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Return To Displays Article Archive   Store Displays That Turn Off Holiday Shoppers By Melanie McIntosh We\'re well into the holiday season. Shopping fever is in full swing. Do you have what it takes to keep your customers engaged? Will your store look fresh right into the new year? Right after Hallowe\'en store start decking their walls with lights and ribbon. The latest and greatest merchandise is stocked up. Fabulous displays appear, the best of the year. Have you ever noticed what happens in some stores close to Christmas? Stores start to look tired. Shelves become empty. Merchandise gets messy. It\'s understandable - there are more customers through the store in December than the rest of the year. It is a challenge to maintain store standards. The busiest shopping days of the year are between December 18 - 23. The Saturday before Christmas has the highest sales volume of the year. How much business are you going to lose if your front displays are half empty for just one day? Customers will walk by to the next store instead of stopping at your display. How many people will be disappointed when you tell them the merchandise in the window is out of stock? How much time will it take them to find something else they like? Will they take the time to look, or walk back out the door? Tired stores send a negative message to shoppers. Emptying shelves tell customers, "You should have shopped earlier. The best selection is gone." The stores that will excel in the holiday season, are the ones that can live up to customer expectations all year long. Keep your store looking fresh and inviting right through the holidays. 1. Have fresh merchandise arrive on the shelves the week before Christmas. Customers want to give gifts that their friends and relatives will love. Make sure you always have something new and attractive to offer. Having new merchandise in the week before Christmas and through Boxing Week will maximize your profits. Mark down the merchandise that is nearly sold out. Feature the new full price merchandise out front. If you don\'t have the chance to get new merchandise in this year, move displays and merchandise to make it look new. And plan ahead for next year to have new orders arrive mid-December. 2. Keep the front displays current and full. Make someone responsible to check your storefront every morning and periodically during the day. If you have a window display, make sure the items in the window are still in stock. If not, change it. If you have new merchandise, display it in the window. Evaluate front merchandising fixtures. Make sure they are full and displayed attractively. Rotate merchandise by moving products from lower traffic areas to the front. 3. Make last minute gift shopping easy. Shoppers want to maximize time, and minimize decision making. Bundle coordinating products together and price them as a package. Wrap them up with clear wrap and a ribbon. A simpler method is to tie them together with raffia, ribbon, or even string. Then attach a tag. Merchandise stock right next to where the products are displayed. Shoppers can just grab and go. To the cash register. 4. Schedule extra time to clean up the store. At the end of each day, schedule an extra 1/2 hour to an hour to focus on store presentation. High traffic takes a toll on displays and organization. After the store is closed, straighten merchandise throughout the store. Fill shelves. Clean up muddy footprints and dust bunnies. Wipe fingerprints off the glass. Make sure you are ready for the next day! Keep your store ship-shape through the busiest season of the year. You\'ll keep customers all year long. Melanie McIntosh is a retail consultant and owner of Inspire Retail Solutions. She helps independent retailers who are struggling to attract customers because they need to improve their merchandising and visual identity. Is your store appearance actually turning customers away? Find out more here: http://www.inspire.bc.ca Subscribe FREE to Retail Tips http://www.inspire.bc.ca/subscribe.htm keywords: retail display | retail merchandising | visual merchandising | visual display

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