Even during the recent crisis and lock downs, I've been working.  One of my clients that I did display and merchandising for, including traning her staff, has just gone out of business after trying to stay afloat the last three years. It wasn't due to her display or merchandising. It was due to shoppers coming in recently and making the comment, "I'm glad you're still here." but not making a purchase! She realized she had become entertainment for shoppers happy to get out and about, without masks, or so much social distancing, but also less motivated to spend money in such uncertain times. 

Main Purpose of Merchandising and Display: All my educational materials and semiars begin with the words: "Goods to be sold, must first be seen." Whether you are shopping online or in a bricks and mortar store, you want to SEE what's available if you are searching for something specific, or not. The benefit of a real store is that the other senses kick in with taste (food samples) smell, and touch, not just sight and sound.  For my client her windows were the first impression of traffic, vehicle or pedistrian. Therefore, it was important to have them attractive, change them often, even a little weekly for regulars, and use good lighting for extra impact and focus of details.

Merchandising and display is also to enhance the shopping experience. Categorizing and arranging items helps the shopper in a hurry to make a bee line for what they are looking for. Category (department) is first and then brand POP or color, and then size, and other features that justify the price: high or low. A complaint on a website recently showed the purchase of a designer dress online that turned out to be for a doll! Just like in the picture, but a very wrong size! Unless the important deatils and descriptions aren't in the online ad, researching is necessary and trying it on in a real store is the best.  

Windows and Websites: If you have a store front, or a face from a tent in a market, that is considered a 'window' and your window online if your website, or social media page.  Here too it's all about what is seen.  I have a saying about store windows: 100% go by!  Of that number what percent are you attracting, at least slowing down to take a closer look? Pay attention when you shop to what slows you down or stops you to take a closer look, or walk in and check out more. 

Four Motivaters from Merchandising: To reach the maximum number of shoppers in your target your displays should do one or more of these four things:

• Educate: Show 'n Tell with illustrations, signs, packaging, and demonstration what the features are to educate your shoppers.
  
  • Example:If it's 100% wool a small show card with that symbol will sell the product and justify the price. 
    
• Motivate: Show more than one size, color, pattern so the buyer is motivated to make a purchase because they see their size and favorite color in the assortment; mix. Don't confuse with too many options.  Sometimes one single item features alone under it's own spot light says it all. Understated elegance and simplicty is a motivator.  
  
• Inspire: Let the creativity of the display and the right props tell a story that goes beyond the product itself. 
  
  • Example: I once did a display in a baking supply retail store of a manniquin wearing an apron, holding a mixing bowl in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other standing in front of a table spread with all the ingredients and a recipee book open. A plate of cookies to sample by shoppers finished off the experience!                          
• Entertain: Staging merchandise in feature display areas close to where all the inventory and back up stock is neatly lined up on good shelves is the entertaining factor. The stage tells the story and appeals to a distinct shopper with the props, but the 'actors' are all available for sale from the shelves.  Excite the customer then make it easy to find the items in the display.
  

Conclusion: As long as the store is organized, neat, tidy and shoppable always do something fun, different, and attetion grabbing to entertain and see the traffic increase and the sales go up.
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Humans are created with five natural senses (and some, like a 'fifth' sense, or "nonsense" we aren't discussing here!)  Non-Store shoppers browsing magazines, papers, catalogs or text and images on-line, are using ONE sense:  SIGHT.  It's the most important one for sure, and that is why everything Today's Displays does begins with VISUAL!  I say VMP is what you see. 

Non-Store shoppers listening to phone soliciting, are also only using ONE sense: SOUND. So anything visual here is totally related to what you are visualizing when listening. Videos and face time add the sense of SOUND and when added to the SIGHT influences us even more. This is when watching TV, audio/visual ads on line, or even a non-interactive product presentation in a store or at a trade show exhibit.   

I think it's hilarious the antics actors go through on TV to try and describe what something smells like, tastes like, or feels like.  The ad agencies have to come up with ways to make you believe that peanut butter tastes like the first time each time, challenging you to go buy a jar and see if that's true.  Another favorite of mine is the 'nose blind' ads, or those for laundry freshening products.  I wonder when we will have Smell-a-vision, Taste-a-vision, and Touch-a-vision!  Right now they can only use what we see and hear to influence our motivations. 
 
As an Independent RETAILER, you have the chance to appeal to ALL FIVE senses.  You can add the other THREE senses to SIGHT and SOUND in a bricks 'n mortar shopping experience. Examples are:

• Add  a mood enhancing fragrance into your store, 
• Encourage shoppers to touch and try on items appealing to them, *
• Invite shoppers to test samples of foods or fragrances,
• Demonstrate products that move or animate in any way,  
• Offer beverages to enjoy while shopping, even a small bottle of water. 

* During the current crisis (COVID)  I did a regular shift in a gift shop.  As soon as shoppers entered the store, I would point to the hand sanitizer and tell them, "As long as your hands are sanitized, feel free to touch and or try on items.  All we ask is that if you chose not to purchase an item, please bring it to us so we can isolate it and return it to the rack after quarantine."  Most customers thanked me and said, "I was wondering about that."  

We sold tons of masks and I became the expert mask fitter!  We had five vendors who supplied masks and the all worked differently.  Letting  shoppers know they could try on the masks was huge. All we asked was that they didn't put the ones unpurchased back on the rack, but to bring them to us.  By the end of the day, there was a little pile of unsold masks waiting to be sanitized. This made everyone feel safer and happier with their purchases.  We also sold more masks and the word began to get around town. 
 
If you sell beauty and health products, the fragrance you want is different than if you sell food items, or garments.  Some seasons lend themselves to  smells that are traditional and familiar, such as pine, or cinnamon at Christmas, with hot apple cider being offered to shoppers with ginger cookies. 
 
As a sales rep for a company, I once called on an upholstery shop that was located between a salon and a fast food chicken place.  When I walked in I immediately reacted to the smell of fried chicken and fries mixed with the small of perm solution.  Because in their industry that was just their workshop and they called on customers to show samples and give quotes,  they didn't feel the need to relocate!
 
Words of WARNING:  

• Don't MIX fragrances from air fresheners, or scented products.  Be careful how many scented products you have open and watch for shoppers responses if it's too strong.  I once helped a client change up their store and by the time we had opened up three sets of candle tapers with strong scents we had to stop.  Since the tapers were packaged in pairs, with the wicks joined, and we wanted to showcase then in beautiful candlesticks, we just wrapped the opened display candles in plastic wrap to reduce the strong competing scents.  

 
(Side note: you will sell on average 20% more of what you take out of the package and display!  And you also reduce the temptation from shoppers to open the box to see what's inside!)  Don't use strong smelling cleaners on your floors or fixtures that smell like disinfectants. 

• Don't MIX sounds. If you sell music provide shoppers with headphones if you also have store-wide background music.  If you provide a children's play area that's showing cartoons, don't have the volume competing with the music you are playing for adult shoppers. If you sell home theater products, TVs and Sound systems establish guidelines for demonstrating the volumes and adjustments to sound. 

Pay attention to creating the right mood by appealing to all the senses and enhance the shopping experience.  Check out all our products and resources for what they see!  VMP is what you see. Realize that the live, in person shopping experience is still the best when it comes to SIGHT, SOUND, TASTE, TOUCH, and SMELL.  

The bank I frequent from time to time offers cookies and coffee or water to those standing in line. At that moment they are 'soothing the senses' which is what our featured article this week is all about.  Check out the FREE article: Soothing the Senses
http://www.todaysdisplays.ca/assets/Soothing_the_Senses52200.pdf

​This client had just opened up a new location for her clock business.  It was Christmas, one of her top selling seasons, and the budget for decorations and props was nil after all the expenses of the leasehold improvements.
 
We had a little discussion and decided that the best way to bring in the traditional Christmas flavor, would be to add live poinsettias in key places and strategically add some artificial evergreen garlands tucked in here and there amongst the mantel and shelf clocks.  She could take the flowers home to enjoy over the holidays, so that was a good investment to brighten up her personal Christmas as well. In the case of this large poinsettia on the stand, it was strategically placed at the “back of the aisle” to catch the eye and bring shoppers into the back of the store where there were more products to see. 

One of the keys about Christmas décor is that it shouldn’t compete with the products.  Shoppers still need to be able to make comparisons, and check out the details of the options between different items. 

When it comes to distance versus eye level, sometimes the best place to display Christmas is above eye level and out of reach.  In the case of the cabinet shown that is full of mantel clocks, there was no room for Christmas décor with the products themselves.  The artificial garland with the beaded Holiday fruits on top of this showcase is another place where we added a touch of Christmas.
 
The three things that catch the eye are Light, Contrast, and Movement.  What would have added to this stores Christmas with a little budget would have been

1. A rotating stand in the front window with two hall clocks back to back in a pool of strong lighting and Christmas décor to add sparkle and more attention.
2. A large Christmas tree full of decorations and twinkle lights in the front window or visible from outside in the back of the store.
3. ​Dense garland with balls, ribbons and lights strung                                                                                    a. along the ceiling at strategic points at the back of the store, and/or                                                 b. along the tops of some of the other free standing  showcases and shelf fixtures. 

This would have impacted shoppers more with an increase of the Christmas trappings… but we did enough to make a difference and the store didn’t look like it was indifferent to the Holiday and the Gift Giving Celebration. 
 
It’s always wise to start out with less and then add as you feel you need it.  I also will step back from time to time and look at the affect from the front door and then let my eye follow the natural traffic flow of shoppers as they browse.   
 
Keep in mind that the first impression is the most important and from the entrance back it can then get more detailed, closer to eye level, or just carry the theme into more places.  Do as much as you have time and money over and just let the Christmas spirit come from your heart and service, if it can’t come from a lot of décor!  Let your products still be the Christmas STARS that come out to perform their holiday gift giving pleasure! 
 
Check out more VMP Display Ideas in articles  and Christmas Quicknotes​ for sale.