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.

Managing Retail Displays this Black Friday

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. This is an exciting and sometimes stressful time for retail store owners and managers. You need to be prepared for long hours, a lot of traffic, constant restocking, and you still can’t let customer service and your image slide into second place. You and your employees need to be ready to handle anything. Use these tips to keep your sanity and bring your profits into the black this Black Friday.

1) One problem on Black Friday is employees. Most stores open really early to get shoppers early on in their spending spree. Employees that are used to coming into work around nine or ten AM are not usually keen on being there at four o’clock in the morning. Plus, taking care of an endless sea of customers is really hard work, dreaded by most retail employees. You need to offer a reward incentive to ensure that employees will actually show up. You may also offer alternating hours off during the day so that your employees can also get some of their Black Friday shopping done.

2) The second problem retailers run into is keeping enough inventory on hand. Hopefully you have a past year’s data to indicate how much inventory you will need to get through this day. Try not to be afraid of ordering too much. Even if you can’t move it all on Black Friday, you still have a few weeks to sell it.

3) Keeping your displays fully stocked is an important part of making sales. Make sure that your employees are constantly stocking and straightening your showcases, shelves, and garment racks. When an item is running low, people sometimes assume that you are not restocking it for some reason. Studies show that people buy more when there is more on display. Plus you want them to know that you have all sizes available. If a stack is low, they might bypass it thinking that you probably don’t have the size that they need, or that it’s already picked over.

4) There’s a trick to camouflaging areas that are running low on merchandise that you can use to keep your store looking stocked. If you have slatwall or gridwall, you are in luck. You can easily combine similar items when they run low and then rearrange hanging bars and shelves to keep the wall looking full. For example, if you had forty shirts hanging on one bar and you’re down to fifteen, then the rack will look really empty. With slatwall or a grid wall, you can simply switch out the hanging bar that holds forty to the one that holds twenty. Suddenly your display looks full again.

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.