3 Steps to Entice Customers With Visual Merchandising

These days, there is more competition in the retail industry than ever before. Consequently, in order for your store to succeed in this highly saturated market, you must do all you can to make your store stand out and be attractive to potential buyers. A fantastic way to really stand out among the millions of other stores, is to step up your visual merchandising. This can be anything from the way in which you arrange your items in the store to using creative set-ups with display mannequins to showcase your products, in addition to other clever tactics. If you aren't familiar, visual merchandising's purpose is to create a logical and visually appealing environment that will catch the eye of even the busiest of shoppers and as a result, contribute to an increase in your store's sales. Here are three major steps to entice shoppers and in turn, increase sales, through visual merchandising tactics: 1) Entice the Crowd. In visual merchandising, half the battle is luring your shoppers into the store. You could have some really gorgeous products inside, but unless the people on the street have x-ray vision, they have no idea what the inside of the store has to offer. So to lure them in, start with what the customer would see from the street. If your store has a window, that is the perfect place to really put those display mannequins to work. Dress your display mannequins in the newest items, seasonal items, one's that you're sure are going to be big sellers. Creating eye-catching window displays is a time-honored tradition in with many retailers, and it's a tradition because it really works! Remember that less is more in window displays and to use a lot of color. 2) Make an Impact. Realistically, when a potential buyer walks in your store, you have about 5 minutes to lure them in. You need to use all you have to keep them from doing the dreaded lap around the store and then leaving without even trying anything on. This means you have to use all the store's elements to put them at ease enough to get their wallets ready. These elements are the music (what you're playing and the volume are equally important), the lighting, the d?�cor, the arrangement of the racks and aisles, the organization of the products, the attitude of the staff, etc. If it's attractive, and inviting you have a really great chance of luring someone in. 3) Organize while making it attractive. If someone walks in and is looking for something specific, you should make it easy for them to find. For instance, if someone is looking for a dress, you should have all the dresses and skirts in one area. It may seem like a small thing, but customers really appreciate when a store makes it easy to find what they're looking for. Once you have organized the store into sections, you can then do some sub-organization and do it by color or style, etc. Another great way to help direct busy shoppers to what they're looking for is to again, use the display mannequins. In each section or department of the store, have a display mannequin wear what's in the department. The majority of people respond better to visual messages, so really work those display mannequins to your advantage.