REACH OUT FURTHER
INESCAPABLY, effective retail merchandising comes down to having the right products in the right places, displayed creatively and with intent. The sole purpose is to devise a logical but visually pleasing environment, designed entirely to grab attention and form an uncluttered corridor to extra turnover. Every customer should feel comfortable and inspired.
The last thing you want is for prospects to walk in, look around, then leave. This applies to small, local businesses just as much as high street and out-of-town conglomerates.
Retail is down to visual detail. The basics are straightforward, including a clean store, appropriate lighting and neatly grouped displays. Successful merchandising, however, reaches out further and focuses on the psychology and motivations of shoppers.
There is a strike-and-hike zone near the front of the store that requires the most detailed thought and action, but the best retailers start from outside the premises.
A well-designed shop front encourages new customers, so it pays dividends to look into your store from the outside to observe what others see as they pass by: to be satisfied that there really is a visual stimulus to entice them inside.
INTERACTING
Window displays, always uncluttered, should be changed regularly and reflect your newest, best-value or better selling items. They interact with passers-by and stop them from taking you for granted.
Once inside, everything in the store impacts on the experience, whether it is the way products are displayed, the functionality of the walk-through, overhead and wall lighting, descriptive and promotional graphics, use of colour, ambient temperature or the appearance and friendliness of staff.
That front-of-store strike zone is where shoppers are likely to pick up an item, inspect it, note the price and make a judgement about you there and then. The strike zone is the best place for those products you believe will do most to represent the character and relevance of your shop, which is your brand. It can be the natural home for big-value temptations.
Use the fact that people are drawn to light. Lighting makes your stock shine and brings colours to life. Accent lighting creates immediate interest and once the subject item has captured the shopper's attention the odds on making a sale should soar.
Not only the window displays and strike-zone offerings, but the whole of the store needs to be kept fresh through frequent variation. Customers want to see what's new and different. If they are faced with the same old things in the same places there will be less and less relevance to their perceived needs.
POWERFUL MESSAGE
Merchandising themes tie products together and convey a powerful visual message. They are ideal for communicating seasonal sales, such as Easter, summer activities and back-to-school. They lend themselves to a variety of cross-selling opportunities designed to encourage impulse buying.
Product grouping can also help shoppers to save time and remain positive. Your customers are more likely to buy when they can find what they want. It is best to organise products in localised groups, whether by type, colour or some other common characteristic, always well signposted and described.
Research into traffic flow in larger premises shows that the area to the right of the store is most likely to be travelled first and viewed more thoroughly. And so if you wish to maximise every square metre of your sales space you could interrupt and balance this flow by strategically placing high-demand and impulse items elsewhere.
Positioning of display units and cashouts, the nature of your floor covering and markings, together with the use of clear, powerful signage and other graphics, are essential tools for redirecting flow.
Whatever you are selling, the basic elements of progressive merchandising are what you display and where, together with how you present the items within the overall context of your outlet.
As with most things connected to marketing, much of retail mechandising comes down to common sense. Lace it with creative and consistent portrayal of your brand and all will come together, in the corner shop or megastore.
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