Visual Merchandising and How to Make Standout Retail Displays

First impressions matter, and when it comes to retail it is of utmost importance. Your store needs to be consistently on point, delivering the best visual presentation of your products. And this is the visual merchandising strategy that every retailer talks about.

What is Visual Merchandising?

Visual merchandising comprises of anything and everything on the retail stores, from storefront displays and displaying of products to in-store signage. If a visually pleasing experience is displayed, the retailers can create a bond with customers right away. And to build that bond, all you need to do is create different design techniques and transform your store into something visually appealing, classy and aesthetically beautiful.

This is a widely adopted practice in the industry where retailers or merchandisers design and develop floor plans and 3D product displays to organise and showcase their merchandise.

A Few Tips and Tricks of Visual Merchandising

Understand the Psychographics of Your Target Audience/Customer

The first step to create effective visual merchandising is by understanding the psyche of your target customer. By that we do not really mean just the understanding of demographics but go deeper into understanding what drives them to take decisions, their choices and lifestyle.

Get Inspirations from Other Merchandising Sources

Before you get going with decorating your displays, try looking for resources and websites that have eye-catching product displays.

Should Be Appealing To All the Five Senses

A great retail/merchandise store should be appealing enough to create a multi-sensory experience. While it’s tempting and important to focus on the visuals, they should also appeal to each of the five senses. How that? The music you play at your store, give your customers a chance to touch and feel your products. Your store should also smell nice which would create a positive memory to the minds of your customers. And if you sell edible products, take this opportunity to make your customers taste your products and make them believe that your products taste exactly the same as described. And sight is obviously the most important. From using lighting, contrast, balance and symmetry, merchandisers need to know exactly what their target customers may like.

Using of Design Theories While You Build Your Displays

Retail displays are a great part of your overall design and can easily create or destroy the look. Thus, when building the displays, retailers should keep a few things in mind. Firstly, try to create a balance. A balanced store would guide your customers and provide a cohesive experience. While symmetry adds consistency, asymmetrical designs makes your store look bold and creative. Next, provide contrast so that the products on display stand out. Using monochromatic colours, or pop colours in geometric shapes, if set in contrast with your products, will definitely make your store look super unique.

Go Bold With Your Visual Merchandising

This is a generation when every appealing product goes up on Instagram. Thus, your goal should be to create aesthetically beautiful products and store, and to do that you need to go bold with your visual merchandising. Often nice-looking glass display cases add the right amount of glamour to your stores. Also, keep it in mind that while you design your window display, it should be at par with your overall store design, décor and branding.

Guide Your Customers Constantly When They Are At Your Store

When shoppers arrive at your store, they should be guided well about the products they are looking forward to buy. You can also place related products together, just as we find while we shop online. The shoppers should be able to buy products peacefully without any commotion or confusion.

Add Creative Signages

Creative yet minimal signages can very clearly group and departmentalise your products, display promotions, what are they made of and so on. The signages should contain all necessary information yet there should not be too much of a write-up.

Refresh Your Products Regularly

Make it a point to upgrade and refresh the products in-store at a regular basis. Also, every time your collections or products get a makeover, make it a point to add a hint of those to your store too. This will refresh the look of the store, and will remain at par with your collections. Oh, and not to forget the colour scheme, props and signages need makeovers too!

Hello, I'm Cataleya Robbins working as a blogger at Glass Cabinets Direct. Glass Cabinets Direct is one of the best suppliers of high-quality aluminium display cabinets and counters.