Mannequins and Store Displays Blog

Making the Most of a Small Boutique

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:42:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Design a Store Display

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:59:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get into your Customer’s Head

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:13:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great Customer Service

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:43:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boutique Store Design

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:25:00 +0000

In a boutique, image is everything. Boutiques offer customers a unique shopping experience that is rich in interesting displays, decorations, and style. The theme of a boutique can be what brings customers back again and again. Creating an interesting theme is important, but making your boutique accessible, shoppable, and easy to navigate can be just as important.

Have you ever seen a store that looked really interesting, but then you go in and everything is crowded and messy? It can be a big turn-off. Unless I’m shopping a garage sale, then I expect everything to be visible when I look at a display. I want to feel like my size will be there if I like what I see. I like to get an idea of what the clothes and accessories will look like if I put them on, without having to spend all day in the dressing room. I don’t want to feel like I’m squeezed in with other customers, hunting through piles of clothes all day.

Your boutique store design should take the customer’s shopping experience into consideration. You can utilize certain rules of retail display to help you make the greatest impact. You know, being a boutique owner, that impressions are your biggest weapons. You want your customer to feel what you’re trying to convey with your store the second they lay eyes on it. This is, after all, what has made boutiques such a huge success this century.

People want to feel like they are unique, interesting, and important. This drives them to shop the smaller stores, boutiques, or handmade goods outlets. Make sure that your displays are creative and stay true to your store’s theme. Make your customers feel like they are important and like their happiness is your first priority.

Create displays using mannequins or mannequin forms to show them what unique items would look like if they are worn. Mannequins give you a unique edge when conveying a certain message. They help you to create more interesting, personal, and effective displays than you could ever create without them.

Making room for all of this interesting stuff may seem like a problem at first, but really you may have more room than you think. Utilizing vertical wall space can help you to make more room while keeping your displays nice, neat and organized. You can use something like slatwall to affordable and attractively make space on the walls of your boutique. Use slatwall panels in spaces that are oddly shaped. Use slatwall accessories to hang just about any type of item on the wall. You will love how versatile your slatwall is, and it will help you make room for all the displays that you can think up.

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.

Visual Display Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:01:00 +0000

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.

Retail Customer Service Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:09:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Uses and Benefits of Slatwall

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:54:00 +0000

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.

Heavy Duty Wall Storage

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:10:00 +0000

There are many uses for a retail slatwall system. You can use them at home or in business. Use these ideas to make the most of your slatwall and get your life organized.

1) Use slatwall panels around the home to get things in order. They offer a quality storage space for everything from craft room supplies to heavy duty tools and equipment in the garage. Some people use slatwall panels inside of their cabinet doors, pantry doors, closets and bathrooms. Where ever you need versatile storage, you can use slatwall panels.

2) Slatwall is great in the garage. It can hold up so much weight, especially if you add the metal inserts to the slats. Chrome on black or gold one red looks really sharp and gives you a permanent place to store your tools. You can use slatwall accessories like shelving, hooks, bins, bars, and more to make a place for every little thing in your garage. This can be incredibly useful for hanging everything from gardening tools, to nuts and bolts. You’ll be excited to show off your professional looking garage.

3) You can even use slatwall panels to create a rolling easel for art, craft supply station, or tool cart. Simply mount two slatwall panels on casters or a rolling cart and you’re set. You can take bins of screws and washers off the wall and hang them on the cart. Collect the hammer, power drill, level, and chalk line, and hang them on the cart. You can stock it up with everything you’ll need for a project and roll it right along with you. No more multiple trips to the work station or searching for that drill bit that you know you laid down right beside you.

4) Using slatwall in retail is really popular, too. You can hang anything and everything from the wall, freeing up floor space with ease. Slatwall not only looks professional, but is the number one way to make more space in a store. Merchandising and creating interesting retail displays is really easy on slatwall. You can rearrange things so easily that you won’t even feel like you did any work. Keeping track of inventory is easy, and customers will appreciate having everything hanging where they can easily see it.

5) Using slatwall in retail has other benefits besides saving space. It puts everything where you can see it. Customers may have to ask to get something down from up high, which gives your employees a chance to make contact without being pushy. You can reduce theft and increase sales at the same time. Not only that, but slatwall is so easy to keep organized that your employees will spend less time straightening the store and more time helping your customers.

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

How to Use Retail Promotional Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:41:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keeping a Retail Space Organized

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:15:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defining Your Target Market

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:01:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Retail Displays: Getting the Most Bang for your Buck

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:37:00 +0000

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.

Improving Retail Displays

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:17:00 +0000

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.

Managing Small Retail Spaces

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:56:00 +0000

Retail spaces can get cramped for a number of reasons. You may have decided to expand and offer more products. Maybe you are offering an entire new department. You could just be running out of storage space. Or, you might have chosen a small space to have an affordable retail space in a good location. Whatever your reasons, you need a way to deal with the small space without sacrificing sales or image.

Not having much room means that you need to get creative. Creative displays are what make boutiques so popular today. Displays need to be effective and satisfy needs for the customers. For example, when a customer enters a store and approaches a display, they have many questions going through their heads. They are wondering if they like the product. They then consider what other people will think. They imagine how the garments would make them feel. Then they check out quality, price, and the availability of their size.

Setting up your displays with these customer questions in mind will help you to overcome some of the hurdles that retailers face. You can’t necessarily only put out a few sizes of each item, or customers will assume that you probably don’t have their size and they won’t go through the process. You don’t want everything to look like clearance. If there are fully stocked displays, then customers feel like they are getting something new and popular. If the inventory is low, they might assume that you are not restocking this item for some reason. It could be quality, popularity, or some other unknown that turns them off when they look at the display.

So, this leaves you with a predicament. You need to save space. You want to offer more and more products. But, you don’t want to put out skimpy amounts of each thing. Even more important, you don’t want your store to get crowded and look like a bargain bin. The solution is to utilize retail displays designed to conquer this particular problem.

The most popular and cost effective solution is to use slatwall panels. You can install slatwall in a store and take full advantage of vertical space. You can hang and display hundreds of items on the walls of your store or boutique, even in a small amount of square footage. This can leave the floor open to creating more attractive and elaborate displays.

Using slatwall not only saves space, but it makes your store easy to shop in. All of your items can face outward toward the customer. Customers can shop without touching anything. They can see what each item looks like and also see that your inventory is stocked. If something’s running low, you can simply switch out the bar for a shorter one to make your store look continuously stocked.

Using slatwall and slatwall panels in your store will make you and your customers happier.

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

Tips for Starting Up a Boutique

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:37:00 +0000

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.

How to Use Slatwall in a Boutique

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:44:00 +0000

Slatwall is one of the most versatile retail display products on the market. Boutiques are in a great position to gain the most benefit from using slatwall panels to merchandise their displays. If you own or work for a boutique, you know that space can often be limited. In a boutique atmosphere, sometimes the décor is as important as the merchandise itself. So, using slatwall systems to help you make the most of your space can be very rewarding. Read on to learn how slatwall could be helping you run your business more effectively.

1) Slatwall is installed in panels. Slatwall panels can be purchased in different sizes to fit the space that you have. You can also have slatwall panels cut to fit your space. This is useful in odd spaces, such as underneath stairs or in other areas where the ceiling slants. It can help you to utilize all of the little nooks and crannies in your boutique. This technique greatly reduces your need for more space.

2) Slatwall also helps you to accessorize. By hanging items that go together in the same area, you can easily show your customers what goes with each outfit. They may not have thought to buy that purse or hat until you put them together on your slatwall display.

3) Slatwall allows you to use more mannequin forms in a small space. Mannequins are the most effective marketing tool available to retailers. However, if you don’t have much space, full-sized mannequin displays may not have ever entered your plan. Using mannequin torso forms allows you to hang the mannequin in the space that it takes to hang a shirt or pants. Simply hang the clothes facing out, dress the mannequin, and hang it in front of the rack. A slatwall display can be very dynamic and effective.

4) Your slatwall will be your best friend when it comes to rearranging displays. The versatility is probably its number one selling point. You can quickly and easily rearrange hanging bars, shelves, hooks, and other slatwall accessories to accommodate your inventory. If you’re running out of something, you can simply space out the other things around it to take up the space. Your displays will always look full and inviting to your customers.

5) Promotions, merchandising, and changing the seasons are so easy with slatwall and slatwall panels. You can replace items and move things around really easily without tearing your store apart. Boutique owners love this because they are usually working alone or with very little staff. You can replace one thing at a time until it’s done without making it a huge undertaking.

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.

Do I Need a Shop Fitter?

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:19:00 +0000

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

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.

Boutique Merchandising Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:25:00 +0000

Merchandising in a small boutique can be challenging, especially if you’re new to the business. You want your boutique to look fresh and inviting while maintaining its unique charms. However, problems arise when you want to carry more inventory or expand on your merchandise. You need to accomplish both to be successful.

Carrying more products can help you to bring in more money. It can bring you customers that you didn’t appeal to before. It can keep your current customers interested and coming back time and again. Keeping your product line interesting and profitable is definitely a priority. Having the inventory on hand to satisfy your customers and hold up during promotions and busy seasons is also important. So what do you do if you want to turn more profit, gain new customers, and expand if you are in a limited space?

There are a few ways that you can accomplish this. You need to make space so that your sales floor isn’t overcrowded. Too many products in one area can make your boutique look crowded and uninviting. You won’t sell more simply by squeezing more in. You can invest in garment racks that stand taller to give you more room. This helps you to take advantage of vertical space. However, if racks stand too tall, it can make it difficult to keep an eye on your store when you suspect that someone is considering shoplifting.

Another way to take advantage of vertical space is on your walls. You can use gridwall or slatwall systems to display your items vertically without sacrificing attractiveness. There are many benefits to using gridwall and slatwall.

One is the manner in which they display your products. Instead of your shirts, coats, and dresses facing each other, they can hang facing outward. This type of visibility allows customers to shop with ease. They can easily see what you have to offer without digging through crowded clothing racks.

When you’re ready to add more inventory, the versatility of the grid wall or slat wall will amaze you. You can squeeze things closer together without making them look crowded. You can make unique spaces for new inventory with very little effort, simply by moving the hooks around.

You can also display your accessories right beside the outfits that you think they look best with. By displaying your items on the wall, you can free up floor space to display ensembles on mannequins. Mannequins are the number one selling tool in the retail industry and using gridwall and slatwall will allow you to take full advantage of them.

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

Display and Promotion Ideas for Boutiques

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:17:00 +0000

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 Storage Solutions

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:22:00 +0000

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.

Retail Christmas Displays

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:11:00 +0000

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.

Make Room in a Small Boutique

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:03:00 +0000

If you run a boutique, chances are space is an issue. Many boutiques are run by individual owners who simply cannot invest a lot of money on store space. Therefore, it becomes important to make the most of the space that you have available. Whether you’ve expanded your inventory, or you’ve always needed more room, you can use these tips to help you make room by following these steps.

First, you need to get rid of merchandise that just isn’t moving. Have a sidewalk sale or set up a clearance area and sell off what you can to make some room. Floor space and garment racks should not be crowded, so do what you can to consolidate, but don’t pack things together so tightly that no one is interested in digging through them. Move some things to storage if you have to.

Make use of the vertical space in your store. A popular option for retail merchandising is to have gridwall or slatwall installed. It is fairly inexpensive and can save you loads of space. Plus, there are other benefits to using it.

With a few simple accessories like hanging bars, shelves and hooks, you can turn your grid wall or slat wall into a merchandising and promotion dream. Using gridwall and slatwall systems puts your merchandise up where people can actually see what you have at a glance. Since customers often use their first impressions to determine whether or not they will buy anything, letting them know what you have when they walk in is a great idea.

When the floor is more spacious and open, you are less likely to lose merchandise to shoplifters. Gridwall and slatwall are loved by retailers everywhere because of this feature. Your employees can see shoppers from all around when there is no place to hide. Having crowded clothing racks just a few feet apart gives thieves the sense of security that they need to shoplift.

Clearing out floor space by using gridwall and slatwall makes your store look more inviting. It makes it more user-friendly, clean and organized. It also creates open spaces that you can use for more interesting displays, like mannequin displays. You can even hang mannequin torso forms on the ends of your hanging racks that protrude from your gridwall or slatwall. This is an effective way of letting your customers know what your clothing looks like when it is worn and drawing attention to your items.

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

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:42:00 +0000

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.

Merchandising Tips for Retailers

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Maier, Jr.) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:05:00 +0000

There are endless ways to merchandise your inventory. If you are looking for some fresh ideas, you’ve come to the right place. It is always good to keep things changing when it comes to retail. Customers will get bored if they see the same displays twice and stop considering shopping in your store.

The goal of any display is to grab attention. The purpose of window displays is to get customers interested in coming inside the store. Promotional displays are generally at the entrance of the store, or in a high-traffic area, like a walkway. Mannequins can be used to bring customers to certain parts of the store. Signage is a great way to communicate to your customers as well. Lighting, fully stocked garment racks, and helpful employees are also necessary. But there is still something else to consider.

Retail stores can benefit greatly from utilizing retail gridwall and retail slatwall fixtures. These commercial strength displays do something that regular clothing racks cannot. They get all of your merchandise right up in the customer’s line of sight.

Slatwall and gridwall both have detachable hooks, bars, clamps, and shelves that can easily be moved and rearranged to give you the most aesthetically pleasing display possible. Employees can simply move the fixtures left or right, up or down, to get the spacing right between merchandise.

As a retail store owner, you know the importance of keeping your racks fully stocked. Customers ignore garment racks that have only a couple of things hanging on them. People are actually turned off by a clothing rack that is near empty. They get the impression that something is wrong with the garments hanging there. They wonder why you are not restocking. Maybe these clothes have gone out of style, are being clearanced, or they think that the chances of their size being there is really slim. This is where gridwall or slatwall can save you again.

On a grid wall or a slat wall, you can easily combine like items on to one peg, bar or shelf. Combining items that you can’t restock helps to keep the racks looking full. If you don’t have anything else to fill in the hole, then simply move around some racks on the grid wall or slat wall to space them out more evenly. The next time you get new merchandise, simply move everything closer together again, making space for the new merchandise.

This technique keeps your retail store always looking full. Gridwall and slatwall keep everything directly in sight of the customers. They also clear out floor space making the store easy to navigate for customers, reducing the places for shoplifters to hide, and making room for any extra holiday or promotional items that you may have coming in.

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.