Retail Display: Put some Method in the Madness

Do you think that putting together an effective retail displays is a matter of common sense? If so, then you’d be right. But it’s also much more than that. In fact to create a truly great visual merchandising display requires the application of a little scientific method – It’s not rocket science… it is retail science.

An ineffective or unclear display will confuse and frustrate customers. Regardless of how interested, or even intrigued, they may be with the product on display, this confusion and frustration always ends up impacting negatively on sales. You need to put some method in that madness!

In the following paragraphs I’ll outline some basic principals of merchandising that’ll have your customers clear headed, in control and, most importantly, reaching into their pockets to take home what’s on offer. So read on…

Clearly, products displayed at front of your shop will receive the most interest. More specifically, you can think of the critical zone as a 3 – 4 metre semi-circle around the entrance of your shop. This is the red zone! It’s the only display area that will determine in a shoppers mind whether or not they even want to enter your shop. It’s on this valuable piece of real estate that dreams are made… and broken. So it’s here that you need to display your top sellers and any of those wonderful little products, that may not be the cash cows, but tend to evoke fascination and interest amongst your customers.

Well considered shop window displays grab the attention of passers by and act to draw them into your shop. Poorly considered window displays have the opposite effect. Ensure that your window display is kept fresh by redesigning the display every couple of weeks - even more frequently during peak shopping periods – and make use of some bright colour or something that contrasts with the surrounds. If you have the budget, some movement is a great ploy. Whether this be in the form of an old fashioned mechanical- style display, or an LCD screen loaded with fresh content should be dictated by the appropriateness of the technology to your product or service range.

A general rule of thumb is that products displayed on tables and walls will move! Of course the product must be appropriate for your clientele, but display hangers on walls are an effective way to highlight new products as they fall directly in the customers’ line of view. If you are planning interior renovations, think about building more wall space. If this isn’t in the budget, the next best move is to use display shelving to increase prime display space and group products into product or style categories.

People need to be able to move freely through your shop. It’s important that they have space to stand a little back from your shelves, take in the entire display and then move in closer to handle the products on show without having to be constantly thinking whether somebody else is trying to squeeze past.

About 1500mm to 2000mm is a good spacing while the display racking itself should be no higher than 1500mm. An investment in good quality shelving or racking can save you a lot of frustration in the long run. A quality product will be designed to facilitate day to day maintenance and add some flexibility to your display.

The pricing and ticketing of your products must be as uniform as possible. How often have you been in a shop, found an item that is of interest only to be unable to find a price? If there is not a staff member in the immediate vicinity you are likely to just walk away. This is an area where it is imperative to make it as easy as possible for your customers. Remember: If it’s easy to shop, then it’s easy to buy!

At the end of the day, great displays equate to great sales. So don’t just throw product on the shelves and hope for the best – that’s madness. We are all creatures of habit, so play on that desire for order and understanding with a little sharply focused Retail Science. Then all there is to do is to sit back and listen to the register ring!

A Great Little Retail Article

I've been trawling for Display Stand and Visual Merchandising articles this morning. There is a lot of pretty poor and uninformative articles around when it comes to the topic of Retail Display, but I've managed to find one that has some great little tips and should help any retailer increase sales by simply making the most of the display space they already have available. How does that sound?

The six tips are as follow:

1. The only way is up!
2. More is more!
3. Shine a little light!
4. Razzle dazzle ‘em!
5. Focus, Spotlight, Highlight!
6. Repeat, Re-shuffle and Renew!

Obviously that won't make a lot of sense to you, but they should get you thinking enough to go and have read of the rest of this great retail article. Otherwise, good luck and... Happy Retailing.

Lecterns (and Lecturns) for Retail Use?

I'm going to stray somewhat off topic here and have a look at a couple of Lecterns. You couldn't exactly say that they are a retail display product, but you do see them used by travelling salesmen and the like in shopping centres and malls - they're also popular at trade shows and exhibitions, which is a bit of a cross over area for retail display.

I came across a retail display blog that features a couple of models of lecterns (or lecturns) and just thought they looked like a good product and that they could be well utilised in a retail environment. I could easily imagine one with some promo brochures displayed and manned by a staff member demonstrating a new or featured product.

Display Stand Design for Dynamic Exhibitiors

If you’re about to reach into your pocket for a company stand at the next expo or exhibition in an attempt to snare some new business, it pays to ensure that your display stand design stands out from the crowd. The amount you choose to spend on your stand is limitless and if exhibition designers had their way, we’d all go broke! Regardless of how expensive or “designed” your stand is, you can’t afford to lose sight of the basic idea of exhibiting – return on investment.

A great example of using product and colour to create an effective display stand that commands attention

Display stand design trends
Clearly you need a stand that not only reflects your business and illustrates your product, but it must catch the attention of passers by. It’s possible to create eye-catching and visually exciting display stands using only a simple portable display combined with some top quality graphics that will have your business standing out from the rest.

As with products on the market there are clear and identifiable trends in portable display stands as designers and manufacturers jostle to come up with the next big thing. Pull up banner stands were once the buzz word - and now everyone’s using them. That’s not to say that they don’t have their place, but serious exhibitors must keep abreast of all the new systems that are coming on to the market if they want to keep pace with their competition and have a display stand that really shines.

 New systems allow for more dynamic shapes and constructions

Types of display stand systems
There is a range of options to consider when it comes to choosing your display system, all with their own unique characteristics. You may choose to attract attention with sheer force by opting for a stand that allows for a huge graphic area. Or it may be the shape or construction of the stand that separates you from your competitors. Stands are currently available with striking curved display shells, intriguing geometric stand designs or ingenious locking panels.

An expandable display stand system allows you to customise a stand to your needs and add to the stand in future years

An expandable system is always a good option in that it will allow you to add panels and create different shapes or when you need to upgrade to a larger display stand for future trade exhibitions, you can simply add to your existing display rather than starting from scratch.

Graphic design
Many suppliers have in-house designers who can provide graphics for your stand to your exact requirements, whether it's a company logo, message or other visuals. But be warned about using “free” or even low cost graphic design options, as the cold truth of the matter is that you most often get what you pay for. Effective display stands work because they thrust your graphics forward into the view of your target audience. So why pay all that money for the latest display stand or system just to present a sub-standard image of your company? It’s your stands graphics that will allow it to really shine and to reach its full marketing potential.

Large text is easy to read from afar and ensures your message gets heard

If you are creating your own graphics, remember that colour is a great way to create impact, so use it wisely. The clarity of your display message is critical, so don’t fall into the common pitfall of trying to give too much information and losing the clarity of your display stands message. The message of your display needs to be effective both up close and in attracting viewers from across a crowded exhibition hall, so at least some images and text should be large, while some smaller scale detail can be included to be read by the viewer after they approach your stand.

Lighting and accessories
A brightly lit display stand attracts attention, while spot lighting allows you to really highlight a particular message or product, or maybe just your company logo. Be sure to ask your supplier about display stand lighting options and be clear about the supply of power supply and where it will be available to you on the day of the display.

A Little Bit of Christmas Past...

Retail displays have come along way since this little number was cutting edge!

But for now, I'm off to enjoy my holidays, so Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you - Now go do that last minute Christmas shopping.

Modular Retail Display Systems

If you're in need of some extra sales impact in your retail outlet and are looking around for the right retail display to suit your needs, but are having trouble narrowing it down to just one final selection, then maybe the answer is to go with a modular display system.

Now, before you start thinking "that sounds like some extreme hip pocket pain", just hear me out. The trick is to choose a suitable system and then slowly build on it. You might decide to start with something to attract more people into your premises, like a large advertising poster stand, for example, but you're also likely to need some extra shelving to be utilised for upcoming promotions. Then look for a portable free standing retail display stand to which you can attach large posters and display in front of your shop, which also has flexibility to accept product shelves for instore promotions.

This freestanding system shown below, also features small shelving attachments (not pictured) and would be perfect for the task:

Here is another variation on the same modular retail display theme. Only on a smaller scale and with varying display attachments - it would be perfect to fill those unused or troublesome area of you retail floor space without the expense of a custom display stand. This one doesn't even require any tools to assemble the display:

If you stock only a certain kind of product, then a more specific retail shelving or product display solution may be more suitable for you. Take a look at these two below:

I hope these examples can provide you with a little food for thought.

Good luck and good retail!

Colour Talks

Though there are some effective and eye catching retail displays stands that are works of art in themselves, often the most effective sales method is for the display stand to take a back seat and let the product take centre stage - after all the product really is the star of the show! There are exceptions and it really depends on the characteristics and features of the product, but here's a great example of keeping the display stand minimal and letting a key characteristic or feature do the talking:

This is a display stand for gay pride garden hose attachments.
Did you believe that? It's not actually anything to do with gay pride,  but they are hose attachments on display and they come in a striking array of colours. When designing the display stand for this product, the direction should have been very clear - keep the stand absolutely minimal and let the colours shine.

So when you're planning for your next retail display, be sure to identify any product characteristics that can be highlighted to create an effective and striking display. Outside of colour, this could be shape, packaging, materials or some existing promotional graphics.

Good luck and good retail!