Friday, April 23, 2010

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.

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Monday, March 29, 2010

Visual Display Tips

Creating displays can help you to nurture your crafty side. The most effective displays always have a theme and seem inspired. Inspiring displays inspire customers to feel as passionately as you about the merchandise that you’re selling. Boutiques are famous for creating memorable displays that keep customers curious about what you’ll do next. Whether you run a boutique or larger retail store, you can use these tips to make your displays more interesting and effective.

1) Do some research before you begin. Surf the web, go window shopping, and look at magazines to get your creative juices flowing. You can get ideas that help you to decide on a theme or a focus for your display. Consider the merchandise, of course, but also think about color to set the mood, the season, the promotion, or the theme of your store. Once you get an idea, the rest will quickly come together.

2) Consider running your ideas past your employees. Give them a theme and ask them for their ideas. Sometimes your employees are your best asset because they see what grabs customers’ attention every day, out on the floor. Hold a contest to inspire your staff to be more involved in the success of the store. You may be surprised at how creative some of your employees may be.

3) Once you have your idea, decide on a budget. Remember that less is often more and you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune on a display. You may want to buy a few key pieces for the display. Try to buy things that can be reused in the future so that you can get the most bang for your buck. Tables or racks that fold, props that inflate, and decorations that lay flat are easiest to store for future use. Mannequins can be customized to fit a lot of different types of displays and can stay in good shape for many years. Investing in this proven seller is never a bad move.

4) When setting up your display, keep balance and focus in mind. Start by setting up your focal point. Too many focal points will not draw attention like a central focus will. The focus doesn’t have to be in the center of the display. Good visuals are hardly ever perfectly centered. They’re often more interesting if they’re not. A customer may pass twenty window displays with centered mannequins and hardly notice them, and then the one that tells a story and isn’t perfectly centered will be the one to turn their head.

5) Use lighting, signage, whatever you need to draw attention to your focal point. You can even use more mannequins to direct attention to the focal point. Have them looking at the main character or feature in your display.

6) Make room for interesting visual displays throughout your store or boutique. Use slatwall panels and slatwall accessories to free up space on the sales floor. You can use the slatwall itself to create interesting slatwall displays. Using vertical space can help you to better manage your merchandise so that your displays remain the center of attention.

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.

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Friday, March 26, 2010

The Uses and Benefits of Slatwall

Slatwall is has been one of the most popular retail displays for many years. It has a lot of uses, versatility, sustainability, and it’s an economical choice for small and large retailers alike.

Slatwall and slatwall accessories can be used to display everything from bolts to wedding dresses. Once installed, the slatwall panels are used as anchors for hooks, shelves, hanging rods, and other display accessories. The cost of the system is considered affordable and can be offset by the extra profit from merchandise that you can carry once you have it.

Slatwall is a great way to make use of a small space, which is why it is so popular in boutiques. It comes in a variety of colors and finishes to compliment the theme of the store. It’s great for taking advantage of vertical space that may otherwise go unused.

Getting your merchandise up high makes it more visible to customers. They can easily see what you carry, whether they’re in the store, or just passing by. By hanging clothing and other items flat against the wall, customers can see what everything looks like without rummaging through crowded racks.

Displaying your clothing and other merchandise on a slatwall system helps you to keep things nice and neat. If customers aren’t unfolding, taking things off the hanger, and looking for their sizes, then your displays will stay looking nice. They will have more direct contact with your employees, because the workers won’t be so busy straightening up after everyone.

Another benefit of slatwall is inventory control. Displaying merchandise up on the wall, instead of crowded on the floor, leaves less room for shoplifters to do their dirty work. Customers have to ask for their size from an employee, so it’s less likely that they will try to steal anything.

Freeing up space on the floor of your retail store or boutique gives you more options for effective displays. You can make room for mannequins, which are proven to be the most effective merchandising tool out there. You can even use mannequin torso forms right on the slatwall.

You, your employees, and your customers will all appreciate the neatness of your slatwall displays. They create space, allow you to bring in more merchandise, and save you money in a lot of different ways. They’re so versatile that you can change them up at any time, simply by moving the hook, shelf, or bar over to a different spot. Making your boutique or store look great has never been so easy.

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.

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Friday, February 12, 2010

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.

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Retail Displays: Getting the Most Bang for your Buck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Improving Retail Displays

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tips for Starting Up a Boutique

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

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.

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Retail Storage Solutions

If you own or manage a small retail store or boutique, you have probably struggled with not having enough storage space for your inventory and merchandising tools. This is so common, especially during the holiday season. You want to have enough inventory so that your supply keeps up with the demand, but you have probably had problems finding the space to run the business like you want to. Use these storage and display ideas to get the most out of the space that you have and create space where you didn’t know that you had it before.

Come up with a system for keeping the store room organized. Have garment racks handy for steaming clothing that is coming out of the box. Try installing a ceiling rack for boxes and other lightweight items that you need to keep out of your way. Roll out wrinkle free clothing on your garment racks as soon as possible to keep the store room from getting too cluttered.

You can make extra room on the sales floor so that you don’t have to store so much. Too many garment racks can clutter up the space that you have. Additionally, cramming your inventory onto the racks can turn customers away. No one wants to dig through packed racks back to back with other customers. Installing gridwall or slatwall could be the answer.

Gridwall and slatwall systems help you to utilize vertical space. You can display your clothing and other items facing forward so that customers have an easy time seeing what you have to offer. You can help to eliminate the need for extra storage by hanging your inventory on the gridwall or slatwall bars. When you need to put out more inventory than normal, like when you’re having a sale or promotion, simply swap out your normal bars for longer ones.

Grid wall panels and slat wall panels can hold a lot of weight, so you can really use them to display and store at the same time. They are extremely versatile and easy to rearrange. As certain items run out, you can simply move the bars around to fill in the space.

You can maximize the impact of your gridwall and slatwall displays by using mannequin forms. Hanging mannequin forms are lightweight and easy to use. Simply hang them on the ends of your display bars and customers can see what the items look like when they’re being worn. This eliminates the need for many customers to try on clothing. Your store stays nice and neat, and customers aren’t constantly rearranging or digging through your displays. Employees can concentrate on helping customers and take down the sizes that they need only when they need them.

When you stock your store with gridwall or slatwall, you open up your business to many new opportunities. You’ll even attract new customers as they pass your store and easily see 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 gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

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.

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Sunday, December 6, 2009

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.

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Monday, November 23, 2009

Keeping Up with Retail Appearances

Like it or not, customers constantly judge you based on your appearance. How you dress, your hair, make-up, your employees attention to service, that piece of trash on the floor, and the messy table of products that ten anxious shoppers just rummaged through. All of these things and more can help a person form an opinion about you, your store, and your products in a matter of seconds. Keeping up the appearance that you want to present can be challenging in the hectic holiday season.

Make sure that you have the basic foundation of order under your belt. Using retail displays that are designed well is a good place to start. Circular racks can easily get crowded and look a mess even if everything there is in order. Forward facing displays are not only more effective, they are easier to keep straight and show the customer what you have to offer before they touch a thing.

Using display wall units, like gridwall and slatwall, will really help you to keep the store straight. Hanging items up high means that customers can see the products way before they even enter the store. They are displayed facing outward and spotlights can showcase something even if it is high overhead. Customers will need assistance to look at items that are up high, so this keeps them from rummaging through stacks that constantly need to be refolded and fixed.

Another benefit to having things hung up high is that an associate can always be hovering in that area to help customers. This way, people can ask questions, get immediate help, and the employee can keep track of how many items are going into and coming out of the dressing room. If people can’t hide behind crowded racks, then it is much harder to shoplift. This is especially true if they know that the employee is aware of exactly what they are holding.

Another benefit to having things displayed on gridwall or slat wall is that it is so easy to display clothing on mannequin forms. These plastic or acrylic shells are torso forms that hang from the bar in front of your inventory. They take up no floor space, but allow you to showcase certain outfits and accessories almost as well as a full size mannequin. Customers can simply scan the wall and figure out which outfits would suit their needs before they ever decide to go into the dressing room.

Gridwall and slatwall satisfy a lot of your needs and keep your retail store looking great throughout the holiday season. Your displays will sell more clothing and accessories, you can cut down on shoplifting, and the time that employees spend straightening racks. Keep your store in order this holiday season and you will rake in the benefits.

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.

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How to Keep up with Merchandising During the Holidays

The holiday season is an exciting time in retail. But, it can also be a challenging time for retailers. The store can really get cluttered with all of the extra holiday inventory. Keeping up with organization, customer demands, inventory, and displays can make it hard to stay in the holiday spirit. Use these tips to simplify and streamline the process.

1. Give employees an updated inventory list every day. If racks start to run low, they can quickly reference if there are more products in storage or not. No more wasted time rummaging through boxes to figure out if they can find another size for a customer.

2. Prepare your inventory for presentation before you need it. You don’t need to be pulling wrinkled garments out of boxes and displaying them before they are ready. Keep a steamer or two in your back room. Fill the room with rolling garment racks and hang everything that comes in as soon as you get it. Get it steamed and ready to go out.

3. Keep a list of your hottest products next to the register. Have the cashier check off or make a mark when one of the hot items sells. Have them alert another employee when a certain item or size of an item gets up to a good number. The other employees can quickly restock sizes before you lose a sale.

4. Have employees greet customers and let them know that you have plenty of inventory in the back if they can’t find something. This will keep them from ignoring racks or stacks that are looking low.

5. Get your employees to follow a system of maintenance. Every time they help a customer, they should straighten racks and displays on their way to the next customer. Just make sure that they drop everything if a customer needs help. Also make sure that they know it is rude to straighten things when a customer is trying to look at them or immediate after they messed things up. Always be courteous and eager to assist.

6. Make sure that your items are clearly visible to customers. Showcase each item in a way the keeps customers from rummaging through stacks. Slatwall and gridwall displays are perfect for this. You can utilize wall space by hanging items on outward facing racks. Hanging mannequin forms are perfect for showing off your best outfits. Just hang them on the end of the rack and customers can easily see them, even from outside the store. If they already know what something looks like on, then they are less likely to need to rummage through the rack.

By manipulating the displays on your slatwall or grid wall, you can keep them looking full. If you run out of something, simply move the hanging bars or racks around a little to fill up the space. Keep everything organized and your holiday season can be a productive and exciting 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, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

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Creating Effective Visual Displays

Creating attractive displays can get cumbersome if you use the same ideas over and over again. No matter how wonderful a display may be, if you use it too much, customers will lose interest, employees will not be excited, and your store will begin to look boring. Use these ideas to put life back into your retail displays. Get your store organized for optimal sales. Get ready for the holiday season and have your store functioning more efficiently than ever.

It’s not just how a display looks that is important. You could build an intricate model of the Eiffel tower with purses. It would be interesting, but wouldn’t necessarily sell any purses. The style of the display should match the style of the item that you are promoting. For example, distress washed jeans and vintage t-shirts could have a rock-n-roll style of display, loosely stacked on a table or worn by a mannequin wearing a hat and a head-set. That may not work so well for a designer suit, which is better showcased on a wooden hanger or more sophisticated mannequin.

If the clothing that you sell is casual, you can get really creative. But, you shouldn’t forget that it is important to maintain your image, build customer confidence, grab attention, and keep things organized. It’s a lot to think about, but not very hard to obtain.

Start with being organized and displaying things where customers can actually see them. Crowded, jumbled racks are just an inefficient, ineffective way to go. Utilizing a system, such as gridwall or a slatwall system, can keep things really organized and give your customers unmatched views of your merchandise. These are especially effective for maximizing small retail spaces that you see in malls and boutiques.

Hang enough items facing front that your displays really communicate your style. Alternate textures and styles, or use colors to create interesting patterns. You can really use your imagination, but be careful not to take attention away from the products that you are promoting. If your red clothing all forms a star in the middle of your gridwall, it will definitely grab attention! But did it lead all of your customers straight past your promotional display? Make sure that you position displays around big attention getters so that they will be seen.

Gridwalland slatwall displays are perhaps the most useful retail displays on the market. You can cheaply and easily mix it up as often as you’d like. You can move racks, bars, hooks and shelves around throughout the day to keep all of your displays looking fresh. This helps to build customer confidence because your racks don’t look empty. It helps you to keep up with business on days like Black Friday, and make it look effortless. Use your gridwall or slat wall displays to showcase your items this year.

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.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Functional Slatwall

Slatwall is one of the top display picks of retail store owners. Slatwall makes it easy to turn a store wall into a complex merchandising system. You can choose slatwall in a variety of finishes and colors to compliment your store displays. Additionally, you can quickly and easily move around racks, shelves, hanging bars, and hooks to fit in as much or as little inventory as you need.

Slatwall is made of medium-density fiberboard and is sturdy enough to last for many years of use. Check with your manufacturer about how much weight you can put on your wall. You may choose to add aluminum inserts when you place your order. These make it possible to hold 50% more weight than a standard slatwall.

How much weight you can put on a slatwall display also depends on the quality of installation. It is recommended that you have a contractor install your slatwall to ensure that it is anchored well enough to hold a lot of weight. Because of the possible liability of a wall falling, your insurance company may require that you have your slatwall professionally installed, so be sure that you check with them before you decide to do it yourself.

Slatwall has a clean look and is a versatile option for merchandising a wall. But, you can also use sections of slatwall to create merchandising racks. These displays can be free standing. They are very useful for floor displays, accessory displays, impulse item displays, brochure displays and more. You can place them near your retail showcase so that customers get a good look at smaller or impulse items while they wait in line. You can use slat wall to create your own shelving, or custom fitted displays that go into oddly sized areas.

Slatwall has sturdy construction and finish that can last through many years of use. Their versatility is equivalent to that of grid wall with many accessories to choose from. You can use hooks, shelving, acrylic pieces, and more to make your merchandise look good. Not only that, it keeps everything facing out towards the customer. No more unsold inventory that was simply looked over because it was crammed on a regular rack. With slatwall, you can rearrange items to bring attention to the ones that aren’t selling. You can hang mannequin torso forms to bring even more attention to your clothing.

You may be set with your slatwall, but you may also consider grid wall for your display needs. Both styles of wall merchandisers are sturdy, versatile and make the most of vertical wall space. You can save so much space, time and effort with either gridwall gridwall or slatwall.


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.

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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Gridwall for Retail

Gridwall is a versatile, sturdy, cost efficient choice for many types of retail stores. Gridwall is comprised of metal grids that can be attached to the wall or each other to create unique store displays. They can be configured into display areas that fit almost anywhere. You can be creative in the way that you use your gridwall, changing up your displays to match the space that you have, the season, or the amount of inventory that you are displaying.

Versatility is the number one reason that retail stores choose gridwall. Sturdy tabs connect the metal grids together. You can create shelving, tables, wall displays and more with different sized sections of gridwall. When it is installed on the wall, you can use accessories, such as hanging bars, hooks, shelves, racks and more to display your products in ways where they will be easily seen by your customers or people passing by.

Space utilization is another reason that gridwall is so popular. You can display, carry, stock and sell more items on gridwall than you can on garment racks. You can have clothing facing outward where it is easily seen. Customers won’t have to sift through racks to see what you offer. You can utilize the vertical space that your store has to offer, instead of just the floor.

Gridwall is also a cost effective choice in retail display. It is inexpensive compared to other forms of displays and is incredibly strong. Gridwall can hold a lot of weight, which makes it popular for displaying heavier items, like power tools. Simply zip-tie the products directly to the gridwall, or use one of the many gridwall accessories that there are on the market. You can also showcase your items by displaying them on mannequins or mannequin forms that hang from the gridwall. Or, if you’ve saved floor space, you will have more room for interesting mannequin displays that can help you to sell smaller items as well as your main attractions.

Longevity is an important thing to consider when you’re purchasing retail displays. Gridwall has sturdy construction and can last for many, many years. The accessories are often solid metal without small parts that can break off or require maintenance. Grid wall pieces are standard sizes that you can add to or take away from for years. You don’t have to worry about needing new accessories and then finding out that nothing fits your gridwall anymore.

If you rent, consider the space that you will save by using gridwall. You can rent out a smaller space for your store, saving you money every month on rent and utilities. You may also save money by protecting your merchandise from theft.

Stores with racks placed closely together give thieves easy access to your items. By spreading out your floor displays and hanging items, you increase visibility. You may even choose to display more expensive items up higher so that customers need help from an associate to handle the merchandise. People are a lot less likely to steal if the employees know that they have the item in their hand.

If you love all of the advantages of gridwall but would like something else to showcase your store, check out slatwall slatwall. Slat wall sections look like painted wall when installed and covered in merchandise. No matter which way you decide to showcase your store, you will still enjoy all of the benefits of using vertical wall 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, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009

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.

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Sunday, October 4, 2009

Best Uses of Gridwall and Slatwall

Gridwall and slatwall are popular with retail store owners for good reason. You can use your creativity to make either one fit your needs. Here we will discuss some of the best ways that you can utilize gridwall or slatwall to make the most of your investment.

Gridwall is very inexpensive, sturdy, and can be reconfigured to build just about any type of display or showcase. Furthermore, it breaks down into flat sections. These can be easily stashed in your storeroom, hung on a wall or stashed in a ceiling bracket for storage. You can change up your displays often and store unused pieces very easily, without taking up much space.

Gridwall is great for creating different wall configurations for merchandising your inventory. It is easy to install. You can purchase all kinds of accessories that hang from each grid. There are hanging rods, hat displays, baskets, shelves, hooks, tubing and more that can be used to display clothing and accessories. There are also acrylic accessories for displaying signage, brochures, flyers, magazines and shoes.

Another thing you can do with gridwall is to build merchandisers or showcase accessories. With a rolling or stationary base, legs and clips, you can create a custom rack for displaying clothing or accessories. These are really versatile and help satisfy all of your display and showcase needs through changing seasons, promotions and changing inventory.

You can also create free-standing displays, such as t-shirt cubes, towers, department dividers, or shelving. Simply clip together the pieces that are the size that you need. Clips hold pieces securely together, so you don’t have to worry about the things that you create being flimsy or weak. Gridwall is so versatile and so sturdy that many retail stores only need gridwall to stock their entire store.

Another option is slatwall. Slatwall is installed as a permanent wall fixture and should be done by a professional to ensure that it is securely anchored and will not later fall down. The grooves on slatwall will hold more weight if you get the metal inserts to go in them. You can easily hang all different kinds of slatwall accessories. Much like gridwall, you can hang bars, hooks, shelves and more. There are so many accessories for slatwall that you are sure to find something to display just about anything.

Some retailers prefer the clean look of slatwall. It looks more like a painted wall than gridwall, but really it just depends on your personal preference. Gridwall and slatwall are both very versatile display options and are sure to help you meet your display 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.

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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Bringing Life to Retail Mannequins

Mannequins can be one of your greatest selling tools or they can sit and collect dust. Make sure that you are utilizing your mannequins and letting them bring life to your window displays.

The trick is to really give them some movement. You can dress them in your latest fashions, but if they rarely change positions then they won’t attract any attention. Mannequins have long been recognized as the number one selling tool when it comes to store displays. There are a few reasons for this.

The first reason is rather obvious, they help customers to quickly see what garments look like when worn. For flowing, delicate fabrics, using a mannequin is a must. On a hanger, some clothes just look very limp and uninteresting. But, on a mannequin or even a torso form, the clothing is suddenly given shape, depth and texture. So, instantly you’ve improved the appearance of the garment simply by displaying it differently.

Giving your mannequins movement will help to draw the eye. What we mean by movement, is to make the mannequins seem like they are in motion, or engaged in some sort of scenario. This may not be totally necessary for every mannequin in your store, but for your window displays or feature displays, it really does make a difference.

For example, if you are promoting back to school wear, then the mannequins should be doing more than just wearing a back pack. Think about what customers are looking for in back to school clothes. Parents may be looking for nicer clothing at a reasonable price, while students want to feel like they fit in. Try to anticipate all of the needs that the buyers will be looking to fulfill. Children’s mannequins in this case, may be wearing well-made clothing, but participating in a social scene, like hanging out around the lockers. Customers are subconsciously influenced by the types of feelings they get when looking at a display.

Another example is formal wear. Girls looking for prom dresses could be influenced by mannequins that are engaged in a romantic dance. Or, they may be looking to have a good time with their girlfriends, and could be more influenced by other girl mannequins admiring their dress. Come up with a theme that will help your shoppers envision what it would be like to actually wear that dress and experience what the mannequin is experiencing.

There is power in giving personality and movement to your mannequins. Most shoppers know within two seconds of looking at a garment if they are interested or not. Mannequin displays help to hold that interest and tease the thought processes that customers go through when deciding whether or not to make a purchase.

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.

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Retail Slatwall Questions

How much weight can my slatwall hold?

It is best to check with the manufacturer before you hang heavy objects. Ask about the internal bond strength. The internal bond generally ranges from 50 pounds to 150 pounds per square inch. The higher the internal bond, the more weight your slatwall can hold. In general, ligt slatwall can hold around twenty pounds for things hung close to the wall (within 6”). High pressure slatwall can hold around one hundred pounds. The further away you hang things from the wall, the less weight your slatwall can handle. High pressure laminates are the strongest, melamine and paint grade hold less weight.

Can I increase the weight that my slatwall can handle?

Yes, you can increase your slatwall weight capacity by installing inserts in the slots. Again, check with your manufacturer because most have to insert them during production, and they cannot be added later. Plastic or acrylic inserts increase the weight capacity by only a little, but metal inserts increase it by a lot. MDF slatwall with no insert can hold between 15 and 40 pounds per bracket, while a metal insert increases the load capacity to a range of about 40 pounds to 120 pounds.

Can slatwall be attached directly to studs?

Yes. Slatwall can be installed directly on studs or through drywall. Check with building codes before you install, because some walls are required to have drywall between the studs and the slatwall.

How do I know how much slatwall to order?

Talk to a representative of the company that you are ordering from. Be aware of their standard panel sizes and whether or not you are accommodating vertical or horizontally measured panels. Also, consider whether you want slatwall from floor to ceiling or just at a certain level.

Does slatwall require professional installation?

Not necessarily, but professional installation is recommended. Some insurance companies, especially ones insuring retail stores, require that a professional licensed contractor install the slatwall. There are building codes and fire codes to consider. Plus, you need to be sure that the slatwall is properly installed so that it will hold the weight that you plan to put on it without posing a liability or injury hazard.

How versatile is slatwall?

Slatwall is one of the most versatile products on the retail display market. There are so many accessories, that you will never run out of ideas on how to present your merchandise. You can use hanging bars, hooks, shelves and special accessory displays to keep things fresh and changing in your store. You can attractively display impulse items next to other, more standard items. You can easily and quickly switch from summer to winter merchandise, adjust the amount of inventory in the store, and set up promotional displays without changing the look and feel of the store. Buying slatwall for your store could be one of the best investments that you make.

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.

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Benefits of Retail Gridwall and Slatwall

Slatwall and gridwall are very versatile display options for retail stores. They allow you to change up your displays quickly and easily, without spending a lot of money. Replacement costs are just about nothing if you get a decent quality gridwall or slatwall. They look great and maintain their quality and appearance very well.

You can maximize your use of these store displays by utilizing slatwall or gridwall accessories. Just about any product you need to display has an accessory designed to showcase it. Shelves, bars, hooks and more are easily moved around to make the most of your space.

Slatwall and gridwall are especially popular in smaller retail stores where space is limited. You can utilize the vertical space that you have available and free up some room on the floor. Your merchandise can be displayed facing out or hung on mannequin forms to really showcase the items that you’re trying to sell. Displaying clothing in this way has a lot of benefits that you may have not even considered.

Customers can see your clothes and what they look like on, even if they are not in your store. Having merchandise up high draws the eye into your store. Customers can see many articles at once and quickly determine if they would like to shop in your store.

Another benefit to having things up high and having the sales floor more spaciously arranged is reduced shoplifting. Garment racks that are crowded with clothing not only keep customers from seeing everything that you sell, but also give shoplifters a lot of cover to do their business. One of the most common ways that a shoplifter steals is to reach between clothing on a clothing rack and drop articles into their bag, purse or stroller, completely hidden from sight. Additionally, if customers have to interact with sales associates to get their sizes down from the wall, then they are less likely to think that they can get away with stealing it.

Slatwall and gridwall help you to come up with interesting displays, but they also help you to camouflage certain things from customers. Let’s say that you are discontinuing an item. Well, we all know that it is a big no-no to display a less than full rack, or customers will not buy. Being able to cleverly rearrange hooks, shelves and racks will help you to move a once full bar on to and inconspicuous shelf.

Using slatwall and gridwall for merchandising can help you to increase your sales, reduce loss, and keep your store looking top notch. It is durable, inexpensive and a great addition to any retail store.

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.

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Retail Mannequins Attract Customers

The use of mannequins in a retail setting has long been recognized as a merchandising gold mine. Mannequins are notorious for boosting sales and drawing in customers. But why? Here we analyze what a mannequin really does for clothing and for retailers.

We know that people are unpredictable. We never know when and why they might decide to purchase an item. There are a lot of elements that go into determining what a person will buy and how much they are willing to pay. Of course, a lot of these things are out of our control. But, the things that we can control, we should.

People shop at malls looking for inspiration. They want to see the latest styles. They need to find clothing that helps them to establish who they are and what image they want to portray. Their choices can be influenced by lighting, music, signage, or promotions. You may be wondering what is going on inside of those heads as they pass your store and merely peer inside. You need to grab their attention. Not only that, but you need to make them feel something. They need to connect with you in a way that lures them inside. Give them the inspiration that they desire.

Mannequins are the most effective way to help passers-by quickly and effectively connect with you. They see what they want to look like. The freshest styles, combined with the hottest accessories, all beautifully displayed on a body that looks how they wish to look. Mannequins can make clothing look like it was meant to look when it was designed. This is much preferred to limply hanging on a rack.

Use your mannequins to get your customers to feel a connection. To do this, you need to position them in a way that conveys something that your target audience can identify with. If you are targeting teenagers, you will need to create beach or pool scenes in summer, school or sports scenes in fall, and boyfriend/girlfriend scenes at Christmas. Give them a scene that will allow them to envision themselves there, where they long to be, looking how they want to look, with the people that they want to be with.

Creating this ideal can have a swift and definite influence on your shoppers. Possibly without even knowing why, they will venture into your store with an open attitude and a curiosity about how they can achieve the social ideal that has been presented by your mannequins.

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.

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Friday, June 12, 2009

Retail Mannequin Display Ideas

Customers that enter your store are sure to notice your mannequin displays. Mannequins help to promote your merchandise and keep things fresh and changing in your store. Mannequins can help customers see what outfits look like off of the hanger and can even attract new customers. Learn how to stock your retail store with the right mannequins for your needs.

Your front window display is probably the most important place to use mannequins. People passing by can quickly get a first impression of your store. Use your window display to market your best items or ones that accurately give an example of the quality and style of clothing that you offer. Use them to promote exciting new things, like swim suit season or back to school time.

You can use interesting scenarios here and help draw in the crowd. Moving mannequin displays are very exciting. Ones that evoke feelings of friendship, popularity or family are also very effective. You can simply use matching mannequins to line up a display of merchandise. Uniformity or creativity will catch the eye. Use spotlights, fans, special effects or even music to draw the eye to your mannequin display.

Some items need mannequins or body forms to help show their true shape. You can purchase inexpensive hanging forms to place on the end of your garment racks throughout your store. You can get black, metallic, clear or glossy white mannequin torso forms that hang on the end of the rack. This helps to show how clothes look on. Sometimes they may hang limp on a hanger or simply not show the detail or quality that you want them to. Putting them on a mannequin form will help customers visualize what they really would look like if they were being worn.

You can get mannequin forms to help display and promote your merchandise throughout the store. There are head forms for wigs, hats, sunglasses and other accessories. Infant and child forms and mannequins are useful for displaying children’s ensembles. There are foot forms, leg forms, underwear forms, dress forms, pants forms and more. Most are freestanding and some have hangers for garment rack displays.

Mannequin forms are probably most well known for encouraging customers to purchase more than they planned on. Not only do you make your outfits look better by displaying what they look like on, but you can also show that you have other items that go well with it. You can add shoes, belts, hats, sunglasses, purses and watches to the outfit to boost sales of the accessories in your store.

Keep things changing in your store. It is so easy with mannequins to move them around and freshen up your displays. They are one of the most effective marketing tools you can buy and they can be a lot less expensive than you think. Save money and ensure quality by buying directly from a manufacturer that is also the supplier. You will cut out the middle man and keep more of your money in your own pocket.

Investing in mannequins could be one of the smartest moves you have made in marketing your retail store.

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.

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