If you have a bricks and mortar location, people will “judge a book by its cover” – or in this case, a business by its window display and in-store displays. Rotating your display regularly can make all the difference between people coming in to browse, or just passing you by.
So what makes a successful store display? It depends on what you are selling, of course, but there are a few simple rules of thumb you can follow.
1. Rotate the Window Display Regularly
Make sure you change it regularly to show what is new in the store. Also reflect the passing seasons, holidays, interesting themes, color schemes, and more.
2. Make the Displays Easy to Use
Whatever you are selling, aim to make the displays easy to use for your customers and for yourselves. For example, if you own a bookstore, don’t cram the books on the shelf to the point where they can’t take them out or put them back without damaging them.
Don’t lock everything behind glass if you’ll need a key to show customers every item you have in stock. Include a sample and have everything else boxed up for them to take with them. Just be sure the boxes are clearly labelled.
3. Manage the Displays Sensibly
Again, it depends on what you are selling. For example, be careful with breakables. Use deep enough shelving to make it unlikely that people will knock things off with their elbow or bag as they walk past.
4. Group Like with Like
Group items together in a way that makes sense for what you are selling. A good example is books. Non-fiction is grouped by topic. Fiction books are grouped by genre, such as mystery and horror. If you have a women’s clothing store, group together blouses, sweaters, t-shirts, pants and so on.
5. Help Them Picture What Life Would Be Like with Your Product/s
There’s a reason why furniture appliance and housewares stores group items together into living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and so on. It’s to help you picture what life would be like once you purchased the items.
It can also help you sell more. A person might go in for a new coffee table but come away with the table plus two matching end tables.
6. Include Only Items You Sell in the Store
It can be great to add little touches here and there to liven up the window display/s, but these eye-catching items can be a source of frustration if customers come in asking to buy them.
7. Use Effective Lighting
There’s nothing worse than a dark store or murky-looking display. Use lighting to call attention to the main parts of the display. Use the brightest bulbs possible if your window isn’t large compared to the standard store window you would see on Main Street.
8. Be Security Conscious but Not Extreme
Every store is at risk from thieves who might smash and grab, so security is important. However, you still want people to be able to see what you have on display, so roller gates, for example, would be too much. Choose a style and color (such as silver) that complements your store front and lightens things up without looking like Fort Knox or a dungeon.
Use these tips to tempt passers-by into your store.
