The countdown to Christmas is on and when it comes to visual merchandising the sky’s the limit, so why not try something new and creative?
Consider some of the ways you can surprise and inspire customers. The necessary basics for successful visual merchandising include display themes, groupings and colour, but to be truly successful, you need to elevate the actual shopping experience.
Here we share five tips and tricks for effective Christmas merchandising.
1 Stop them in their tracks. Slow your customer down. Remember your customer takes a journey through your store. The more you can slow them down, the more they will discover. With clever visual merchandising, you can dictate where customers will spend the most time.
2 Turn on the lights. This great tip has been used very successfully in Kate Spade stores. Lighting has a powerful impact. According to research, 25 per cent of customers make an unplanned purchase because of lighting.
• To feature a product, place a brighter light on it. Keep surrounding areas dim to focus attention.
• Use an incandescent lamp, which is sharper and brighter, to highlight details and importance.
• Colour influences our mood. Colours in the blue family have more of a calming effect and reds tend to excite and stimulate.
3 Keep it simple. Distractions are at an all-time high, so it can be a refreshing change to clear the sensory clutter fogging our focus. Flashy decorations and displays are good attention grabbers, but can distract from the product.
Neutral colours also contribute to the minimalist aesthetic and allow your product to pop. Reflect the minimalist spirit in your displays by using open space, whites and beiges, and avoid overcrowding.
4 Use a prominent call to action. This could be as simple as a sign framed and displayed by an item that says ‘Pick Me Up’, ‘Try Me On’ or ‘I’m a great gift idea’. It’s a low-in-cost yet effective way to trigger customer emotions and actions, two important variables when trying to strengthen sales.
5 Build a store within a store. This could be a Christmas pop-up shop to show exclusive or specific brands like Koh Living. A store-within-a-store creates a more convenient shopping experience and when products are well-curated, consumers are much more likely to find what they’re looking for. This, in turn, increases sales.
Some US Target stores used a Christmas ‘Wondershop’ last year, a dedicated area in their stores filled with holiday-centric merchandise such as decor and gifts.
By Tui Cordemans, founder of Koh Living
