Retail Displays: Getting the Most Bang for your Buck

Retail store owners are definitely interested in saving money. Whether the economy is down or not, the retail industry is always going through waves of selling a lot or not selling at all. There are certain seasons when we can expect things to be busy or things to stand still. Whatever the case, time or season, saving money on the things that you can’t avoid buying is always a good thing. Use these tips to help save money on retail space, retail merchandising, and effective advertising.

1) Make your advertising efforts more effective by sending out the right messages to the right people. Clearly define your target audience and stick to things that will only target them. Use mannequins and signage in your store windows to communicate what you offer and who you are offering it to. An effective window display will lure target audience members inside while encouraging others to stay away. You will save a lot of time and money if you are selective about who you market to.

2) Consider quality when you buy larger retail displays, like garment racks and counter displays. You can find good prices on some of these and you may be tempted to buy them. Before you do, check the quality. You may even decide to talk to other retailers about where they buy their retail displays. Check out their racks and see if they have sharp edges, shotty welding, or rickety casters. If you buy something that is not of a high quality, it may not last you very long. Even worse, it could be a liability, costing you more than you ever imagined.

3) After you’ve settled on a brand that you believe sells quality products, shop around for prices. Sometimes you can buy used items from stores that are going out of business. You can also save money by going directly to the manufacturer to purchase your retail displays. Ask about guarantees, return policies, payment plans, bulk rates, and shipping discounts. There are a number of ways to get quality products at reduced rates.

4) Another way to save money on retail displays is to bypass buying a lot of garment racks and go straight to a merchandising system. Slatwall is an excellent option for a few different reasons. One, it is inexpensive. Two, it can help you to attractively and effectively display a multitude of items all at once. Three, it is so versatile that you can always change it up, helping your store to stay ahead of the game.

Use these options to stock your store. Remember that slatwall and slatwall panels are considered the most inexpensive, quality way to save space an make your retail displays interesting.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and slatwall panels. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Improving Retail Displays

Sometimes a display looks nice, but for some reason it just isn’t effective. If you are dissatisfied with your retail displays, or if you’re just curious about how to make them better, then ask yourself what needs do your displays fulfill. Customers have quite a few things in mind when they shop. Some are subconscious and others are not. It is your job as the store owner, merchandiser or manager to make sure that you are making the customer feel at ease by hitting these major areas of concern.

Customers essentially have to trust a retailer before they will buy something. You are making promises to them before they even walk into the store. This is why your store should be set up to target certain shoppers and turn others away. You’re promising that if these things appeal to you, then you will find things inside that you will like.

For example, if you have a dark store front with big heavy doors, then customers can assume that you have high priced inventory inside. If you have lots of lights and huge signs, they can expect to find good deals and low prices. Mannequins can certainly help you here. Use them in your store window, not only to show customers what clothing you offer, but to help set the mood.

Mannequins are great assets when it comes to communicating to customers. If set up effectively, they can show customers how certain clothes can make them feel. They help customers to immediately imagine themselves in the clothes and how that would make them feel. This kind of prepares their minds for shopping, having them subconsciously consider things that they wouldn’t have before.

You can also use mannequins to handle the social aspect of buying clothing. If you have more than one mannequin interacting or showing some sort of emotion to each other, then customers will instantly imagine how their friends or peers will view them if they are wearing the same thing.

Once inside the store, you can continue to impact how a customer thinks. This can be difficult if you simply have garment racks filling the whole store. A more effective method of retail display is to use slatwall or gridwall to display your items.

Slatwall can be used to make all of your merchandise not only fit into a small area, but face outward so that each item gets your customers’ full attention. It also raises things up to eye level or higher so that merchandise can be easily seen from anywhere inside the store. You can use mannequin forms or mannequin torsos to display how items look when worn directly on your slatwall. Finally, slatwall panels help you to create displays in interesting areas of the store where you normally wouldn’t have room for a clothing rack.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and slatwall panels. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Managing Small Retail Spaces

Retail spaces can get cramped for a number of reasons. You may have decided to expand and offer more products. Maybe you are offering an entire new department. You could just be running out of storage space. Or, you might have chosen a small space to have an affordable retail space in a good location. Whatever your reasons, you need a way to deal with the small space without sacrificing sales or image.

Not having much room means that you need to get creative. Creative displays are what make boutiques so popular today. Displays need to be effective and satisfy needs for the customers. For example, when a customer enters a store and approaches a display, they have many questions going through their heads. They are wondering if they like the product. They then consider what other people will think. They imagine how the garments would make them feel. Then they check out quality, price, and the availability of their size.

Setting up your displays with these customer questions in mind will help you to overcome some of the hurdles that retailers face. You can’t necessarily only put out a few sizes of each item, or customers will assume that you probably don’t have their size and they won’t go through the process. You don’t want everything to look like clearance. If there are fully stocked displays, then customers feel like they are getting something new and popular. If the inventory is low, they might assume that you are not restocking this item for some reason. It could be quality, popularity, or some other unknown that turns them off when they look at the display.

So, this leaves you with a predicament. You need to save space. You want to offer more and more products. But, you don’t want to put out skimpy amounts of each thing. Even more important, you don’t want your store to get crowded and look like a bargain bin. The solution is to utilize retail displays designed to conquer this particular problem.

The most popular and cost effective solution is to use slatwall panels. You can install slatwall in a store and take full advantage of vertical space. You can hang and display hundreds of items on the walls of your store or boutique, even in a small amount of square footage. This can leave the floor open to creating more attractive and elaborate displays.

Using slatwall not only saves space, but it makes your store easy to shop in. All of your items can face outward toward the customer. Customers can shop without touching anything. They can see what each item looks like and also see that your inventory is stocked. If something’s running low, you can simply switch out the bar for a shorter one to make your store look continuously stocked.

Using slatwall and slatwall panels in your store will make you and your customers happier.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and slatwall panels. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Tips for Starting Up a Boutique

Many entrepreneurs are running their own businesses with little or no training. It seems that with a little research, many self-starters are seeing great success. Boutiques are a popular form of business to start. Most boutique owners aren’t simply looking to make some money, but have a drive and a passion to sell their unique offerings to the public. This is a good thing.

To be successful in a business, you must have desire. You have to care about what you’re doing and be willing to put in many thankless and fruitless hours of hard work. It takes stamina and determination. Do your research and you could be on your way to owning a successful boutique. Follow these tips to help you stay focused on your goal.

Try not to get swallowed up by mounds of paperwork and details swimming in your brain. Your initial goal is to get your “big picture” plans down in writing. This involves detailing what you want the store to look like. Write down the major categories of inventory that you want to offer. Add in what you want to be unique about your store. Define your competition and what you will do to be different. You really need to pinpoint a target audience. Decide who you will be marketing to, who you won’t be marketing to, and why.

Having these basic guidelines will help you to stay focused on your goals while you get other details squared away. Once you know what you want to sell, decide on your prices. You may have to visit other boutiques, check online stores, check auction sites, and make your decisions based on your competition.

Making your prices too low can make customers think that the products are of low quality. Try to stay in the range of pricing that you see when you research. If something is going to cost you too much and you aren’t going to see much profit from it, ditch it and move on to the next product. Remember that it’s not all about what you want to sell, but what the target market wants to purchase.

Once your inventory and pricing is squared away, you need to look at facilities. Choose a facility based on location, size, traffic opportunity, and price. You can afford a better location if you choose to go with a smaller space. Dealing with a small space is easy if you use the correct retail supplies and accessories. For example, you can use slatwall panels to turn small spaces into attractive displays. Slatwall is easy to install and helps you to make the most of the space that you have. Using slatwall in a boutique gives you lots of display options without breaking the bank.


About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and slatwall panels. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

How to Use Slatwall in a Boutique

Slatwall is one of the most versatile retail display products on the market. Boutiques are in a great position to gain the most benefit from using slatwall panels to merchandise their displays. If you own or work for a boutique, you know that space can often be limited. In a boutique atmosphere, sometimes the décor is as important as the merchandise itself. So, using slatwall systems to help you make the most of your space can be very rewarding. Read on to learn how slatwall could be helping you run your business more effectively.

1) Slatwall is installed in panels. Slatwall panels can be purchased in different sizes to fit the space that you have. You can also have slatwall panels cut to fit your space. This is useful in odd spaces, such as underneath stairs or in other areas where the ceiling slants. It can help you to utilize all of the little nooks and crannies in your boutique. This technique greatly reduces your need for more space.

2) Slatwall also helps you to accessorize. By hanging items that go together in the same area, you can easily show your customers what goes with each outfit. They may not have thought to buy that purse or hat until you put them together on your slatwall display.

3) Slatwall allows you to use more mannequin forms in a small space. Mannequins are the most effective marketing tool available to retailers. However, if you don’t have much space, full-sized mannequin displays may not have ever entered your plan. Using mannequin torso forms allows you to hang the mannequin in the space that it takes to hang a shirt or pants. Simply hang the clothes facing out, dress the mannequin, and hang it in front of the rack. A slatwall display can be very dynamic and effective.

4) Your slatwall will be your best friend when it comes to rearranging displays. The versatility is probably its number one selling point. You can quickly and easily rearrange hanging bars, shelves, hooks, and other slatwall accessories to accommodate your inventory. If you’re running out of something, you can simply space out the other things around it to take up the space. Your displays will always look full and inviting to your customers.

5) Promotions, merchandising, and changing the seasons are so easy with slatwall and slatwall panels. You can replace items and move things around really easily without tearing your store apart. Boutique owners love this because they are usually working alone or with very little staff. You can replace one thing at a time until it’s done without making it a huge undertaking.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and slatwall panels. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Do I Need a Shop Fitter?

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Boutique Merchandising Tips

Merchandising in a small boutique can be challenging, especially if you’re new to the business. You want your boutique to look fresh and inviting while maintaining its unique charms. However, problems arise when you want to carry more inventory or expand on your merchandise. You need to accomplish both to be successful.

Carrying more products can help you to bring in more money. It can bring you customers that you didn’t appeal to before. It can keep your current customers interested and coming back time and again. Keeping your product line interesting and profitable is definitely a priority. Having the inventory on hand to satisfy your customers and hold up during promotions and busy seasons is also important. So what do you do if you want to turn more profit, gain new customers, and expand if you are in a limited space?

There are a few ways that you can accomplish this. You need to make space so that your sales floor isn’t overcrowded. Too many products in one area can make your boutique look crowded and uninviting. You won’t sell more simply by squeezing more in. You can invest in garment racks that stand taller to give you more room. This helps you to take advantage of vertical space. However, if racks stand too tall, it can make it difficult to keep an eye on your store when you suspect that someone is considering shoplifting.

Another way to take advantage of vertical space is on your walls. You can use gridwall or slatwall systems to display your items vertically without sacrificing attractiveness. There are many benefits to using gridwall and slatwall.

One is the manner in which they display your products. Instead of your shirts, coats, and dresses facing each other, they can hang facing outward. This type of visibility allows customers to shop with ease. They can easily see what you have to offer without digging through crowded clothing racks.

When you’re ready to add more inventory, the versatility of the grid wall or slat wall will amaze you. You can squeeze things closer together without making them look crowded. You can make unique spaces for new inventory with very little effort, simply by moving the hooks around.

You can also display your accessories right beside the outfits that you think they look best with. By displaying your items on the wall, you can free up floor space to display ensembles on mannequins. Mannequins are the number one selling tool in the retail industry and using gridwall and slatwall will allow you to take full advantage of them.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Display and Promotion Ideas for Boutiques

Boutiques are in an exclusive position to really get creative with their displays and promotions. What might seem out of place or over the top in a traditional retail store can make a boutique interesting and unique. Use this fact to your advantage when you are creating your displays. You might just find that certain merchandising tools, such as mannequins, can help you to brand your image, sell your clothing and accessories, and help you to make a lasting impression on your customers. Actually, an interesting window display can bring in a lot of new customers on its own.

To create an exceptional display utilizing mannequins, you need to first consider your store image. If you want your boutique to be recognized for its individual style and unique décor or standards, then you need to make sure that your displays communicate this message. Having an ordinary display can make your boutique appear dull and boring. This is the last thing that you want when you own a boutique.

Shoppers are interested in boutiques for many different reasons. They love the charm, the interesting decorations, the personal service, and the unique products and brands that boutiques usually offer. You can use your window display to quickly communicate to passer bys that you, in fact, offer just the things they’re looking for.

For example, you can display signs or window clings provided by the companies whose brands you carry. This tiny form of advertisement will attract people looking for those hard to find brands that you carry. You can then attract people looking for personal service by advertising your services. A small sign should be sufficient. Have it communicate the unique services that you offer, such as free alterations, personal styling, custom fittings, whatever the service may be.

Nothing in your window display is as important as the mannequin display. Mannequins communicate to customers the atmosphere and attitude of your boutique. People connect with mannequins on different levels as soon as they lay eyes on one. This marketing phenomenon has mad mannequins the number one selling tool in retail for decades.

Customers rely on their first impressions to determine if they trust the business. They need to trust you in order to decide to buy. They need to see what you’re offering, imagine themselves owning, using and wearing your products, and be able to determine how that would make them feel. If a customer does not go through this process within the first few seconds of looking at your display, then they are not likely to enter the store or buy anything.

Use this knowledge to your advantage. Set ups female mannequin displays to attract women. Use mannequins that are specifically designed for your products, for example, use a dress mannequin for dresses. Be sure to select clothing and accessories that communicate the style of boutique that you run. If you use mannequin displays and window displays to accomplish that positive first impression, your sales could really increase and your customers will stay interested and loyal.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.