Creating Effective Retail Displays

In their enthusiasm to display everything they have to sell, most retailers end up not ‘showing’ anything to customers. A common mistake when presenting merchandise is packing every possible space. When there is simply too much of everything everywhere, we fail to influence what customers see.

Just think of this exercise similar to writing a book. We start with a title and cover, representing your store name and how your store looks from the outside. This is followed by the introduction – your window display. Each chapter is then presented in a logical pattern from beginning to end, drawing readers deeper into the story.

Much like creating a story, each section should have a “precipitating incident” or a focal display that draws customers closer to the products. Effective displays create “rising action” which means creating needs and wants while moving shoppers nearer to actual purchase. The “climax” occurs when the customer purchases the item.

Editing then becomes selecting the right type and amount of merchandise to show.

The before photos show merchandise that failed to fit within the context of individual “stories” while the after photos show the same merchandise now having a big impact on the customer. Average daily sales of these exact same items increased 81 per cent in the new location when they were well categorized and given their own space. Carefully giving thought to categorizing your products and the number of categories your store can successfully show is key to effective selling.

【Before】

This store has a lot of good things going for it. First and foremost is space. However, when products are shown without thought to each category the result is confusion. Customers that walk in just scan the shop then boomerang out.

【After】

Previously these items had no impact at all. Now that they are grouped as a category, customers can easily understand the product line as well as view the entire product range. This is critical in supporting shop associates’ active selling strategies while at the same time silently selling.

Source: Cangift