I was working in a major national department store and was doing a scarf display on a counter top fixture designed for them.  One of the Head Office CEOs was walking the store and stopped to watch me, which did make me a little nervous. He came over to me and I froze, wondering if I had done something wrong and was going to get into trouble.  He just said, "You know, you never get paid for what you know, you only get paid for what you DO with what you know!" 

Well in a way that applies to product displays in your store.  You want to display to pay.  Your merchandising should be planned to present products so that they sell and guess what?  You get paid!  You 'pay' the shoppers by giving them a great shopping experience that includes wonderful, interesting, inspiring, educational, functional.... ways in which your products show off their features, advantages, and benefits. They are sometimes called the 'Silent Salesman'. 

So what are the main things to keep in mind when merchandising? First, amuse, don't confuse. When customers walk by your store what they see should make sense. There should be a theme at a glance that is the BIG picture and sometimes referred to as your "brand'.  Some key display areas, such as front windows, front of aisles and back of aisles, and signs or displays visible up high from a distance should reinforce who you are and what you have to offer. As shoppers come in and look closer, either signs or obvious displays of merchandise will let them know what your main departments are. Within those departments should be categories displayed in their own venues or on appropriate fixtures. 

  The eye is like a fly looking for a place to land.  You can compare it to reading the classified ads compared to the display ads in a newspaper, if anyone does that any more. If your customer's eye has no place to land or rest, then it will just jump around getting tired or find a place to rest which may be the floor or the ceiling or a blank part of a wall. This is why you want to follow the principle of Group 'n Space based on Color, Pattern, and Style in that order. Color blocking or themes based on color are the most effective. In the fashion, accessory, and home decor industries, and to a degree in vehicles, color is very significant in purchasing. Color is also based on psychology, culture, experience, and expectations. 

For example when a woman has a wardrobe of mostly colors that suit her, or that she likes best, maybe based on compliments, she will naturally gravitate to those to purchase, even if some other colors appeal to her because of the excitement of seeing a great display. The same goes for home decor where matching or coordinating is desired. For some cultures the more color combinations, the better, and I believe their shopping senses only look for the one thing that is appealing to them at the moment because they aren't obsessed with any matching or coordinating. 

If your displays aren't grabbing attention, slowing down shoppers, making them want to come in and look closer, or handle items and check the prices, then they are's displays that will pay.  Changing things up often or on a regular basis within departments and in cross merchandised feature displays keep the more visible venues interesting and exciting, especially for regular traffic. Even during tourist season, if you are in a seasonal cycle of travelling traffic, make the effort to change up some of the smaller displays each day. 

One reason is that the tourist staying for a week and heading downtown to walk or shop will take note and not pass by your store because it looks new today. The other reason is that the perception is that the items in the display yesterday have sold, so it had to be changed up. There's something magic in that too. You don't let them take you for granted and think, "been there, done that..." Let's go to a store we haven't been in yet. No, you want them to come into your store everyday they are on holiday since it looks like you are getting in new stuff each day. And this kind of display will pay.  Try it!  

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​This is a picture of me on stage at a trade show talking about Sources and Trends of Color.  I'm showing you this because the two color boards I'm holding up are exactly 20 years apart for the forecast trends of those years. Which years, you ask? One is 1980 and the other was the predictions for 2000.  Colors cycle and in a specific order.  They cycle from dark to light, meaning black and white added, and around the color wheel. We are now in the 2020's so I'm expecting all these colors to show up again... and they are! 
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​When a new color is introduced into the market, it always appears in it's darkest form and as an accent color. Gradually you will see more and more of it until it's available in large quantities and coverage like carpets and wall paper in home decor, and all over the fashion, gift and tableware. 

When I was doing research for the trends for the turn of the century, I found a magazine from Australia that predicted that by the decade we are living in now we would be "cyber slaves" to our electronic devices. And as I look around, the current color trends are showing up on digital watches, cell phone covers, and lap top finishes.  So even though we have indeed become "cyber slaves" we are also making personal statements with the colors of our preference for our devices.  ​

In my teaching on merchandising and display, when it comes to color, the trends are less important than the placement of the products you have in stock.  Color closes sales and color counts in terms of avoiding visual confusion. Showing more products in less space works when you Group 'n Space based on color, pattern, and style, then shape and size, in that order.  When colors are scattered and not organised for specific focal points and features that tell a clear story and help the shopper to focus, then there is visual confusion, chaos, and conflict.  The shopper is distracted or unable to make the right distinguishing difference to make a choice and a purchase. 

Look at the illustrations below and see how they are color blocked. Does it make it easier for your eye to land on just the right group and then move around comfortably in that group to make a selection? Do you notice how the colors enhance the patterns and the styles? Take the table ware for example and notice the color, pattern, and style of the sets. This kind of merchandising and display, regardless of which decade we are in right now works to increase traffic, sales, cash flow and profits.  Shoppers love it when they can browse with enjoyment and no stress to find what they are looking for, or fall in love with an item they didn't know they wanted and make an impulse purchase.   This is all good for you, but more than that, when your store is organised around color it makes it easy to find the perfect homes for new items coming in, or those 'onesies' left over from a line.  SO... don't discount, DISPLAY... and do it with color!  ​