Shop Vastu: cash counter, entrance and display

A shop has to work for customers first, so Vastu advice for shops is mostly about arrangement: where the counter stands, how shelves are loaded and how light falls. The table and notes below give the traditional placements.

Where each part of the shop goes

Directions are read from the centre of the shop floor. The table gives the traditional first choice for each part, the acceptable alternatives and the directions traditionally avoided.

The entrance

The main door of a shop is traditionally in the north, north-east or east, where the morning light comes in. The north-west, west and south are acceptable. A south-west or south-east entrance is traditionally avoided.

Whatever the direction, the doorway is commonly kept clear. Stock, cartons or a delivery bike parked across the entrance are said to block the flow of customers as well as energy.

The cash counter, cash box and owner’s seat

The cash counter sits in the south-west, south or west part of the shop, with the cashier facing north or east. The cash box or drawer opens towards the north, the zone of Kubera. The south-east and north-west are acceptable for the counter; the north-east, north and east are avoided.

The owner, if seated separately, also sits in the south-west facing north or east, the same rule as an office cabin. In a small shop the owner and the cash counter are often the same seat, which suits this layout well.

• Counter in the south-west, south or west part of the shop.
• Cashier faces north or east.
• Cash box or drawer opens to the north.
• Owner sits in the south-west, facing north or east.

Stock, display and lighting

Heavy stock and storage load the south and west of the shop and keep the north-east light. Light displays and showcases go in the north, east and north-east, where they draw customers in. The south-west, south and south-east are avoided for display.

Bright, even lighting is commonly suggested throughout, with no dark corners, and the north-east in particular is never left dim. Fused bulbs are usually replaced the same day. Electrical panels, inverters and meters belong to the south-east.

The signboard

Vastu books say less about signboards than about layout, but the advice commonly given is simple: keep the board clean, lit after dark and easy to read, and repair a broken or faded board promptly. Many consultants prefer it on the north or east face of the shop where the shop faces that way.

Adjustments without rebuilding

• Turning the cash counter so the cashier faces north or east is a commonly suggested change that needs no building work.
• Many consultants suggest moving the cash drawer or box so that it opens to the north.
• Heavy stock is commonly shifted from the north and east shelves to the south and west.
• A dim north-east corner is often given brighter lighting and cleared of cartons.

These are traditional practices that many families follow. They vary between Vastu schools; for your own home, a consultant can say which matter most.

Related Vastu guides

• Office Vastu: Where the owner, reception, accounts, staff, pantry and electrical panel traditionally go in an office.
• Vastu for wealth: The north zone of Kubera, where a locker is commonly kept, water in the north-east and fixing leaks.
• Main door Vastu: The best directions for the main door, where it sits on the wall, and what to keep out of its way.
• Vastu directions: Deity, planet, element and the right rooms for each of the eight directions, and how to find them at home.
• Vastu remedies without demolition: Room use, colours, light, clutter, mirrors, plants, salt and yantras: traditional fixes, and when to rebuild.

Your personal best directions come from your Kua number. Check your whole home with the house Vastu calculator, see whether your house number suits you, and find your lucky number. More tools: all free calculators.