your retail space, ensuring all fixtures and millwork are installed, functioning, and maintained as planned.
- Asset Tracking Surveys: involve cataloging and verifying the location and condition of assets within your retail store, helping you maintain accurate records and counts of items such as number of chairs, types of signage, promotional materials, or number of POS units.
- Space Planning Surveys: help you understand and analyze how retail fixtures, layout, and visual merchandising can be used to optimize your space for efficiency, customer experience, and functionality.
- Compliance and Marketing Surveys: verify that your retail spaces comply with any variable you want to measure, such as the use of marketing and promotional materials, safety compliance, building code adherence, accessibility standards, and more.
Remember, the facts don’t lie. Take the time to get an accurate and up-to-date survey of your retail space as it exists today. Remove the guesswork and the expensive surprises.
What Is An As-Built Survey?
An as-built survey details the actual existing layout, dimensions, and details of your retail space. This retail survey includes the precise locations, measurements, and features of your brick-and-mortar store.
It’s not uncommon for your as-built survey to differ from your construction diagrams or lease documents. And this is exactly why an as-built survey is essential for retail renovations, redesigns, space takeovers, and managing multi-unit locations.
An as-built survey gives you accurate and up-to-date information about your retail space as it exists today. Your as-built survey should include:
- Locations of doors, walls, windows, columns, and other structural elements
- Exact measurements of your retail space including ceiling heights, room sizes, and square footage
- Positions of lighting fixtures, HVAC systems, and electrical outlets
- Placement of all utilities, wiring, and mechanical and plumbing systems
- Dimensions and locations of all fixtures, displays, shelving, counters, and millwork
For example, our national retail client had recently taken over new retail spaces around the U.S and wanted to understand exactly what they were working with. Our client used the as-built survey data we did to guide their retail design and installation plans, ensuring every fixture, window covering, piece of signage, etc. would fit and meet the unique dimensions and limits of each retail space.
As-built survey types include:
- 3D Laser Scanning (LIDAR) Surveys: using laser technology, this survey gives you a highly detailed and accurate 3D model of your retail space.
- Matterport Surveys: gives you a 3D digital walkthrough of your retail space, allowing you to see inside remote locations without visiting them.
- Architectural Surveys: drawings of the interior and exterior dimensions, layout, and structure of your space and building.
- Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing (MEP) As-Built Surveys: document the exact specifications and locations of all utilities and systems within your retail space.
- Topographical Surveys: for retail spaces with outdoor areas, this survey details land features, elevation, and any exterior details.
What Data is Collected With An As-Built Retail Survey?
The data collected with an as-built survey includes:
- Precise measurements and dimensions of the entire retail space.
- Location and dimensions of all structural elements including walls, beams, doors, half-walls, windows, columns, stairs or steps, partitions, and rooms.
- Floor details including elevation and level changes, slope, flooring types, and finishes.
- Position of electrical outlets and lighting fixtures, HVAC systems, plumbing fixtures, wiring, WiFi access points, and any underground utilities.
- Details of all equipment and fixtures including the location and types of lights and positioning and dimensions of fixtures and millwork including shelving units, display cases, and counters.
- Location and dimensions of point of sale systems including cash registers, payment terminals, and self-checkout systems.
- Details on all signage including positioning, size, type, width, height, and thickness.
- A Reflected Ceiling Plan (RCP) that includes ceiling heights and bulkhead details, light fixtures and locations, speakers, air conditioning vents and HVAC systems, exit signs, sprinkler systems and fire protection elements, ceiling materials and finishes, structural elements, electrical conduits and junction boxes, and ceiling-mounted signage or display fixtures.
- Any accessibility features such as ramps, automatic doors, elevators, escalators, and any height-adjustable fixtures and millwork.
- Details on all signage including positioning, size, type, width, height, and thickness.
- Interior design elements such as seating or waiting areas, changerooms, or areas designated for workshops, lessons, demonstrations, etc.
Each of these data points is essential for developing your retail design and installation and visual merchandising plans. While it might seem like this data is overkill, think about how much each shelf, display table, wall graphic, and digital sign costs.
Can you afford the costly trickle-over impacts of relying on photos or construction plans when designing your retail store?
Why You Need An As-Built Retail Survey
Picture this: A retailer takes over a prime retail space and immediately hires a design team. The retailer has done a complete rebrand, complete with custom millwork, and new signage.
And then it happens. Surprise! The construction plans the retailer provided their design team didn’t include the new columns, indicate the elevation changes, or detail the new changeroom dimensions.
You know how this story unfolds. Delays. Cost overruns. Employee turnover. Grand opening is pushed back by months. Rent is in arrears. Lots and lots of stress (and a few tears).
This is exactly why you need an as-built retail survey. To prevent scenarios like this from happening. Everyone thinks it won’t happen to them… But wouldn’t it feel so much better to be 100% confident that you know exactly what you’re working with?
Here are our top 8 reasons why you need an as-built retail survey:
- On-budget and on-schedule renovation, construction, and remodeling relies on an as-built survey to ensure all contractors, architects, and designers are working from an accurate and single source of truth.
- Efficient and optimized space planning and design starts with an as-built survey as your template for all design decisions.
- Compelling, supportive, and engaging visual merchandising requires a clear understanding of your retail space and how fixtures, millwork, signage, colors, and lighting, will work together.
- Accurate and fair lease negotiations need an as-built survey to clearly show how much space you actually have and to help clarify tenant and landlord responsibilities and ownership of interior elements.
- Cost-effective and thorough maintenance and repair teams need to know what type of retail space they’re working with and all specifics around utilities, HVAC, plumbing, etc.
- Brand consistency across multi-site and global locations is only possible when you’re working from accurate and up-to-date as-built survey drawings and 3D walkthroughs.
- Managing total cost of ownership by preventing costly mistakes during renovations, remodeling, or space takeovers.
- Better decision-making around all aspects of your retail space from a design, customer experience, sales and marketing, and safety perspective.
And here’s our bonus 9th reason why you need an as-built survey: it just makes smart business sense.
The more you know about what you’re working with, the easier it is to make the right decisions for your business.
Spending money upfront with an as-built survey pays off in both the short and long term across all aspects of your retail store:
- Accurate Planning
- Reduced Site Visits
- Reduced Waste
- Efficient Design Decisions
- Better Use of Interior Structures and Features
- Improved Cost Estimation and Budgeting
- Eliminating Costly Design Errors and Delays
- Avoiding Conflicts and Disagreements
- On-Schedule Opening and Store Launch
- Positive Customer Experience and Engagement
An as-built survey is the first step in retail design and installation.
Like you, we don’t like surprises. This is why we recommend starting with an as-built survey. Trust us, we have been doing this for 30 years.
At Dynamic, our unique combination of IN-HOUSE offerings makes us your single source provider for all your retail survey, design, planning, installation, and construction needs. No one understands retail installation better than we do.
Contact us to learn how we handle any aspect of your business–from an individual retail store to a global roll out. We are here for you.