September 5th, 2014

Visual Merchandising Tips and Tricks for Your Business

Many retail stores and hospitality venues spend a lot of time and money on hiring the best staff to help them maximise sales and attendance. However, a key part of the process actually happens before a customer even sets foot in the store or venue, and starts with a transparent yet powerful thing – the window.

Visual merchandising can be used to maximise the impact of the shop or restaurant window, attracting customers and drawing them in. However, contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t end there. Visual merchandising should extend into the retail space to make efficient use of the store layout and shelf displays, or – in the case of both a store and, say, a cafe – to help set an appropriate mood or ambience.

Visual merchandising is often regarded as a mix of art and science, so it can be a complex task. Here are a few tips to consider when planning your visual merchandising campaigns.

 

Show it off

Present your stock in a way that customers can envisage it in their own lives or homes, whether it be via mannequins, staff apparel or placement within the store. By thinking about your target audience and tailoring displays to them, you’re taking the guesswork out of shopping as they don’t have to rely on their imagination.

For a cafe or restaurant, you want the interior of your store to reflect the food/drink you are primarily providing. For example, if your wines are your best feature, have them stored in an open wine rack along one wall to draw the attention of your patrons where you want them to be focusing.

 

Don’t be afraid of colour

Colour has the power to draw attention, evoke emotion, and determine mood. Experiment with different colour schemes, ensuring you stay true to your brand identity.You can work with colour via displays, furniture, and even lighting (as we’ll explore below).

 

Light it up

Spotlights are a great way to highlight certain products, but a specific lighting strategy can actually transport your customers to another place. For example, you can use different types of lights to emulate anything from a cosy living room to a nightclub, depending on the atmosphere you want to create for your store/venue and brand.

 

Create a theme

Themes are a great way to connect customers to activities, experiences, and your products. Use different seasons to create themed displays, and have fun with them. For example, if Spring is approaching you could incorporate grass and flowers to grab attention and set the overall mood. You can make use of colours, props, and even unique pieces of furniture to make an impact. The added benefit of cohesive themes is that you can use them to tell a story. Storytelling is a very effective way of relating to your customers and having them telling your story to their friends.

Focus!

Use positioning, lighting, and whatever else you need in order to create focal points that draw the customer to a product. When doing this, it’s a good idea to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ensure that the focus point is not too high, too low or completely unnoticeable.

Focal points can act as hotspots and have been shown to increase conversions and sales, so if you get this right you might see a solid increase in profits.

Keep it fresh

Nobody likes a stale display, so ensure you keep things fresh by changing up your window displays and store layouts. Customers eventually grow immune to stagnant displays, so making regular changes will introduce a level of excitement and keep customers guessing, while providing them with new opportunities to see different products each time.

This is also invaluable when trying to determine which types of campaigns work best, so be sure to monitor and record each change so you can determine the formula for visual merchandising success.

Visual merchandising requires creativity, logic and analysis, so keep experimenting with these factors and you’re bound to notice results!