Visual Merchandising in Holiday Retail Displays
The holiday season acts as a major source of income for the retail industry. Effective visual merchandising, which entails three-dimensional display and signage, can boost sales and profit margins for retailers dramatically.
Whether shoppers realize it or not, the visual merchandising of stores affects how and what consumers purchase. End aisle displays “increase sales by 30% even if you don’t change a products price” according to Brian Wansink, director of Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, “because items are more visible than if they were placed somewhere within an aisle.”
Holiday Merchandising Tips
How merchants utilize visual merchandising to take advantage of the holiday sales boost.
Entice Customers
An engaging display in a store window or by the front door can increase foot traffic, generating more customers and increasing sales. Tell a story with visual merchandising, know what customers want, and market that to them.
Make Displays Interactive
It is important to engage customer’s senses. Let them touch and interact with displays. Displays that incorporate brightness, color, even scents can be very effective. But incorporating music, sound, a monitor system, or technology in general can be extremely effective as well.
Feature Products with In-Store Signage
Using the changing seasons can be to a retailer or brand’s advantage. Alternating featured products season by season can bring excitement and freshness to a retail space. Signage is also an effective, relatively inexpensive tool to catch shopper’s attention.
In this Dec. 24, 2014 photo, last minute shoppers look for their Christmas presents at Target in Porterville, Calif. (AP Photo/The Porterville Recorder, Chieko Hara)
Keep it Simple
Visual merchandising is important to driving more foot traffic into retail spaces. All signage and displays should be clean and to the point, sending a concise message to potential customers of the product or brand being represented. Over the top decorations and overwhelming design details like lights and colors could draw potential customers away.
Scroll down to check out other fantastic window and in-store holiday retail displays!
