There are a number of benefits that come from visual merchandising, among them the ability to display your products and organize your store so that you are able to drive sales, enhance your brand, and provide customers with a dynamic and enjoyable shopping experience. Every aspect of your business that interacts with customers is affected by visual merchandising. Visual merchandising goes beyond just arranging products aesthetically to contribute to your brand’s voice, customer experience, and sales.
Incorporating all the tips and tricks that this article discusses will help you create not only a visually stunning, but also storefront that reflects your company’s values and the experience you want to create for your customers.
Easy-to-implement Tips
Visual merchandising is the science and art of designing display plans and floor plans in a way that maximizes sales and revenue for the store. Take a look at it this way. Retail store layouts are not just about how many square feet you have in your store. It’s about various opportunities to make your business more profitable. Making visual merchandising work for your store does not require additional training or a fancy degree.
1. Well-defined areas need signage
The right signage will clearly direct customers where a certain item can be found and what the purpose of a particular section of a store is. We often encourage people to meander without giving them visual cues to help them find something quickly. By creating well-defined areas where similar products can be grouped together, signage solves this problem immediately.
Imagine a store with various sections, such as camping, clothing, sports, appliances, hardware, etc. It is through these clearly marked areas that shoppers can find their way out of confusion and are able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. In order to improve your understanding of your store’s layout and how to best group the elements across the store’s area, you will need to have a well-defined floor plan. You won’t be able to make the best choices based on even a rough sketch of your store’s floor plan. The best way to ensure that your visual-merchandising decisions are based on accurate data is to have a 2D or 3D floor plan designed.
2. Get your store lit
In visual merchandising, lighting is another key technique because it illuminates displays, products, and areas. In essence, it helps you guide your shoppers to easily find the products they are looking for – it is very similar to signage without any typography. A study has shown that there is an increase in basket sales in supermarkets when a dynamic lighting installation is implemented. Additionally, shoppers spend more time in places with warmer lighting than in places with cooler lighting.
3. Pick focal points
The main focal point of your display should be the point where your customers’ attention naturally settles. The advantage of keeping things simple is that it keeps your displays minimalistic – when you keep things simple, you won’t have to clutter up your displays with several items competing for your customers’ attention at once. A few examples of focal points are as follows:
- Lighting illuminates high-end suitcases in a display case, in the luggage section
- Furniture area of your store has a striking dining room ensemble
- The latest button-down cardigan sweaters have been neatly folded on risers in the clothing store’s prep area.
4. Use hotspots to your advantage
Your store’s hot spots are places where customers naturally direct their attention. Among them:
- Clothes displayed near dressing rooms in a store
- In-store display windows, mannequins wear the latest fashions
- Stacks of products at supermarket aisle ends.
The hotspots are known to boost sales, so place your items there if you want them to sell rapidly.
5. Correct window displays
An eye-catching window display will cause passers-by to stop and look in. Often, this is the first impression people have of your store. You can tell your shoppers several important pieces of information right away in this limited physical space, including:
- New products
- Best-selling products
- Items on sale
Think of your window display as a stage to encourage potential customers to come in and shop. There is a fancy term called visual merchandising, which is a fancy term for excellent in-store marketing. It has everything to do with arranging your layouts and displays in such a way as to draw the attention of your customers and boost your sales at the same time. In order to execute this strategy effectively, you don’t need a lot of marketing or retail experience.
It’s just a matter of understanding how customers move around your store. These tips will help you convert any retail space into a place where people will spend more time and make more money.
Conclusion
In addition to increasing sales, visual merchandising also helps shoppers have a better shopping experience. Your customers won’t have to think about where to go when you have a strategy for how they view your products and walk through your store. You won’t have to worry about them getting distracted by your store, so they can concentrate on your products.
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