Do and Don't: Directing the Eye through Lighting

I love it when stores use lighting to create drama and attract the eye. Not only does it say that the products highlighted are special, they also lead the eye to the area the store wishes to promote. What a simple way to influence shopping behavior!

DO: Using different levels of lighting, this shop uses the brightest lights to bring the eye to a feature display.

 

CAN BE IMPROVED: Although the idea of a back lit is good as it attracts the eye to a specific location, it also darkens the very merchandise the shop wishes to promote.

 

 

Do: Testers are Always Welcome

Ever been to stores that sell perfume wherein all the bottles are locked up in a glass cabinet? How do they expect customers to be attracted to the products when the displays are uninviting? 

 

The photo in this week’s blog shows one that caught my attention. All the products displayed below have a corresponding tester on the top shelf. The shelf height is a little below chest level and thus easily invites one to try the products. The absence of a sales associate in this case made the displays more welcoming as I knew I could play to my heart’s content without any interruption— and PLAY I did!

 

Do and Don't: RMU Romancing the Customer

I often see the sad state of displays whenever I shop. I feel sad for the beautiful products that are just placed haphazardly as if the owner didn’t care. Even marked down pieces deserve a nice set-up.

 

DO: Retail Merchandising Unit Display (RMU)

The display is given structure and several design elements are utilized. There is direction, there is shape and there is an appeal to customers to interact with products. Items are also grouped by design.

 

COULD BE BETTER:

Nice ceramic bathroom accessories are just placed on a shelf without thought for design and display appeal.

Do and Don't: The Right Fixture Makes The Difference

I am not sure what shopkeepers are expecting when they place teeny tiny items on the floor. Do they expect customers to kneel down and browse through them?!

DO: Products are neatly displayed on a nesting table. Display strategies implemented make this set-up appealing. I did one project wherein I exchanged gondola units to nesting tables and their sales went up 37% without changing inventory. Amazing what fixture can do to sales!

DON'T: When merchandise is stacked atop one another in a glass unit, there is hardly anywhere the eye can stop. There are advantages to a glass unit such as allowing the light through the displays, however the one pet peeve I have about these units is when it looks like products are just crammed in. Very unappealing, where's the romance?

Do and Don't: $500 Sitting Atop a Box?!

Shocked I tell you, I am shocked to see a $500 item sitting atop an inventory box. Is retail space in such a premium that a shelf could not be spared? When I buy something that costs $500, I almost expect my heels to sink in some lush carperting with nice ambience surrounding me.

DO: The display informs customers of what price to expect to pay. In this case, mid price point is what I guessed these dinnerware to be and indeed, they are. Besides price, the display also gave me ideas on how to display them at home and the different items I can add to make my dinner table more appealing.

DON'T: $500 for this set? That's highway robbery! That is what most people will almost say when seeing this set sitting atop its carton box. Now if only it was displayed properly, I may find the $500 set a good value.

Do and Don't: Cosmetics is STILL a Mini Luxury, Isn't It?

I subscribe to the belief that merchandise should be supported by the platform it is displayed on to ensure product values are uphelf and most of all, to make them appealing. Isn't that what retailing is all about? Making things begging to be bought?

DO: The right point of purchase display makes the difference between products sold right away and those that remain sitting in the shelf for a long time. Although this is an extremely popular price point, the display continually sells to the customer.

DON'T: I feel bad for the seller of these celebrity endorsed lipsticks. They do not deserve to be presented in a brown corrugated box. Infallible? I think not in this case.

Do and Don't: Missing Bottoms

Mannequins exist to sell products. They are there to grab customer attention and invite them in for a closer inspection. As with anything in retail, attention to detail is crucial in grabbing the RIGHT attention.

DO: I appreciate how the mannequin is dressed and the clothing displayed on it can be immediately found merchandised behind it. Makes shopping a breeze!

DON'T: Where's the bottom of the front mannequin? This surely attracted attention, but the wrong kind. I noticed customers noticing it not for the clothing displayed, but rather for the lack of it. Imagine little boys laughing so hard.

Do and Don't: Housekeeping is MAJOR

I understand how store can be busy and when delivery comes in, it adds to the chaos. However, is it acceptable at any one point to line boxes along an aisle, thereby blocking access to merchandise? Isn't that lost sales?

DO: Clean clear aisles are inviting and does not deter customers from coming in despite the line up at the cash desk.

DON'T: No room to store just delivered inventory? Maybe stacking them up closer to the back will minimize hindrances and allow more access to products being sold. Besides, these are trip hazards and the last thing retailers need is a lawsuit.

Do and Don't: Amazons Viewing Windows

When displaying merchandise in a window, what is the ideal height? I always thought that its always best when the eye hits the chest area of the mannquins or close to the main feature of the clothing being promoted. Now the question is whose eyes? Someone who is 6 ft. tall or someone less than 5'5"?

DO: I like how the mannquins are just the right height, with my eye hitting the chest area. The lighting also hits this very area, hence drawing the eye to the spot. The strategy of repetition is successfully implemented and indeed makes an impact.

DON'T: I do like the repetition but my eyes hit near the knee area of the jeans. Viewed from afar, this height may be ok, however at that distance one cannot see the jean details. Besides the negative space below is too jarring isn't it?

Do and Don't: A Window is NOT a Stockroom

It never ceases to amaze me when retailers fail to treat their shop windows with the respect it deserves. What a wasted opportunity– a chance to attract attention and sell the very merchandise on display. Too bad!

DO: With space at a premium the window is used as an introduction to what customers may expect inside the store. What an inviting display!

DON’T: This picture says it all– how the retailer simply must not care anymore. It does not matter whether one is a discount retailer or even a resell shop. Merchandise must be treated with dignity or else customers fail to appreciate its value.

Do and Don't: The Power of Light

Ever wonder why some stores attract more customers while others have customers passing them by? The not so secret secret? Well-lit spaces! Bright areas attract the eye, hence hard to ignore. Well-lit stores often follow the ABC of lighting- A for the brightest spots which are the focal displays and task lighting including lease lines; B for framing the walls and floor units and C just spillover lighting.

DO: Wow, what a nice and enticing display upfront! I am sure its effective in getting passers-by to come in as well. Did I ever mention that the brightest stores tend to attract the most customers? Lighting the entrance, especially the main focal display is sure to grab attention.

DON'T: Who turned off the lights? Lighting the entrance is crucial not only in getting attention but also in defining the start of the store experience.

Do and Don't: Which Sells Better?

There are so many display techniques and styles around but at the end of the day, I think the one that wins is the one that sells the most.

Which of these two display styles do you think will sell more?
DO: Each shelf is merchandised exactly the same way with small items flanking taller items creating a triangular effect. I prefer this display in that as customers shop, moving from left to right, they are offered a new product (still within the same category). Talk about silent multiple selling!

DON'T: This isn't really a don't, more of "can be improved". The good thing is that smaller items are placed eye level for easy visibility. However, the drawback is that more customers may purchase the smaller lower margin items than the large bottles displayed on the bottom shelf.

Do and Don't: Do you walk looking up?!

Its funny how some retailers assume customers walk with their heads tilted up. This is evident in the signage they install not only in their shop windows but also inside the store. Some stores put up their signs too high with small print that I am not sure whose attention they expect to catch. Don't they realize we humans walk looking forward, turning our heads comfortably 45 degrees left or right? I say 9' high as their highest is good for directional signs as we expect to look up to search for directions (e.g. exits, washrooms, etc). However for large store signs, I say 6-8' high is workable. For signs that announces an event with small print, don't you think eye level is best?

DO: This is a good height for the shop's announcement poster (left). Its easy to read and one can't miss this.

DON'T: Does the store really expect customers to notice this sign while walking past this window? Much less, read it? It might be my age or the reflection from the mall lighting  but I tried reading the sign's small print and no matter how hard I try, I simply could not.

Do and Don't: Window NO NOs

When small stores need the window space to merchandise products for sale, one way to create this set-up is to group things by colour within a category to make it look like products belong in a single theme.

DO: With multiple items from different suppliers, this window still maintains its integrity simply by being grouped by colour. The large clear vases on the right most of the top table was filled with coloured water that matched the overall colour theme.

DON'T: Avoid displaying item together that have no relation to its use. For example, footwear with Canadiana souvenirs, or baseball caps with formal wear brooches together in one window.

Do and Don't: Retail Carts Need Visual Merchandising Too!

Most retail carts sell price point goods, hence most operators do not bother with creative displays. Don't they realize that carts are selling spaces too and thus need to maximize all opportunties to sell?

DO: Handbags displayed with their faces out attract more attention than if they were displayed sideways. Besides, customers purchase handbags for their face design, not how they look on the side.
DON'T: What a mess! Unattractive, unappealing, need I say more?!

Do and Don't: When Negative Space is Good

DO: Negative space from the floor is a good thing. Keep items off the ground to keep their perceived values. No one wants to purchase clothing that's been sitting on the floor.

DON'T: Items hitting the floor sends a negative impression. Keep merchandise at least three inches off the ground. Most customers' impression of the floor is that it is unsanitary. Besides, clothing can be easily snagged when customers walk pass this section.

Do and Don't: Customers Pay Attention to Details

DO: This window display shows attention to detail. Everything is well laid out and the back graphics support the overall theme.

DON'T: Right across the mall hallway from the window shown above, is this window below. An otherwise beautiful window display is ruined by the backdrop. Do they think customers will not see this detail?! The implications do not stop here, what about supporting product values or rather, enhancing them?

Do and Don't: Am I Too Fat?

DO: Allow enough room for customers to browse through merchandise on the back wall. After all, there are more merchandise displayed here than on the front feature table. At least three feet of space between fixtures is good.

DON'T: I realize that space is at a premium, however who can ever fit in between this feature table and the wall to comfortably browse through the wall merchandise selection? I can't even imagine how anyone, skinny or otherwise, access this section.

Do and Don't: When Backlighting Backfires

DO: Backlighting is a great strategy to attract customer attention and drive them to a specific area. However, additional lighting in front is needed to balance the bright back wall.

DON'T: See what I mean if the front is not lit and only the back is?  While this may marginally work for items such as eyeglasses/sunglasses, other merchandise displays fail when the product face becomes dark especially solid items such as the branding sign seen here.

Do and Don't: Hello? Anyone Home?!

DO: A warm and welcoming storefront converses to customers not only through signage but also its feature products.

DON'T: I was sitting outside this shop for well over half an hour and not a single soul seem to be working in this entrance section. What a wasted opportunity as many people passed by seeing this empty storefront. Avoid wasting any chance to sell!