Merchandising and display

• The manner in which your store is merchandised represents the ‘picture’ you are transmitting to your customers.

• You have approximately 2 seconds to attract your customers’ attention.

• Remember: eye level is the best place for impulse purchases

• If you fail on this count, you are most likely throwing away your profits.

What is merchandising? • Merchandising sets the

mood and the character of your business and the products you sell.

• Merchandising and customer service are the two most powerful influences on retail sales.

• Merchandising will be either a ‘turn-on’ or a ‘turn-off’ in the minds of your customers.

• Good merchandising will support your sales staff’s efforts, enhance the provision of customer service and promote further sales.

• Poor merchandising will make selling extremely difficult.

Merchandising incorporates: • store layout • fixtures • display

Store layout dictates traffic flow and your layout will affect customers’ perception of your store from the very first

contact. You should:

• observe your layout from the

outside - the store signage and exterior displays, window displays

• review your store entrance, and the image from the inside of your store

• consider how you will encourage customers to browse every area in the store

• Store layout will also determine the selling hot-spots in your store.

The two most common forms of layout are • Grid pattern: The most

effective format for bulk displays

• Used to direct customer traffic flow through the store in a systematic way, and to expose the greatest amount of merchandise.

• Free flow pattern: This is generally used by fashion stores. It allows browsing by customers.

• Random placement of fixtures highlights individual products.

Straight Floor Plan

Diagonal Floor Plan

Angular Floor Plan

Geometric Floor Plan

Mixed Floor Plan

Display

• Display incorporates the way you set out your stock and the techniques you use to focus attention upon it.

• The objective of good display is to focus customers attention on the merchandise you have for sale.

• It requires careful planning, appropriate quantities of stock, impact ticketing and well maintained fixtures and free-standing display units.

Types of Display

• fixture displays • freestanding floor displays - to focus

customer attention on specials or impulse items

• window displays

Basic types of fixtures you will want to consider

• wall shelving • floor standing shelving • units, pedestals, tables • bins, revolving display stands, wheeled

carts, • security fixtures like glass showcases, • hanging fixtures ,waterfall , round racks • unique pieces of furniture

A combination of factors is used to create an attractive and visually appealing display

• Balance • Colour • Ticketing • Lighting • Floor Coverings • Merchandising similar product together

can create a dramatic impact

Balance • Balance is the way

goods are situated within the store as a whole and within a display

• There are three main forms of balance - symmetrical, asymmetrical and a combination of the two.

Colour • Colour can greatly

enhance or detract from a display

• Too many colours can lose the focus of the display

• Colour should be limited to create either harmony or contrast

• Colour can create a theme within a store to reflect a season or the nature of a promotion.

Use Effective Ticketing and Signage

• Easy to Read • Simple Message • Well Placed on

Display

Guidelines for effective ticketing and signage usage

• Be consistent with standards and use of size and font style • Don’t put too much information on one sign • Use one strong headline • Make sure the main message stands out • Position ticket at eye level wherever possible • Never block product displays with ticketing • Only use supplier ticketing or signage when on promotion

then remove. • Ticket every item in store only once with the appropriate size

ticket • Use size of ticket that is consistent with size of display (bulk

display – big ticket)

Components of a ticket

• Lead Line – Heads up ticket and should be short and catchy - ‘Just Arrived’

• Head Line – Identifies the merchandise – ‘Remington Shaver’

• Descriptive Line – Tells customer about the merchandise – ‘Huge Savings’

• Price Line – Varies in size and location according to promotion

• Base Line – Final closing point to cement the need for the product – ‘While Stocks Last’

Tips for redirecting customer traffic to maximize your sales

• Windows set the tone, communicate your store's image and invite customers inside

• At the entry, introductory displays. The entry area is often referred to as the "decompression zone," where the customer makes an adjustment to the new environment; takes off their glasses, closes an umbrella and takes visual stock of the entire store. Sales rarely take place in the "decompression zone" - in fact, most sales take place after the customer passes through this area.

• Once your customer passes through the "decompression zone" they look at the price of the first item, generally to their right, that is easily accessible

• This area, called the "strike zone," offers your customer their first impression of your store

• Once through the "strike zone", the right wall of your store is usually your most valuable real estate as this is the area that is generally travelled first and viewed most thoroughly by our customers.

• This can include products that you are promoting but which are not necessarily demand items.

• Demand merchandise includes those items that the customer has made the decision to purchase before they enter your store

• Traditionally, the cash wrap is centrally located.

• It is highly recommended that you place your wrap to the left of the store entry and place impulse products around the cash wrap.

• The cash wrap also serves as a security checkpoint and as an area that can allow visibility to all parts of the store

• When designing the cash wrap area, keep in mind the many functions that will be accommodated by the space and plan accordingly.

• One of the most highly trafficked areas is the cash wrap.

• Add-on and impulse merchandise should be placed above, behind and near the cash wrap where possible.

• The cash wrap is the location that offers the most captive audience (a waiting customer) and is the point at which impulse sales are most often made

• High demand products placed in the rear of the store will pull customers through the store, increasing the visibility of other products along the way.

• Add-on merchandise and impulse products are usually placed near the demand merchandise in a highly trafficked area to suggest further purchases

• Place impulse items in the front of your store and in locations of high traffic between the door and displays of demand products but outside of the "decompression zone."

• Be sure the aisles are wide and clearly defined for emergency exiting