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.

Gridwall and Slatwall Systems Can Help You Save Space

Boutiques and retail stores are often short on space. How many times have you said to yourself, “If I had the space, I could do so much more with my business.”? Sometimes it’s not that we actually need a bigger space, but that we need to learn to better utilize and organize the space that we have.

Gridwall and slatwall are the most popular, cost effective items on the market for utilizing vertical space in a retail setting. But, there are more benefits to using one of these systems than you may realize.

Slatwall and gridwall panels are both fairly cheap to install. It is generally recommended that you have a professional contractor do the job to be absolutely certain that the wall panels will hold up the weight that you need them to. Check with your insurance company before you attempt it yourself because they may require that a professional contractor do it and guarantee the work.

Once installed, both systems are easy to keep clean and neat. Shelves, hooks and hanging bars are easily moved about and both slatwall and gridwall can be simply wiped down with a damp cloth when needed. Slat wall panels come in a wide variety of colors and styles that are sure to match your décor. Grid wall sections also come in a few different colors and finishes that can help you to set the tone that you want in your store.

Gridwall and slatwall allow you to conveniently and easily move displays around with very little effort. This is such a useful aspect in the retail environment where needs are constantly changing. The versatility is unmatched by any other retail display. You can quickly switch from summer to winter, from sweaters to shoes, or even from jewelry to power tools. The possibilities are truly endless.

Gridwall and slatwall both allow you to put clothing and accessories on the wall instead of in your floor space. Not only does this save you from having an overcrowded sales floor, but it also allows you to coordinate your displays to make more sales. Let’s say that you are selling general apparel, like jeans, shirts, hats and jewelry. Normally these items would be hung on different racks around the store. But, with a grid wall or a slat wall, you can hang them facing outward and next to each other. You can even use torso mannequin forms to display the outfits in their entirety without using any more space.

Using your gridwall and slatwall to your advantage can save you on rent and power, but can also make your store or boutique easier to shop in. Customers appreciate being able to see what you have without digging through racks and crowded 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.