Local high street shopping has drastically decreased due to consumers’ preference for online. Over the last year, the pandemic has affected local businesses much adversely than ever before. The local consumers must lend their support to these small businesses, so they are not forced to close up on their hard-built dreams.
One way local businesses can try to stay afloat is by improving their visual merchandising techniques through rearranging, redesigning, and adapting their shop layout. Doing so might just attract more customers and increase sales. There are many ways to entice customers to shop for more than what they originally came in for. Understanding the psychology behind these techniques can increase your sales, fund your employees and even save your customer some time.
Products placement.
Products should be placed following their launch date and price. New and expensive products should be placed at the front and in the display window. The front windows must be kept extremely neat and clear for onlookers to see the new designs and products. Lighting should complement the products on display as well. In the case of greengrocers, it is essential to put trendy, seasonal, or accompanying products at the point of purchase (POP). The newest products should be placed separately from existing ones to make the customer notice the latest release. A study suggests that humour and musical appeal influences people for impulse buying. Therefore, it’s recommended to have a marketing strategy that synchronised with the brand.
Store layout.
The display window is not the only source of attraction for customers. The moment a customer steps in, it’s the business’ opportunity to create a feeling of positivity. The shopping aisle or display racks must be harmonious, organised, updated, and physically convenient for the shoppers to browse through. Creating modern comforts such as playing music or the radio, having TVs and being mindful of the air quality and temperature helps people roam around in your store for a longer, contributing to them purchasing more.
Create an outside event.
Create a visual ‘stunt’ from the outside of the store, which looks like something is happening inside. People will enter the store out of curiosity to see what is happening. Once inside, they will start to accumulate and be drawn to whatever you had purposefully encouraged them to see in the first place – perhaps it’s a specific product you’re just launching or massive savings to be had. Another way of doing this is by dressing mannequins beautifully yet mindfully in your display window. Studies have shown that this has a major influence on people wanting to come inside, especially with women.
Reinforce the advertising campaign through visual merchandising.
If you are already running an advertising campaign, your visual merchandising should reinforce that particular campaign. Consider having supported marketing collateral such as display ads, posters, banners etc. through your shop. Not only will this create cohesion but will help to drive the message home to your shoppers. This recall effect is especially important if you’re running a newspaper or even a TV ad that your customers might have already seen.
Placement is the winner.
They say ‘eye level is the buy level’, which many studies have shown to be true. Similarly, ‘the rule of three’ is also excessively adopted in merchandising. Shoppers can only focus on collective products when they are placed in a quantity of three, like small, medium, and large.
We’re here to help.
Whether your a small business owner looking for some support or a consumer wanting to understand what it means to shop local, our team is here to help. Please get in touch to find out more.
