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.

A Professional’s Guide to Consumer Behavior

Understanding consumer behavior is essential when you are preparing your store for the new year. Marketing and merchandising are centered around how you will make consumers feel, think, and act. The main goal of marketing is to influence the way that consumers think. Motivating them to decide to buy what you want them to buy is what must be accomplished to ensure a profitable selling season.

Customers are as influenced by experience as they are by product positioning and presentation. Training your employees to offer customer service above and beyond what the customer expected can go a long way in influencing consumer behavior. When an escalated situation is handled professionally, nicely, and effectively, an aggravated customer is likely to make a purchase and return in the future. One reason is that they now have a connection with your store and your staff.

In real life, going through an ordeal that ends with a favorable outcome draws people closer together and strengthens their relationship. The same applies for customers who have a problem. Try not to dread dealing with irate customers. Look at difficult situations as ways to bond and turn problems into favorable relationships than you could not have originally obtained.

Make sure that customers feel as if you understand and acknowledge their problem. Listen more than you speak. Solve their problem in a way that exceeds their expectation and you’ve struck gold. Not only does the customer have a stronger bond with you, but they have an incident to talk about with their friends. If they walk away feeling like you handled the situation in a professional and personal manner, then they are going to spread the word.

Product positioning is also important when your intention is to influence consumer behavior. First you must understand what type of customer you are trying to influence. Are your customers looking for deals? Are they looking for quality? Are they shopping for others? Determine which sets of customers you would like each display to appeal to and go from there. For example, a table set up with sweaters that would make great gifts may be tied with ribbon to resemble a present. You could place a sign here that informs customers about your free gift wrap services.

Position your displays in areas where customers are likely to decide to make purchases. Your big attractors should be in the front of the store to draw customers in. However, you do not want all of your best finds to be right in the door, or customers will get more disappointed as they move through and leave with a bad impression. Use mannequins and signage to draw customers back further and further into the store. Impulse buys along the aisles that receive the most traffic will help to lure the customers in. Using a mannequin, like a female mannequin or male mannequin, can help you to position your product where it can be easily seen. For example, someone standing twenty feet away may notice your dress mannequin wearing a coat that they really like and move back to that area. If the coat was simply hanging, the customer would have never gone back there.

Use mannequins, spread out your merchandise, and always treat your customers with respect. You will keep the sales going through busy and slow seasons 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, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Dress Up Your Boutique

The holidays are a perfect time to get your boutique looking out of this world. You’re going to have a lot more traffic than normal and you need to make a good impression. These steps will help you to keep things fresh, impress your customers, makes sells, and showcase your merchandise.

1) Make sure that your clothing racks and displays are kept nice and neat. People’s first impressions are important. You don’t want them to feel like you don’t care about the way your boutique looks. Make an effort to constantly straighten racks and stacks of clothing so that it looks presentable. This also helps to keep the clothes wrinkle free. Use nice hangers, like wooden hangers, to keep clothing separated on the garment rack. Little touches like this will keep your store looking fabulous.

2) Keep your clothing displays stocked. People think that you are about to put something on clearance if the rack is looking lean. Studies show that people bypass racks that are not stocked because they either think that something is wrong with the clothes and you are no longer going to carry them, or they think that their size is likely not there, so they don’t want to waste their time. During the holiday season, especially, you need to keep the inventory coming. If you notice something selling quickly, make sure that you have plenty of stock on hand to keep that display full.

3) Keep it fresh. People will often visit a store more than once during the holiday season. Keep it interesting by rearranging your displays daily. An easy way to do this is to use mannequins. Your mannequins are an easy way to keep things changing while helping to make sales. They are bar none the number one most effective merchandising tool on the market. They show people, at a glance, what items look like when worn. This serves many purposes. Customers don’t have to try on something to see that they like it. It draws attention to feature displays. It personalizes outfits, making it easy for customers to imagine themselves in the outfit.

Using a dress mannequin or female mannequin designed for dresses makes a huge difference in the way that dresses are viewed. Test out the theory by putting a different dress on your dress mannequin every day and see how the one on the mannequin outsells the rest every time. Women especially imagine themselves in clothing. They want to know how it will make them feel, not just how it looks, so mannequins posed correctly help to drive that feeling right into their consideration, boosting sales and the impression of your store.

Keeping things organized and using your mannequin displays to help sell certain items is a great thing to focus on this holiday season. Stay on top of it and your boutique may have its most successful season yet!

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.

Green Your Boutique

Want to make a good impression on your customers and feel better about your boutique’s impact on the environment? Use these tips to get your boutique or retail store headed in the right direction.

1. Recycle and use recycled products. Let people know that you care about recycling by providing recycle bins as well as normal trash receptacles in your store.

2. Offer online offers instead of mailers. Turn your business into a paperless environment if possible. Urge customers to let you e-mail a receipt to them instead of using paper. If you can, use recycled printer paper and receipt paper.

3. Use bamboo and organic fabrics whenever possible. People are actually looking to buy more organic cotton and renewable bamboo fabrics. Not only are these fabrics safer for our skin, but they are safer for the environment as well. Pesticides and toxic fertilizers used in cotton fields contaminate our water supply and farmland. People are becoming more and more aware of the dangers of conventional farming and they don’t want to support it. Using organic fabrics when you can will get the attention of these environmentally conscious consumers.

4. Post signs about charities that you donate money to. Give customers the option to donate to organizations that help the environment by cleaning up waste, recycling or planting trees. You can put brochures or signs near your checkout letting customers know that a portion of your proceeds will go to charities that help save the Earth and our precious natural resources.

5. Make it obvious that you are helping the environment by using bamboo instead of wood all over your store. Floors, tables, hangers, desks and doors can all be made of bamboo. You can use bamboo hangers to make sure that the message is loud and clear that you care about the environment, without sacrificing the look and feel of your store’s image.

6. Utilize as much natural light as possible to save on electricity. Sky lights are cheap to install and can even be used as spot lights. Use sheer curtains so that light can always come in. Use fans instead of central cooling whenever possible.

7. Advertise to your customers the ways that you are helping the environment and be open to suggestions. You can use a male or female mannequin to help. You can come up with creative ways to use your mannequins and displays to spread the message of saving the earth. It can be something as simple as using a dress mannequin to display your organic cotton or bamboo wear. Their shirts could have positive messages about recycling and using Earth friendly products. You can even post little signs next to their mouths with messages to your customers. Using a mannequin to spread the message is an effective way to spread the word that your boutique is an environmentally friendly one.

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.

How Mannequins Influence Consumer’s Decisions to Buy

If you don’t have mannequins in your store or boutique, then you could be making a big mistake. There are so many benefits to having mannequins in the store that you probably haven’t even begun to imagine how they could help you.

Most retailers invest a little in mannequins simply to fill out their window displays. Well, they soon discover that there are so many other benefits! Mannequins can not only help you to make money, but can actually save you money, influence your customers to buy, reduce your losses, and save your employees’ time. Here we’ve listed just a few ways that mannequins can help you. Once you start getting into them you’re bound to discover new and exciting ways to use them.

Almost all sales are unplanned. This is why it is so important to influence the people that pass by your store. Consumers have a deep seeded desire to fit into a group or vision that they have of themselves. When looking to buy clothing, they go through a process of imagining themselves wearing the clothes, what they might be doing while they are wearing them, and how that might make them feel. If all areas of their decision making process are satisfied, they are likely to make a purchase.

Using a mannequin not only gives them the subconscious approval of other human beings, but also forces the image of the clothes being worn into the mind. The consumer instantly starts going through the process in their mind whether they planned to or not. Even if they would have never looked twice at the clothes on the rack, seeing them on the mannequin almost forces them to consider it. This is a powerful marketing tactic that helps boost sales.

Mannequins throughout the store can help your customers to locate items that they may be interested in. If they pass the front of the store and nothing really grabs them, they are likely to stop wasting time and leave. But mannequins offer a big visual clue as to what is in store if they keep travelling deeper in. They may see dress mannequins in the back that catch their eye. Big hats or brightly colored clothing are helpful here, too. This gives you the opportunity to have customers check out your other promotions along the way.

Mannequin displays can also help you to reduce losses. Put them in areas where shoplifters might think that they will find some cover. Mannequins, especially tall or elevated ones, give people the feeling that they are being watched. This is often enough to deter a thief. It is especially effective if you spotlight the mannequin or arrange things in a way that give the shoplifter little cover. Don’t put circular racks in a back corner, it is too easy to hide from the cameras, mirrors, employees, etc. Open bottom tables are better displays for these areas, or simply leave the floor clear and rely on spaced out gridwall or slatwall 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, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Mannequin Displays for the Holidays

The holiday season is the perfect time for retail stores to get back into the black. Make sure that you take advantage of the extra traffic that you’ll have passing your store. Your window displays are a perfect place to grab attention, showcase your best apparel, and draw in new business. Use this guide to make sure that you’ve considered every angle in your visual merchandising plan.

1. Create a meaningful display. When customers can identify with a scene in a window, you tap into the reason that they are shopping. People make emotional connections with visual displays that they can relate to. Mannequins are perfect for this reason. If you can create a scene that pulls at their heart-strings, then you have really accomplished establishing that connection.

2. Shoppers are generally in a hurry to get their shopping done. They want good deals and they don’t want to shop for longer than necessary. They are often stressed, so a calming display can help to soothe their nerves and not want to turn the other way when they see the commotion inside your store. Christmas lights, fluffy snow, soft music, and touching scenes will do the trick.

3. Mannequins also help to slow customers down. If they see a scene, they will take just a moment to figure out what is going on. Give your mannequins a personality and have them interact with other mannequins. This accomplishes a lot of goals. One, the customer can quickly see what you have to offer, outfits, accessories, etc. Two, they can immediately see what those items look like when they are worn, automatically saving them some time. Then, before they know it, they have slowed down, their interest has been peaked, and they can see that the items in your store will fit their needs.

4. Utilize your window and mannequin displays to save shoppers time, but also to save your employees from constantly having to manage the fitting rooms and straighten your displays. When you use a lot of mannequins or hangable mannequin forms, not only will you be showing off merchandise that is normally hidden on a rack, but you are also showing them what it will look like on. Often times this will keep customers from unfolding things and trying them on, saving your employees precious time during the busy season.

5. Use the mannequins for their intention. There are so many on the market that you can really get detailed in your display. For example, dress mannequins are designed to make tailored dresses look their best. The expression on the female mannequin face, fitting hairstyles, and posability are all things to look for when you buy a mannequin. Imagine what feeling you want to get across and then shop for the mannequin that best suits your needs.

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 Holiday Displays

Retail stores are stocking up for the holiday season. If you’re looking for ways to ensure that all of your merchandise moves, consider your mannequin displays. They can have more of an impact on customers than you might imagine.

Mannequins have always been effective merchandising tools because of the way that they make people feel. There are a lot of emotional decisions that are made in a customer’s mind before they decide to purchase. Customers rely a lot on their first impressions and also their gut instinct. There are a few things to consider when attempting to satisfy all that a customer might be looking for.

People shopping for gifts want to feel like they have found something special, something unique, and something that makes them feel a certain way. If they don’t get that feeling, then they are unlikely to purchase anything. They don’t want to settle on something unless they will evoke the same emotional tie to the item that they felt when they were shopping for it.

Understanding the psychology of gift giving can help you to arrange your mannequin displays in a way that will make people imagine the heartfelt emotions that come with giving a really thoughtful gift. Don’t dress lifeless mannequins in your most expensive holiday wear, stick them in the window and be done with it. People will stroll by and pay little attention. Sure, they might notice the purse that you put out, but they won’t feel anything.

People develop complex emotional attachments to family and friends that are strengthened by the act of giving something that is emotionally significant. The giver generally receives much more satisfaction than the receiver when it comes to giving. Giving helps people feel closer to the ones that they are giving to. Think about what scenarios might evoke a giver to feel like your store will offer them the type of emotional satisfaction that they are searching for while holiday shopping.

Simply displaying products may make weary shoppers focus on the materialistic side of giving gifts for the holidays. People aren’t interested in spending money and getting nothing in return. What they are looking for is that emotional connection. Show them that the merchandise in your store will help them to achieve that goal.

The trick is to do it quickly and make it obvious. Human beings make snap decisions about people and places within five seconds of seeing them. Use your window displays to make your first impression an emotionally significant one. Mannequins can be positioned to show a child discovering a treasured teddy bear. You can elaborate on the scene by including the parents, touched by the child’s happiness, looking on from the stairs. Include a male and female mannequin whenever possible so that men and women can relate to the display.

The possibilities are really endless. A mannequin helps a person to instantly relate to the scene. Dress mannequins in a way that not only displays your product, but also adds feeling to the scenario. For example, touching scenes need soft, fluffy, natural fiber clothing. The display, if done with thought and detail, can evoke those feelings that will reel them into your store with the mindset that they will find something meaningful here.

Remember that you are selling more than clothes and accessories. You are selling relationship building gifts that bring people closer together and make them feel emotionally attached to each other. Treat your displays with that in mind and your showcase holiday mannequin displays will be your best ever.

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 Impressions with Mannequins

Designing a retail merchandising display takes a lot of thought and preparation. Use this guide to gain an understanding of the presentation process and how mannequins can make a difference in your sales. Here we will discuss mannequins as they relate to product presentation, showcase and customer impression. Mannequins, in particular, are effective, time-tested mediums for delivery of several marketing messages.

The first step is to analyze the marketing data as it relates to your target market. Meticulous planning will help you to zero in on the buying rationale of specific customers. You may even decide to survey your current customers to gain insight into their buying patterns, reasons for buying, their overall impression of your store, and more. Learning what turned a customer from considering a purchase to making one can be very valuable. Furthermore, you want to find out what draws them to your store in the first place.

Take a look at your competitors, particularly ones that are more successful than you. The store displays, store layout, showcases, and merchandising displays are probably crucial to getting customers and keeping them. You need to lure specific customers inside, and then deliver on the promise that you made them.

Making the first impression is, in general, telling the customer what they can expect when they enter. Gaining the customer’s trust is how you gain loyalty and business. Make sure that you keep the trust building at all times. For example, if they see fluorescent lights, big signs, and garment racks outside of the door, then they are being promised some good deals.

Once they enter, the “big sale” theme should continue and your prices should meet their expectations. They will probably be expecting mediocre customer service, low inventory, and very little personal attention as well as low prices. If you are having a big sale and are advertising it with big signs and bright lights, then this is your chance to exceed the customer’s expectations by treating them really well while they are in your store.

If you have really nice window displays with mannequins dressed in exciting new fashions, then that better not be all that you offer. Make sure that you continue to show the customer that you are on top of things once they enter. Mannequin displays and showcases should be throughout your store. They communicate more than you could tell a customer with words. Their position, expression, location and situation can say as much as the outfit that they are wearing.

If a customer is going to buy, they will need to somehow identify themselves with your store. This is why mannequins are so effective. People can identify with the human form, recognizing its attitude and place in society with a single glance. The more your customers identify with you, the more they will trust you and bring you business. When you position a dress mannequin, make sure that you are considering the attitude and social scene that your target market identifies with.

Using your mannequins to convey a message to your customers is a good way to gain their trust. Not only will you be luring people into the store, but you’ll be continually bombarding them with three dimensional impressions of how they wish they looked and felt. This technique of building customer trust can make a world of difference in your retail sales.

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 Showcase and Display Ideas

Use these display ideas to make the most of your slatwall, gridwall and showcase displays. Learn what benefits these store displays have over other forms of product merchandising.

Using slatwall in a retail setting can be really beneficial. Once the slatwall panels are installed, you can quickly and easily change up your displays. There are just about endless accessories that can help you to be creative and grab attention with your arrangements. You can feature higher priced or new merchandise at eye level to grab the attention of customers that may only be passing by your store.

Slatwall can hold a lot of weight and is the choice of retailers that sell power tools and other heavy products. It is also very popular for making the most of a retail space that is insufficient. You can use circular garment racks and other floor displays along with your slatwall set-up and fit a large inventory into a small space. You can accomplish this without cluttering or cramping the space.

Gridwall is useful in a lot of the same ways that slatwall is. You can easily move around hooks, shelves and display bars to accommodate changing seasons and inventory. You can also buy sections of grid wall that clip together to create custom retail floor displays. You can make a wall of cubes that fit in odd spaces. For example, underneath a staircase. This unique feature helps you to utilize what would have otherwise been wasted space.

Gridwall and slatwall both help customers see what you have to offer. You can hang mannequin torso forms at the front of your inventory to show customers what clothing looks like when worn. You can use gridwall and slatwall in your retail window displays to showcase accessories like shoes, hats and bags.

In addition to your gridwall or slatwall displays, you will need garment racks and glass showcases. Your retail showcases can help you to control the flow of traffic through your store. Showcases that are lighted attract customers to areas where you want them to shop. They also help to control what customers are allowed to handle and touch. Most showcases have plunger locks that require key entry. This will allow you and your employees to monitor merchandise while customers are looking at them. You can keep a nightly inventory to prevent employee theft as well.

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.

Rules of Window Display

A good window display should distract customers from whatever they are doing and grab their attention. It only takes a second to make a first impression. Dress up your window displays with these rules in mind and you could be attracting new customers and encouraging return visits before you know it.

1) Make a good first impression.

Your window display is your best chance at making a good first impression. Our instinct is to rely heavily on first impressions. When meeting people, it is hard not to judge a book by its cover. But, we shouldn’t because the person may be having a bad day or something of the sort. For shopping purposes, we do judge the book by the cover, and we should. If a retailer wants our business, they need to convey to us what they have to offer and why we should be interested.

2) Communicate your purpose.

Use your window displays to show the customers why they should enter your store. Make sure that you target your audience, not only to get the shoppers that will spend money into your store, but also to show potential customers what style of clothing you sell and for what price.

3) Allude to pricing in your window display.

Giving cues to your audience about price is very important. If your clothing is very expensive or high end, then your window display should communicate that. This helps people to determine if they should go in or not. Attracting the wrong customers will have them coming in, turning their noses up, rummaging through everything, and then spreading the word to their friends that you are overpriced. Specifically targeting those that are looking for items in your pricing range will help build a quality customer base that only spreads good word-of-mouth advertising for you.

4) Give a good sampling of what your store offers.

Don’t just show your latest and greatest. Showing off what’s new is a great idea, but make sure that you don’t limit yourself to just that. Accessories can account for a huge percentage of your profits. Plus, many shoppers are not looking to spend a lot, but they might want to check out your purses, jewelry, hats or sunglasses. Use these items to draw in more customers.

5) Make people see how they want to feel.

People buy clothing and accessories not only to clothe themselves, but also to send out a message or feel a certain way. Pay attention to how your customers feel when they purchase your clothing. Do they feel elegant, hip, relaxed, friendly, edgy or sexy? Portray the feeling that people are after in your window display. The best way to have people associate feelings with purchasing your clothing is to utilize mannequins. Be creative and make sure that people are seeing something that makes them want to feel the same as the mannequin in your showcase.

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

Boutique Visuals: Mannequins

Use mannequin displays to show customers what an outfit looks like when it’s on, but also satisfy the needs of their subconscious that control whether or not they buy. Shoppers today are bombarded by images, ads, outfits and displays that are pleasing to the eye. Aesthetics are thought to have an 85% impact on whether or not a customer buys. Think about how much time and money is spent on packaging, photography, commercials, image and branding. It doesn’t have much to do with the actual product, but with the aesthetics of the product. The goal is always to make the customer feel a certain way when they see and use the product.

Customers associate quality with visual and psychological cues. They will generally decide to purchase something if all areas of their conscious and subconscious appetites have been satisfied. For example, they may go shopping for a shirt. They are not simply looking for a piece of cloth to cover their torso. They want to get a shirt that fits them in a flattering way. They want a shirt that says something about their personality. They feel the need to wear a shirt that makes them feel a certain way, whether it be comfortable, powerful, professional, hip, lovable, cheerful, friendly, superior or any other array of emotions. They may base their decision to buy a shirt based on over one hundred conscious and subconscious factors.

Shoppers associate quality with their impression of your store or web site, but let’s talk about price. If a price is too low, then the customer will most likely automatically assume that there must be something wrong with the shirt. Either its quality is bad, or the imaginary world of peers that have looked at this shirt before have decided, for some unknown reason, to pass it by. This fear of “making a social mistake” will turn a vast majority of customers away.

The same goes for pricing items too high. Customers will be let down or put off that they cannot afford or wouldn’t pay a high price for something that they were considering buying. They will get a bad impression about your boutique. Either the store management thinks they can pull one over on people, they think that they are too good for us, or they think that the boutique is doing so poorly that they have to charge high prices to make their bills.

You never want your customers to think that you’re doing poorly. This brings them back to the feeling that their imaginary peers have overlooked you for some imaginary reason. Keep your displays, promotional displays and garment racks full. Displays that are too empty make the items look like they are being discontinued or clearanced out.

Keep your mannequin displays changing. You want them to make customers comfortable, like putting a face with the idea of wearing the clothing. Imagine that the mannequins are there to make your first impressions. They are promising your shoppers, on a subconscious level, that they would definitely wear this outfit, that it will look this good, and that it will make the customer feel like the mannequin feels. It is so important to give your mannequins feeling by using their position, location, and creating display situations.

Using your mannequins to display and satisfy the aesthetics that your customers are looking for is a very effective way of marketing your boutique and your merchandise. The more of those one hundred reasons to buy you can satisfy, the better your chances are of making a sale.

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

Reading Customer Body Language

Knowing what motivates your customers to buy can give you a real edge in your business. Figuring it out just takes a little time. You will need to pay attention to your customer’s body language to determine what they like or don’t like and why. To do this, you will need to know a few key things about nonverbal cues. Once you get it down, you can adjust your promotions, display strategies and even your level of customer service to match your customer’s moods and expectations.

Remember that the customer is influenced by your body language as well. You can correct movements and stances that you may not even be fully conscious of, but that are pushing clients away. For example, touching your hair while talking to a customer makes them think that you are bored. Be careful of the signals that you are sending and you can send the ones that make customers trust you.

You can’t influence someone’s free will or force them to spend money that they don’t have, but you can make them comfortable enough to want to make you happy. You can use persuasive gestures and tones that make customers more receptive to what you are saying. The first impression is most important. Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t know why, but I just don’t like him.” Most likely, the person saying this got a bad first impression by subconsciously picking up on negative non-verbal cues.

Here are movements that you should avoid in business:

Letting your eyes wander while the customer is talking.
Fake smiles that involve only the mouth muscles.
Putting your hands on your hips.
Interlacing your fingers while trying to look interested.
Quick movements or excessive movements.
Audible exhales.
Crossing your arms.
Placing items between you, like a stack of clothes, a drink or even a counter.

These are some gestures that convey confidence and sincerity to your customers:

Make eye contact for at least a few seconds.
Leave open space between you. Come out from behind the counter to greet and help.
Make slightly exaggerated facial expressions to show interest.
Keep a calm, easy smile on your face until you have something to really smile about.
Use your individuality, but tone it down so that the customer can shine.

Remember that your attitude will show. Be positive, confident and interested. If you see that the customer has a unique bracelet you are actually interested in it, go ahead and compliment the customer. It is okay to ask how old their children are, tell them that you like their purse, general small talk is a good idea. But, avoid asking things that the customer might consider personal, like, “Who does your hair?”

Things other than your body movements will affect the customer’s mood and desire to buy. Your surroundings are also important. Make sure that your store is not in disarray. Displays should be kept nice and neat. The uniformity of hanging and folded clothes should be broken up with mannequin displays and hanging form displays. This will help to relax the customer and make them more open to your suggestions.

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

Dynamic Retail Displays

As a retail store owner, you know that your displays can certainly help make sales. They also help to brand your image, lure in customers and advertise new merchandise or promotions. Follow these simple rules to ensure that your retail displays are as effective and dynamic as they should be.

1) Make sure that your display has the proper lighting.

Marketing research has proven that spotlighting is most effective at getting customer’s to notice a display. Spotlighting does not necessarily mean harsh lighting, so be subtle. A strobe light might attract a lot of attention, but it will instantly turn away most customers.

2) Rearrange your displays often.

A lot of your potential customers will pass your store often. What got them to stop one day might be different that what got them to stop another day. Changing it up often will hold their interest and showcase more merchandise so that they can see that you really do have something to offer them.

3) Keep your store in line with the theme of the display.

Your store should reflect what you are advertising in your display. For example, if you have a mannequin in a bikini hanging out with mannequins in scuba gear, I would expect that you sold both in your store. If you don’t sell scuba gear, then don’t put it in the window.

4) Make sure that your window displays attract the right customers.

If you only want high-end customers, don’t use big “sale” signage in your window. You’ll only attract the bargain hunters that aren’t likely to spend money in your store. In turn, you’ll push away the bigger spenders that don’t want to push through a bunch of rummaging customers to buy high end clothes.

5) The display speed should be matched by the customer’s speed.

If your customers pass your window display in a car, it needs to be simple enough that they can decipher your message quickly. Simple mannequins wearing your clothing may be enough. But, if you are in an outdoor mall where customers leisurely stroll by, you could put in more detail to entice them to stop and take a look.

6) The display should be relevant to the buyer, right now.

This seems obvious, but many retailers make the mistake of advertising Christmas too soon; or bringing out the winter clothing in July. Most people do not buy their clothing so far in advance. Advertise “back to school” clothes when most people are buying them. You’ll make a lot more sales and customers won’t view you as ridiculously desperate to get the good sales season started.

7) Display your clothing on a mannequin.

Use mannequins to your advantage by displaying your clothes as they look when they are worn. Customers don’t have to rummage through crowded racks or make multiple trips to the dressing room to determine if they will like how something looks when it is worn.

Follow these simple rules with your displays and you will certainly draw some of the right kind of attention to your retail store.

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.

Boutique Visual Marketing

Creating a visual marketing approach for your boutique should be part of your business plan. Creating your own visual scheme can be fun and easy. Using this information will help you to narrow down decisions that you need to make when designing the look of your boutique. It can help you avoid mistakes and keep you from sending mixed signals to your customers. Stick to a good visual marketing plan, and you can more easily and effectively establish a brand image with your target market.

Price Suggestion: This is the first thing to consider. Once you know who your target demographic is, you should begin to get a feel for what your prices should look like. When you have decided on prices, the next step is to design your store around the idea of “price suggestion”. You can get a general idea of a store’s prices when you simply look at it. Lots of empty space, low racks, no price tags and no fluorescent lights suggests high priced items. Colorful giant sale signs, crammed garment racks, and bad lighting suggests discount bargain store. Planning the look and feel of your store around your prices will not only help to attract the target market, but it will also discourage those who are unlikely to spend any money in your boutique.

Layout: The layout of a store is another reflection of price and quality. Aisles in straight lines big enough for shopping carts are for discount department stores. They usually have a tile “track” for carts that surrounds carpeted areas that slow down wheels for department lingering. You will see promotional items and impulse items around the track to stop and entice passing customers into entering the carpeted area.

A boutique, however, has a much different objective. Boutique owners want customers to enjoy being there. They should be surprised, dazzled and pleased at the unique items that they find as they go deeper into the store. Boutiques often have a very random layout meant to stop and engage the customer every few feet. Sections of the boutique may even be completely hidden by other displays until the customer rounds the corner. This helps to facilitate the surprise factor when the merchandise is revealed.

Consumer Response: Boutique owners want to further engage their customers by delighting the senses. This adds to the boutique experience. You will often see interesting lighting, colors, textures and designs. Lights will be pleasing to the eye, not harsh or bright. Smells of incense, perfume, soaps or candles will get the customer even more involved. Calming scents can encourage more browsing. The smell of suntan lotion can put the customer in the mood to buy swimwear. The possibilities here are endless.

Merchandising: The customer needs to be able to see what kind of items you offer by glancing, not by digging. Slatwall or gridwall displays can keep the clothing facing outward where it is easily seen. But, you still need to show what these items look like on. Displaying a 3D visual, like a mannequin, is the most effective strategy of visual marketing. If someone can see what items actually look like on, then they are more likely to walk over and check it out. Limp clothing on a hanger doesn’t attract much attention.

Use these tips to help with setting up your boutique in an effective manner. It can save you time, money and help you make loyal, long-term customers.

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

Retail Mannequin Displays

Back to school time is the time to start getting excited about your retail store making lots of money. To do so, you have really got to focus on what draws customers to your store and what influences their spending. Human beings use a complex range of criteria for deciding what to buy and how much to spend. Teenagers and other back to schoolers are really complex, but there are some basic premises that you can use to try and influence their thinking and spending.

Teenagers in general are influenced by their image, their peers and what they feel makes them stand out as an individual. Following a trend while staying individual is really key here. They want to be among the first to display certain styles or trends and they want to do it better than other kids their age. The bottom line is that you have to provide a visual that jumps out at them and screams, “This will make you look great, trendy and unique!”

Mannequins have long been known to be the most influential of all retail displays. For targeting teenagers frantically back to school shopping, utilizing mannequins is almost 100% necessary. Mannequins help them to identify on a personal level with the display.

Use your mannequin display to market your newest fashions, most expensive merchandise and all of your accessories. When mannequins were first used, it was thought that the clothes would simply sell better if people could see what they looked like on. This gave the clothing a more tailored look. But what they didn’t realize, was that they would have such a powerful effect on accessory sales. Purses, hats, jewelry, shoes, sunglasses and more started selling like crazy. But, why?

The answer is a little complex. It’s not like people weren’t looking at the accessories before. So what changed their mind from browsing to buying? This is where the psychological effect of the mannequin comes into play. By merchandising and accessorizing outfits, you show someone the whole package. Most people have a hard time putting items together to create a look. This is why fashion designers are so successful, they can imagine what will look good together and they do it. So, putting the right purse, hat, gloves, shoes, shirt and skirt together in a way that the customer might not have thought of before, does the work for them. They simply want to get the whole look.

Showing your teenage demographic what looks good, hot, trendy and modern together on a mannequin will take some of the stress of doing all of the thinking for themselves off. They are automatically drawn to interesting displays. Use mannequins in your store and front window to boost your sales this back to school season.

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

Wax Mannequins and Wax Sculpting History

We are often amazed at how lifelike one can make a wax figurine. Some recall the number of wax museums you could visit when growing up. So what is the history of wax figurines and is wax still being used to create lifelike people?

Beeswax has historically always been an excellent medium for preparing figures and models, either through carving or by casting in molds. At ordinary temperatures, wax can easily be cut and shaped; it melts at a low temperature; it mixes with any coloring matter, and takes surface tints well. Its texture and consistency may be modified by the addition of earthy matters and oils or fats and when molten, it is highly responsive to impressions from a mold. With wax, once it sets and hardens its form is relatively resilient against ordinary temperature variations, even when it is cast in thin laminae. This is possibly why we have seen wax used for modeling since the Middle Ages.

During the Italian Renaissance, modeling in wax took a position of high importance, and it was practiced by some of the greatest of the early masters. The bronze medallions of Pisanello and of the other famous medalists owe their value to the properties of wax: all early bronzes and metalwork were cast from wax models first. The famous wax bust attributed to Leonardo da Vinci acquired in 1909 by the Museum of Berlin is the work of an English forger who worked about 1840. The wax model of a head, at the Wicar Museum at Lille, belongs probably to the school of Canova, which robs it of none of its exquisite grace.

There are a number of very high quality wax figures from the 16th and 17th centuries, mostly portrait figures and religious or mythological scenes, often with many figures. Antonio Abondio (1538-91) pioneered the colored wax portrait miniature in relief, working mainly for the Habsburg and other courts of Northern Europe, and his son Alessandro continued in his footsteps.

Towards the close of the eighteenth century, modeling of medallion portraits and of relief groups, the latter frequently polychromatic, was in considerable vogue throughout Europe. Many of the artists were women. John Flaxman executed in wax many portraits and other relief figures which Josiah Wedgwood translated into pottery for his Jasperware. The National Portrait Gallery has forty wax portraits, mostly from this period.

Meanwhile, as storefronts were becoming popular as was the rise of the mannequin, the idea of using wax seemed the most apparent solution. With wax, models could be created in the most flattering way to the store’s clothing line. One of these great wax model designers was Pierre Imans a mannequin manufacturer from Paris. Imans was known for bringing a beautiful sense of human element to mannequins by capturing body expressions in wax. He created interactive compositions of figures, as though they were in the process of living and unaware that they were also being observed. Heads and torsos were sculpted as one. With a slight turn of the head, a hint of movement was achieved. Hands were more delicately posed to create storytelling attitudes.

Miss Modesty, a wax mannequin of 1899 is a prime example of the development of storytelling attitudes. She stood in a store window, with hands and arms covering her face, stating reservation and shyness because she was wearing and selling corsets and undergarments.

At the turn of the century, the women's suffrage movement was gaining momentum, a definite influence on the female mannequin. In fact, a particular Siegel mannequin that was set upon a turning base (she was without legs) translated into a determined, assertive female of that era. With one arm held back and a hand slightly clenched, her head was high with vision focused straight forward. The other hand was more relaxed, showing a touch of softness. True to the accepted body language of her day, she portrayed the mature woman, with hips thrown back and heavy bosom thrust upwards.

After World War I, countries were plunged into the chaotic realm of picking up the pieces and getting back to the business of normal living. Concurrently, there was a major transition in the type of material used to sculpt mannequins, and there was a move from wax to plaster.

Plaster figures didn't melt in the show windows. They were much lighter in weight, and easier to handle. But at the same time, with plaster, it was more difficult to achieve the detailed features and anatomy that were possible with wax.

Wax figurines are still made today, but not wax mannequins. Today’s mannequin is typically made of fiberglass yet retains the very lifelike features of history’s wax mannequins. Despite the lack of need for mannequins made of wax, the medium of wax is still in high use and may always be due to its numerous qualities.

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

The History of the Mannequin

We have seen mannequins and heard the word, but do we know who invented them or how long they have been used?

The word mannequin came from the Dutch word "maneken" which means little men. There are two accepted spelling for mannequin - "mannequin" and "manikin" which is nearer the original Dutch word. The meaning of the term today is either ‘a model of human figure for display of garments, hats or furs or a dressmaker’s assistant who wears new costumes to display them for sale in dressmaking houses.’

No one actually knows who created the first full figure mannequin. It is thought that the creation of a clothing form dates back thousands of years. Later, an item called a ‘fashion doll’ began circulating around France. These dolls ranged from 12 inches to life size and where always stylishly dressed. The dolls were exchanged among the royals and merchant class.

It was later on during the Industrial Revolution and the invention of plate-glass window displays that such ‘dolls’ became useful in showing off a store’s clothing. Various types of mannequins were designed initially made of everything from cloth and straw with lead feet to wax.

Wax mannequins were said to cost $15 apiece, a tidy sum during that time. Even during that time, the mannequins were mostly females and already reflect the "ideal beauty" of the time - having "full bosoms." The problem with the wax mannequins was the heat coming in the large glass windows caused the mannequins to melt. As for the heavy-duty mannequins with lead feet, these only posed a problem when moving or dressing as they could weight up to 300 pounds.

If you look at mannequins from different time periods, you will see that each era has its own characteristics - from facial expression, to body language (pose) and of course, the measurements. Modern mannequins look like life-sized Barbie dolls - tall and slim, with great body tone, looks bored and usually a size 4. Compare them with mannequins fifty years ago, and you will find that mannequins manufactured after World War II were shorter, and had a happy facial expression. Early mannequins were also only manufactured in three basic poses - left foot forward, right foot forward, or both feet together.


The depression and the Second World War brought about shortages and shop windows became rather somber with the mannequins of the day looking slightly melancholy and concerned. However this all changed when the war was over and by the late 1940s mannequins looked happy and prosperous, some of them even wore a radiant smile. Male mannequins in particular looked relaxed and some even had holes drilled between their lips for inserting pipes! Mannequins reflected the "ideal beauty" of the time it was designed and manufactured.

In the 1950s new materials became available and by the late 1960s the true mass production of fiberglass and then plastic mannequins became a reality.

Advances in technology have continued so that mannequin artists can now manufacture any conceivable design and are bounded only by the limits of their creativity.

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