Making the Most of a Small Boutique

Boutiques are usually located in small retail spaces. Making the most of that space can have a real impact on the success of your business. Selling what you want to in your boutique can be challenging because there is usually just not enough room to fit everything. You can cram it in, but it takes away from the atmosphere and appeal, which is exactly why people want to shop there. However, if you go at it in the right way, then you can really maximize the use of the space that you have and make everything more visible than it was before, optimizing the shopping experience for your customers.

Do you have a lot of crowded garment racks? If they get too full or if you have too many of them, they can really make your boutique look like a sea of things that nobody wants to dig through. Garment racks are great for displaying clothing, but you don’t want to fill them completely up or put them too close together. People don’t like to be back to back with other shoppers while they’re digging through to try to find their size. In fact, people don’t like to dig through even to look at what you have. So, you need a space saving solution.

This solution is slatwall. You can install slatwall panels on every wall of your store. This one change can change your entire store. By using slatwall, you can display your clothing and accessories however you like. You can have them facing outward. You can have them lined up on a hanging bar. You can use hooks, shelves, brackets, whatever you need. Slatwall accessories are very inexpensive and are very versatile. You can move them around anytime that you’d like. This can help you to uniquely display new or promotional items and accommodate more merchandise.

By using the vertical space, you free up floor space. Using slatwall is a versatile, cost effective option for creating space. When the vertical space is used, you can start using more of the horizontal space by using longer brackets and deeper shelves. You won’t even notice the tiny bit of extra space that it uses. You can make your displays more dynamic by hanging mannequin forms directly on the wall. You can fill in holes by spreading out your brackets, shelves and bars. You can make more room by fitting things together more tightly. You will have achieved what every retailer strives for, and that is to always look fully stocked and never crowded, despite how much you have to display.

You can truly make your boutique into the area you’ve imagined without sacrificing the amount of merchandise that you sell or having to upgrade to a larger retail space.

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 Design a Store Display

Designing an effective and dynamic store display takes some practice and probably a little research. Use these tips to give you ideas and guidelines to follow. Using these tips, you should be able to purposefully create your own boutique or retail displays with your goals in mind.

1) Remember to think about what looks good. It sounds silly, but aesthetics are very important. Your displays give people an idea of what your store is about. They are making judgments about your store from the moment that they lay eyes on it. Think about what they need to see and feel to be inclined to make a purchase.

2) Customers need to trust you. As soon as they see your initial displays, by the door or in the window, they have made a decision in their brain about what they expect inside. If you have a lot of huge bright sale signs, they expect less customer service and lower prices. If you have delicate displays full of detail and personality, they expect to be treated as a unique individual, respected, and appreciated. They even expect higher prices and are willing to pay them. If your racks are in disarray or cram packed with tons of clothing, then they will see you as a company that doesn’t care about their shopping experience. They will be going in with a bad attitude, almost looking for one more thing that’s wrong to give them an excuse to leave.

3) Think about what grabs attention, and what will help you to make sales. People like to see clothing displayed in a way that they can imagine themselves wearing it before they decide to go try it on. People develop connections with their clothing, almost like a relationship, and they want their clothing to say something about them. For this reason, giving them a way to see themselves in the clothing is a very powerful tool. The most powerful display method in history is the mannequin. Now maybe you can understand why! You can also use mirrors, have plenty of dressing rooms available, and urge your staff to tell someone when they think that something would look good on them. Remember to be honest about it, people don’t like empty flattery. When they shop at a boutique, they expect honest fashion advice.

4) If you don’t have room for a mannequin at every display, think about using slatwall. Slatwall is comprised of multiple slatwall panels and you use slatwall accessories to display your merchandise. You can spread everything out so that customers can directly see what all you have to offer. You can use lightweight molded mannequin forms to display clothing on the wall, all while saving space on your sales floor.

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.

Get into your Customer’s Head

Having a deep understanding of the expectations and motivations of your customers can really give you an advantage. You may be surprised at what it takes for a person to decide to buy something. There is a deep process of affirmations that must be met before someone will decide to part with their money. Using this knowledge, you can design your store around the customer’s needs. You can train your staff to provoke the feelings that a customer must have before they decide to buy. Customers are savvier than you might think, and there really isn’t a way to ethically “trick” someone into buying something. But, it doesn’t hurt to point out the things that you know they need to consider before they’ll decide to buy.

First, they have to like the type of merchandise that you sell. If you are a small retail store, like a boutique, then you have a real advantage here. Smaller stores have to really focus on one specific target market. They can really get close to their customers and learn how they operate. They can create long-lasting relationships with customers that larger stores simply can’t. Make sure that you are using this huge retail advantage. Develop relationships with your customers. Keep in contact with them on social networking sites, publish a newsletter, or send out monthly mailers. By getting to know your customers and their tastes, you can make more educated decisions on what you decide to sell, really focusing in and becoming an expert in one area.

The next thing to think about is your knowledge. Customers have to respect you and get respect in return before they’ll be comfortable buying something. Let them know that you have a knowledgeable staff. Make sure that your staff is trained well on specific products and brands. Offering unique knowledge or benefits of your merchandise to customers will keep them coming back and help them to feel like they are in control and making an informed decision for themselves.

A lot of people shop for relaxation or for the excitement of buying new clothes and accessories. They get excited because the things that they find will help them to define who they are to others. Whether their style is sporty, eclectic, refined, or totally unique, they feel the need to define themselves with their clothing. Making their shopping experience what they hoped it would be will help you to sell them the items that make them feel good about themselves.

Make sure that you display everything where the customers can easily see it. Using slatwall is one way of displaying all of your merchandise facing outward, towards the customers. People can see what types of things you offer simply by walking by. If they don’t have to dig through a rack or sift through a table, they can simply look and see multiple items that you sell. Slatwall panels are useful for making use of odd spaces in your store, making free-standing displays, and helping you to carry as much merchandise as possible without distracting customers from what you have to offer.

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.

Great Customer Service

Good customer service is a must in a boutique. One bad review can have a great impact on a small business. Customers look for customer service while they shop, especially if they are in a boutique. Concentrating on customer service should be one of your main objectives. Customers’ reviews will help you to grow your business, spread the word about your store, and lead to more. These tips can help you and your staff to consistently provide the excellent customer service that your clients crave.

Get to know your customers. Recognizing them when they come in and hopefully remembering their names can make them feel special, like they are a part of your boutique. Boutique shoppers are unique in the sense that they are there to feel special. It’s not very often that they shop in boutiques for necessities. So, ask yourself why they are there. What do they hope to gain from their shopping experience? Do they wish to feel pampered or closer to the local culture? Do they want to find unique apparel and accessories? Providing the right kind of products is only half the battle. Your image is everything.

The image that a boutique portrays will help to give the shoppers the feeling that they are after when they go there. The way that they are treated is equally as important. They want to feel special, respected, and needed. Personal greetings are remembered and can make the customer feel valued. Help your staff to realize that this is the goal of your store. They shouldn’t be hanging around the counter talking to each other if a customer comes in. They need to greet, help, be friendly, and try to go above and beyond the call of duty whenever possible. Your boutique’s success could depend on it.

Keep in touch with your customers if you can. Inform them by mail or e-mail of special promotions. If possible, include a personal note. Giving that extra effort can gain you life-long customers. They will surely brag to their friends about how much they love your store and how helpful everyone is.

One thing that customers say is unique about boutique customer service is that they can actually get good fashion advice. It should be much different than browsing a big department store where decisions are completely left up to the customer. Your staff should be able to ask enough questions to figure out the customer’s style and make suggestions to them. After they try the garments on, the staff should be able to tell them if they think they need a different size, color, or design. This personal touch is appreciated by most people and can encourage them to come back for more advice.

Presenting your merchandise in a way that is easy to explore is also important. Your staff shouldn’t have to help someone by digging through mountains of clothes. Use modern retail fixtures, like slatwall and slatwall accessories to evenly distribute your merchandise in an easy to navigate manner. Slatwall panels are great for using oddly shaped areas that would otherwise go unused. They help the customer to be able to leisurely browse and look around without feeling cramped or overwhelmed.

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.

Retail Customer Service Tips

You should never underestimate the power of good customer service. What people think about you can make or break your business. Customers consider customer service the most important part of their shopping experience, and so should you. Concentrating on servicing your customers will help you to make your business better, improve the image of your store, and lead to more sales and more customers. Use these tips to make sure that you and your staff are on the right path to providing excellent customer service.

1) Learn who your regular customers are and identify them. Simply learning your customers’ names can go a long way. A personal greeting is remembered and makes the customer feel valued and special. Let your employees know that you want them to try to do this. If it’s a customer’s first time purchasing something, take a look at their check or card and thank them using their name. This will help you remember who they are if they come in again. If someone signs up for your e-mail list to receive your newsletter or special offers, then include a personal thank you in the first e-mail you send. Say something specific, like “I hope you’re enjoying your new shirt and pants!” or “Have fun at your daughter’s wedding!” so that they know you remembered them.

2) Keep in touch with your customers whenever possible. An e-mail list is a great way to keep your customers informed of sales and promotions. It’s a non-invasive way to keep in touch. Make sure that customers can easily unsubscribe without feeling embarrassed or they might be too embarrassed to come back to your store. An automatic unsubscribe is least threatening. Postcards, occasional mailings, and personal thank you notes put a special touch on your customer’s shopping experience.

3) Hire upbeat employees that are happy to work for you. The way that they treat your customers is the most important thing that you’re looking for. If someone hates being there and is simply putting on a show to get their job done, it will be obvious to your customers. If you’re having trouble finding people that go the extra mile with your customers, consider pay raises, incentives, bonuses, and extra training to get them on board. Your employees will only see customer service as importantly as you do. Model the behavior that you want to see and focus on team building and individual rewards to motivate your staff.

4) Make the shopping experience easy all around for your customers. Keeping your store displays nice and neat is the first step in creating a good customer experience. If your racks are messy or crowded, customers will be turned off and simply not want to shop there. An organized store says that you care and makes it easy for customers to navigate your merchandise. If your floor space is limited, consider installing slatwall panels to take advantage of some vertical space in your stores. Slatwall is perfect for displaying all sorts of merchandise. It’s easy to rearrange and easy to keep looking nice and neat.

Use all of these tips and come up with some of your own to make the customer service that your store provides unique.

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 Retail Promotional Tools

Using the right store fixtures, signage, and retail displays, you can make your products really stand out. Effectively merchandising your inventory can lead to higher sales and can help to communicate your store image to customers. Use these tips to bring your merchandising knowledge to the next level. Each display should be a well thought out endeavor, hitting the mark in all major business planning areas.

1) You decided to carry this product for a reason. Whether it was customer demand, uniqueness, or profit margin, you need to consider what caught your eye when you made your decision. Use these features to convince customers that they want to buy it.

2) Create a display that emphasizes the attractive features about the product. If you’re selling a sweater that is really soft, use signs that bring this to the customer’s attention. Something as simple as a sign that says, “Feel It!” can be a really effective promotional tool. Other features can be pointed out as well. Things like organic cotton, vibrant colors, sturdy construction, or latest trend can be pointed out to customers while they shop, influencing their interest in the product.

3) Use this opportunity to drive home your store or boutique’s brand image. The retail fixtures that you use to display your promotions are almost as important as the products themselves. Fixtures have an impact on what customer’s think of your store; think about this when you are purchasing and using them. If you want to sell something like hiking or camping equipment, you might feel like wood displays make people think of the outside. Make sure that each display and product matches your store image.

4) Consider your target audience when you’re setting up a display. Are your customer’s high end boutique shoppers? Are they looking for a bargain? These things have a great impact on how you position items on display. People shop in boutiques to find unique items or brands. Stuffing a rack or piling a table high with items doesn’t make them feel like they are finding something unique. This is a situation where less is more. You do want to make sure that your store looks stocked and has all sizes available, but you do want your customers to feel like they are getting something that most other people cannot.

5) Make sure that the promotional display stands out, but is not overbearing. You don’t want people to come in and only see the one display. Cleverly position your other merchandise around the promotion so that the customer’s attention is subtly taken in another direction. It could be something simple, like a necklace on a table or an accessory rack near the display. It doesn’t take sales away from the promotional item, but draws attention to other parts of the store.

6) Visibility is the most important factor in your store or boutique. Besides your promotional displays, the rest of your displays should also be easily seen. Use systems like slatwall to display items outward, facing your customers. Slatwall panels, slatwall accessories, and slatwall display additions can be used in a lot of unique ways that help you to put your products out there. Systems like these are versatile and leave floor space available for your more dominant displays.

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.

Keeping a Retail Space Organized

It can be difficult to keep smaller boutiques and retail stores orderly and neat. As merchandise comes in an out, seasons change, and promotions come and go, things can get messy and cluttered. You need to come up with an effective and efficient way to manage your store or boutique so that you don’t let it get out of control. Use these tips to keep things running smoothly.

Start with the basics. Your retail display systems should be versatile enough to accommodate changes that are bound to happen. Moveable shelves, adjustable rods, rolling garment racks, and shelving that can be reconfigured are must-haves in a retail environment; especially ones that need to conserve space.

One cost effective solution is slatwall. Slatwall panels can be joined to create unique free-standing displays that are extremely versatile. Slatwall panels are also useful for creating displays in areas that are normally wasted, such as underneath stairs, or where the ceiling comes in low.

You can use slatwall panels to create division between the departments or sections of your boutique or store. They don’t just create dividers, but provide you with places to hang bars, shelves, hooks, or other things that turn your dividers into useful displays. You can even use slatwall in your storage areas to create a room that is extremely versatile and can go with the flow year-round.

Slatwall as a wall display is the most popular way to keep retail spaces organized. It utilizes the vertical space in the store, which frees up a lot of floor space for creating more dramatic, less cluttered displays out on the sales floor. Keeping the sales floor decluttered helps you to watch for shoplifting, and makes the store more inviting to your customers.

Another benefit is the way that slatwall keeps your displays more visible. Instead of having your clothes crammed together in small racks, you can have them facing out towards the center of the floor. You can easily display clothing and accessories together, making it easier to merchandise smaller items.

You will also need garment racks for the sales floor. You can choose boutique garment racks to help add to the décor of your business. Remember that the store fixtures you choose can impact how the customers view you. A cheap, rickety garment rack can translate into a customer thinking that your merchandise is of a low quality and not worth the price that you’re asking.

If your store is organized and neat, you can more efficiently run it. Boutiques especially need to keep things organized so that each unique item can get the full attention that it deserves. The appearance of your merchandise can have a big impact on customers and their decisions to buy. Keep your garment racks neat and stocked with each size. Choose a garment rack or organizational system like slatwall, to keep your store organized year-round.


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.

Defining Your Target Market

Retailers running their own business, like boutique owners, need to define their target markets in order to effectively and efficiently focus their advertising, merchandising, and promotion efforts. If you don’t you could waste a lot of time and money, and even hurt your business.

First you need to determine what makes you unique. Why did you decide to go into retail in the first place? What inspires you? What does the competition sell? Who still has a need that is not being fulfilled in the marketplace?

Next you should determine which market segment is most likely to want to buy your product. This group of people should have a need or a strong desire to buy your products. Once you have a general target group in mind, it is time to start fine-tuning who you really want to market to. For example, you may decide that you want to market to parents. Then you may narrow down the group by deciding to focus on parents of babies and toddlers.

Another thing to consider is socio-economic status. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you will target rich people or a certain class of people, but more specifically, are you targeting mothers who are looking to save money, or mothers who are looking for high-end specialty boutique merchandise? Mothers who like to shop downtown, or mothers who prefer to stay on the outskirts of the city?

Narrowing down your target market can have an impact on what products you decide to sell, the prices that you charge, and even the perceived environment in your store. Let’s say for example, that you research your competition and notice that there are plenty of consignment boutiques in town. There are also lots of second hand, thrift style stores. The only high-end boutiques that sell children’s clothes you can find are all targeted towards girls with lots of frilly accessories and monogramming. While it may be true that parents trend towards buying more boutique merchandise for little girls, you may notice that there is a need in the market for little boys’ boutique clothing, toys and accessories.

Once your target market is defined, you can stock your inventory. Don’t be afraid of stocking too many items as long as they go along with your theme. People like to have choices, so make sure that you don’t get so specified that you barely have anything to offer. If you are in a small space, you can make the most of it by displaying your merchandise on slatwall. Slatwall panels are an easy and versatile alternative to shelving and make the most of vertical space. When you have your target market pin pointed and the merchandise that they need, you’ll be on your way to success.

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.

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.

Retail Christmas Displays

Christmas is the perfect time to bring in new customers and entice your old ones to revisit. Your displays can say a lot about you. They should be the focal point of the store’s entrance and should be continually updated throughout the store and throughout the season.

Christmas displays can be a lot of fun and draw a lot of attention. Your use of lighting and decoration can be anywhere from simple to extravagant and help you to communicate a message. Customers draw their first impression within three seconds of seeing your store, so keep that in mind as you design and implement your holiday display plans.

It is important to get it right the first time. You don’t want to stray from your store’s image, but you do want to draw attention. Start with your store’s theme, feeling, and target audience. Are you going for a more sophisticated feel, a modern look, or trying to attract bargain shoppers? Make sure that your display doesn’t take away too much from your merchandise. If you have a bold display, then the merchandise should be at least as bold so that it doesn’t get drowned out.

Mannequins are perfect for window displays and for making bold statements that don’t take attention away from the merchandise. In fact, mannequin displays have proven to be the most effective merchandising tool available to retailers. They show how clothes look when they are worn, which beats out hanging on the rack any day. But, they actually do a lot more than that, which allows you to use them when trying to influence your customers’ behavior.

Mannequins have the unique ability to make customers subconsciously make a connection with the clothing. People can walk by garment racks all day and never image wearing the clothes that are hanging there. They might notice a design that they like or an interesting fabric. But, if they don’t consider how the clothing will make them feel and what other people will think of the clothing, then they are not likely to ever make a purchase. Putting a female mannequin or a dress mannequin in the window will make people passing by instantly imagine themselves wearing the clothes. That’s half the battle. Add some accessories, lighting, scenes and scenarios, and you’ve got them also imagining what it would be like to wear the clothes and what other people would think of it.

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.