Retail Marketing: How to Target Customers with Appealing Displays

Marketing Resources — By kelli on February 28, 2013 3:45 am

Humans are visual creatures, and attractive retail displays are key to getting customers to spend their money in your establishment rather than the many others competing for their business. This may not be something you have given much thought to—you just put the items out and expect people that need or want them to buy—but unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Here are some tips for creating retail displays that will translate to sales.

Avoid Clutter

When creating a retail display, it is important to avoid clutter. In the retail world, space suggests luxury. Trying to display a large amount of items may send a message that the items are not special. Only displaying a few suggests the opposite. Think of a store like Tiffany’s—their window display typically only features a few select items. And generally speaking, clutter is never appealing.

Combine Items to Maximize Sales

When a display will feature multiple items, the pairings are important for driving sales. For example, if you are want to create a display to showcase new cookware, include complementary items such as cutlery, rather than trying to squeeze another new, completely unrelated item into the space. If you are hoping to increase visibility of a particular bathroom product, featuring other bathroom products is a good idea.

Make Sure Key Items are Clearly Visible

Where you place your items in your display is key to getting more sales. Ideally, the best spot for the products you are hoping to move the fastest is between eye and knee-level, with your most desired coming in at eye level. If you are selling something that comes in some sort of packaging, like a basket full of toiletries, for example, choose a high-quality wrapping, such as a poly bag, which is cheaper than cellophane and resistant to grease, moisture and vapor.

Get Customers to Go Right

Research on how customers typically move through a store suggests that they tend to go to the right first and move around counter-clockwise. Take advantage of this by having a quality display to greet them as soon as they walk into the store and move towards that side. Many supermarkets, for example, place their flower section at the entrance and on the right—the bright colors and scents will naturally draw people in that direction.

Have Unity in the Different Displays

If you have multiple displays in your store, they should all tie together in some way. They do not need to be exact copies of each other, but there should be some sort of unifying theme to create cohesion and which is visually pleasing to the customer.If you use different colors, they should complement one another, for example.

Create Balance

Balance is also key to a visually appealing display that will pique interest in your products. You need to carefully consider how you place lighter and heavier items—not just in terms of size but in terms of color. You also want to consider shapes. There should be an overall balance between the different types of items and their attributes. This will probably take some trial and error before finding an arrangement that looks good.

About the Author:

Kelli Cooper is a freelance writer who writes frequently about different topics related to retail sales and marketing.

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Tags: retail display, retail displays, retail world, showcase, visibility