Visual Merchandising Display Ideas

After the Holiday Buzz is Over: How to Keep the Magic Alive (and Avoid the Hangover)

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holiday-hangover2-254x300If a group of retail professionals was asked this question, “What lies at the core of high sales and profits?” how would they answer? Some would say great products and others might suggest competitive prices, but they are both wrong. Studies have proven over and over again that an outstanding customer experience is the number one answer. Without an outstanding first impression—followed by many more great experiences—your potential customers won’t give you a second thought. Providing customers with a memorable and superior customer experience should surpass the excellence of your product or low prices, especially during the holiday season.

Exterior and Interior Impressions

The festive, warm atmosphere is one of the major reasons why so many people enjoy the holiday season. Can a customer enter one of your stores and immediately be cheered up by the holiday lights, garlands, and other colorful decorations and have their shopper mojo activated? The decorations help create a positive, memorable customer experience and stimulate buying—an accomplishment that you want to maintain all year long.

Need a Boost? Some Quick & Easy Fixes

If your store branding needs a boost, you have some great options to choose from. Here are some proven ways to create a colorful, inviting atmosphere and encourage your customers to buy:

  • Use new store fixtures to add interest and excitement in different areas of the store
  • Design and develop a unique line of custom store fixtures for an entire store chain makeover
  • Choose a bright, welcoming color and repaint your stores’ exteriors and interiors
  • Add framed pictures or custom banners or signs to select areas in your stores

Creating warm, inviting storefronts and interiors is easy to accomplish during the holidays; the challenge is keeping this feeling when the holidays end. When you take the decorations down, the welcoming store atmosphere can disappear. How does your current store branding measure up when the holiday glitz and glitter are gone? As you evaluate the situation don’t gloss over areas of improvement. Be honest with yourself and your employees. The sooner you figure out what needs to be improved, the sooner you can begin building an atmosphere that welcomes and cheers customers year-round—and ultimately keeps customers buying.

Interested in learning more about how to avoid the post holiday shopping hangover? The retail experts at Specialty Store Services can help. Call us today at 800.999.0771 or click here to visit our website for more information.

Choosing the Right Fixture for Your Stores: Three Important Fixture Considerations

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decisionChoosing the right fixtures for your store and merchandise is not as easy as it may seem. There are many factors that have an impact on what fixture is chosen; from what is going to be displayed on the fixture to how fast the delivery needs to be. Making the wrong choice can cost money and time so take the time to review the following points before you jump.

1. Product and store appropriate

To get the most of your store fixtures, you need to choose ones that best suit your products and stores. There are many factors to consider, such as your products’ pricing, store space, target customer base, and more. If you are selling a high-end product like jewelry, choosing a sophisticated looking display that matches the quality of your merchandise is important. A cheap-looking display may become a turn-off to your target customer base. Also, be sure to choose a fixture that displays your product to its full advantage. Folding a sweater up will not showcase the style and details; while you may need to fold and store the majority of sweaters on shelves, displaying the sweater on a

mannequin will allow the sweater to shine—and encourage shoppers to imagine themselves wearing the sweater. The quality and appearance of your fixtures should always meet or exceed your customers’ expectations.

 2. Longevity and ease of upkeep

Since buying fixtures can be a large investment, another factor to keep in mind is how long they will last. A sturdy, well-built shelf will stand the test of time better than a less expensive but lower-quality shelf. The idea of longevity should also tie-in with the nature of your products. Are you constantly getting newer and trendier products in

that need different displays each time? If so, a wider variety and amount of fixtures may be an acceptable trade-off for higher-quality.

Also, consider how much work it will take to maintain a fixture. If you have staff already working at capacity, they may not have time to take care of a maintenance intensive fixture. Different materials like chrome and other metals, plastic, and wood require varying amounts of upkeep time; wood fixtures may need dusting quite regularly, but chrome may need constant polishing to remove fingerprints and other smudges. Another factor to take into account is where you will be placing the fixture. If it will sit in a high-traffic area, will it stand up to the wear and tear of the crowds?

 3. Price and delivery

The fixture decision includes choosing stock or custom designs. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options; the key is being aware of them and making informed decisions.

Stock fixtures are less expensive and can typically be delivered faster. However, a stock fixture may not have the appearance or characteristics needed to help your merchandise sell. Custom-designed fixtures will be developed and produced with your exact needs in mind. They may cost more initially, but can deliver more return on your investment in the long-run. When deciding on the price and design of your fixture, also consider the cost and speed of delivery. High-quality and reasonable pricing are important qualities for a fixture, but you also want to make sure you get the product when you need it—not 15 weeks after you order it and 4 weeks past your deadline. Choose a vendor that truly meets the promise of fast and affordable delivery.

Interested in learning more about how to choose the perfect fixture? The retail experts at Specialty Store Services can help. Call us today at 800.999.0771 or click here to visit our website for more information.

What Makes a Successful Store Display? Five Tips To Help You Succeed.

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ConsumersUnfortunately, the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” doesn’t apply to retail shops. As a consumer, it’s easy to decipher between a good product display and a bad one; this initial observation is what fosters a customer’s first feeling towards a store they’ve just walked into. It’s important to develop a creative strategy for your display concept that compels customers to come back time and time again. But what elements go in to creating both an appealing and successful display? Here are some helpful tips to help you create an effective and efficient store display:

  • What’s your vision?– Develop a clear vision that will connect with you core customer group. Is there clarity around the offering? Have you identified the target group? What about the value proposition? First establish the type of customer you want coming into your store: what are their needs and wants? Not only will this will help you better understand your customer, but it will help you to know the types of displays that will appeal to them.
  • Establish an atmosphere– Every store has a culture. Stores create an atmosphere through decorative concepts and the way their products are displayed. For Anthropology, it’s an enchanting, rustic, feminine atmosphere. Cabela’s has an outdoor, sporty atmosphere, and for stores like Best Buy, it’s a clean and techy atmosphere. Consumers adopt these feelings after seeing an ad for a store, walking past a store and finally after walking into a store. What is the feeling you want customers to take away when interacting with your store? Your store displays are what will create the atmosphere within your store, which is why it is important to pay close attention to how you display your merchandise throughout the store.
  • Surprise your customers– A display is your first chance to make an impression on your customers, so don’t stick with the norm. Entice your customers with exciting, unexpected displays. Try using bold, bright colors and funky shapes. Unique window displays can make any passerby or driver stop in to see what your store is all about. In an article from Entrepreneur, Noelle Nicks,  the visual merchandiser for Cole Hardware in San Francisco, discusses a unique window display she used for Halloween. Nicks hung more than a dozen types of brooms against an orange backdrop with the words, “Which broom?” across the glass beneath them. The display not only played on the traditional witch-on-a-broomstick theme, but it also showcased the store’s large broom selection.
  • Don’t overdo it– Keep your displays simple. Trying to go over the top can result in a confusing, cluttered display. If you are trying to feature a certain item, it can become lost in an overly busy display.
  • Work with the seasons– It sounds cliché; however, the seasons allow you to mix up your fixtures and visual displays. The seasons also offer the perfect amount of time to showcase a certain display before spicing it up again.

Interested in learning more about how to create the perfect displays? The retail experts at Specialty Store Services can help. Call us today at 800.999.0771 or click here to visit our website for more information

3 Ways Custom Retail Fixtures Can Boost Sales

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“We get confused a bit about what retail is. It is really just buying things, putting them on a floor and selling them.” -Gerry Harvey, Australian furniture retailer
These days, as retailers are asked to do more with less, it’s hard to determine what’s important to invest in and what is not. Which products should you sell? How many store fixtures should you purchase? What kind? The questions can become overwhelming. In the quote above, Harvey cuts through the chaos and simplifies a retailer’s job to its simplest function: SELL. All your actions should be supporting your ultimate goal of selling more merchandise.
One of the key ways to achieve that goal is to use the right store fixture to display your products. Generic fixtures can work just fine, but sometimes, the situation calls for more. Sometimes you need a superhero to come in and save the day—a secret weapon like custom store fixtures.
Custom fixtures have more flexibility than generic ones, and can sell your products more effectively. Putting your merchandise on the floor with style can do wonders for your margins. Here are three ways that custom retail fixtures can boost store sales and drive profits:
1.      Make Fixtures More Shoppable
When you customize a fixture to fit with your stores’ unique space and feel, you give your store an extra edge. Rather than sticking your merchandise on a basic, plain fixture, you’re putting it on a fixture that has character and style. A well-made, stylish fixture appeals to customers more, making them more likely to notice your merchandise and buy. Custom fixtures that truly fit the atmosphere of your store showcase your products and provide a customer experience that draws people back.
2.      Increase Branding
Custom fixtures allow stores to increase their brand presence and give customers an exceptional experience. From signage and POP displays to garment racks and gondolas, you can design a look that fits the colors, logo, message, and values of your brand. The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination. For example, one of our athletic apparel customers really wanted a unique, branded look for their store to stand out from their competitors. Custom fixtures gave them the ability to design mesh and metal fixtures that made their products stand out. When customers now enter the store, they are immediately in a branded atmosphere that they’ll remember—and buy from.
3.      Showcase a Unique Product

Another major advantage of custom retail fixtures is their design flexibility. The color, shape, and size can be designed to uniquely fit a special product. Sometime a product needs more than a stock display or shelf. Having a well-made fixture that accentuates your product will add to its appeal and encourage customers to buy. Approach it from the viewpoint of a customer. Which product are you more likely to buy—a watch that’s sitting on a plain, white shelf, or a watch nestled on a velvet square inside a gleaming glass case?

New Modern and Fresh Displays for the Savvy Retailer

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Specialty Store Services helps retail stores make the most out of the limited spaces by offering displays that have many merchandising solutions. The Wood Island Display debuting in the Spring 2013 catalog is perfect for displaying T-shirts, Handbags, Giftware and much more. 
With display space at a premium in most retail spaces, Specialty Store Services has added several new displays options with that in mind.  Many of these new displays have many merchandising solutions and can be found in our Spring 2013 catalog or on our website. All these new display are available for immediate delivery.
The Wood Island Displays are available in 3 sizes as well as 3 colors.  The Wood Island Display is a Melamine cube that creates an elegant and functional area in a store. The Cube Display is available in black, white and maple to compliment any color scheme.   The Cube Island Display is 42 inches high so it makes for the perfect display area.  Each cube is 12 inches by 12 inches to hold almost any items sold. The unit is finished with closed ends so there is never a worry that items will fall off the shelves. 
 
The Wood Island Display is available in three different sizes:

  • Single Sided Wood Island Display is 38 inches wide x 24 inches deep x 42 inches High.
  • Double Sided Wood Island Display is 38 inches wide x 18 inches deep x 42 inches High.
  • Grand Double Sided Wood Island is 51-1/2 inches wide x 24 inches deep x 42 inches High.
 
“These new Island displays can be used together to create an entire new look for the store or separately to add a new category product.  They are perfect for t-shirts, purses, shoes or giftware” adds Julie Mitchell, Marketing Manager for Specialty Store Services.
The top of the wood display can be used as the perfect selling area.  There is enough space to use Jersey Forms to Handbag Displays to display the newest fashions.  Acrylic Shoe displays to showcase product in the cubes. Riser Sets to give the giftware prominent display area.   The Wood Island Display has many different merchandising functions and Specialty Store Services is sure that it does not disappoint. 

Creating an Effective Accent Wall

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An effective accent wall breaks up the continuity of the store and makes a dull boring wall into something special with pizzazz and presence.  Creating an accent wall can be as easy as painting a wall a bright color that will accent the items that will be on display. With the right positioning the accent wall can become a destination within the store and draw more traffic through your store by also maximizing your sales per square foot.  If the store is one accent wall is enough but a larger store with many walls or separate areas should be able to accommodate up to 3-4 accent walls.
It is always good to place the accent wall in the rear or on the left hand side of the store. The advantages of having it in the back of the store customers will have to walk the whole length of the store to get to the wall in turn giving them more to look at. The wall on the left hand side brings customers to areas that are less visited and with the bright color will draws attention instead of being a dead zone. Make sure that the wall is changed every season so that it keeps the customers interested in the products.  By just adding a new color and items is all that is needed.
Use seasonally appropriate colors. When the weather is hot use blues and greens to make it feel cooler and more refreshing. When the weather outside is cool use warn colors- reds, oranges, and yellows to give warmth to the store.  Adding painted props or tables adds elements of interest and gives the wall more of a presence.  Always adjust your lighting to showcase products and draw attention. Positioning pin lights or floodlights at 45 degrees will concentrate the focus instead of leaving them in a shadow.
When merchandising the accent wall make sure that space is left on the wall and it doesn’t look overstuffed so that the customer gets confused. Keep the merchandise clean with strong groupings, racked and stacked neatly and always use multiple levels to maximize the space without creating clutter.
At Specialty Store Services we have a variety of items that would help create the perfect accent wall. For example, we have a new floating box shelf display that gives dimension as well as height.  Along with display risers and signage that will help complete the vision.
 
 
 

New Innovative Displays for Tee Shirts

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Specialty Store Services knows how hard it is for a retail store to display t-shirts, which is why SSS has designed the  Revolving T-shirt Display This display is made out of scratch resistant melamine and acrylic to give that refined finish look to any décor. This display is 4 sided that can hold up to 20 different designs. Each side has 5 acrylic fronts with the ability to hold a sample of the shirt folded with the design showing. This display is a self-service unit so customer can pull the size needed.  This unit is available in 3 colors: Black, White and Cherry and measures 23 ½” W x 23 ½” D x 63” H. The unit also has casters for easy maneuvering throughout the store.
Specialty Store Services also has a new t-shirt frame display that will hang right on grid or slatwall.  This unit will help create an organized wall of shirts without the clutter.  Each t-shirt frame measures 12” x 12” and has an acrylic front to protect from dirt or to just keep the shirts flat.  
When displaying t-shirts it is important to keep them folded neat and tidy which is why Specialty Store Services has 2 different folding boards. The Flip n Fold Folding Board utilizes a simple step system to fold uniformly in less than five seconds. The CompactFolding board allows quick, clean folds. “Shirts need to be neat and foldedto attract the consumer., Julie, Merchandiser at Specialty Store Services. 

Jazz Up Your Displays

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When customers walk into your store you want your displays to have flair and intrigue.  Displays must help customers envision themselves using or wearing the products. There are four steps to help jazz up a display:
  1. Don’t Fear Open Space: Filling shelves too much will over stimulate your customers.  Arrange the display into different groupings so that customers are not overwhelmed. When arranging a small cluster make sure that it is no more than 5 products where as a larger cluster can have up to 10.  If the shelves are not deep enough, use risers to create levels.  Product groupings can be similar products or can tell a story.  Leave at least 4 inches in between the products so customers can easily distinguish the products. If you are not sure if the displays seem to crowded take a picture of the display and look to see if it is cohesive and will the customer understand your message.
  2.  Stick to a Theme: Mixing unrelated products in the same space will make the display look cluttered and hard to shop.  When displaying in a Display Case keep the theme consistent throughout.  For example: Jewelry Shop may want to keep all the gold items together and group by styles. A store would not want to have a crystal vase it would be distracting.  On a tiered table a drug store may want to have a display for back to school with all the school supplies needed to start the year off. 
  3. Add Smart Signage:  Keep signs uniform throughout the store.  Signs should all be the same size and the same color scheme.  Use bold dark font that is no smaller than 1 ½” high so that it pops off the sign and customers can read it from a distance.  A customer only gives you 5 seconds of their time so make sure it has title, price and a descriptive point.  Putting the signs in sign holders help the signs stand out.
  4.  Avoid Uniform Arrangements: When displaying many of the same types of items don’t display items all the same way, this makes the customer bored.  Thinking of different ways of displaying items will keep your customers intrigued and will keep on shopping. Add mannequins or forms to grab the customer’s attention and know what is trying to be promoted. 

    At Specialty Store Services we have all the products you need to make an attractive display- tables to risers to mannequins to sign holders.

The Grid N Go Display for Retailers on the Go!

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Specialty Store Services knows that participating in events such as trade and art shows, festivals and craft fairs can be rewarding, exciting and profitable but can also be frustrating and time consuming.  The Grid N Go Grid Display was created for the busy mobile retailer in mind. 
One person can assemble the Grid N Go Grid Display in just minutes and due to the innovative push button lock design- no tools required. The display sets up in three easy steps: simply slide both legs into the bottom of the frame and then snap the top panel onto the standing panel. Push button locks and it will securely lock the unit together, creating a tip resistant base and sturdy grid panel. Taking down the grid display is just as quick and easy as set up.   Check out the Assembly Video to see for yourself how easy it is to put together. 
The Grid n Go Grid Display consists of four pieces that are easy to transport and to store when not is use.  The Grid N Go can accommodate a variety of grid accessories to make a variety of different display options: For Example:
This Grid N Go is going to be the best product you have ever purchased and you are going to be thinking of Specialty Store Services every time you are moving from one Craft Fair, Festivals, Trade and Art Shows you do this summer.

Innovative Products for a Fantastic Display

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Specialty Store Services would like to introduce a new line of Fashion Form Hands,  These attractive self-standing hand display are classic for displaying jewelry, watches, scarves and many other accessories. These Hand Forms are available in black or white to compliment any piece of jewelry or  decor.  They are constructed out of durable fiberglass so they won’t peel, crack, fade, or chip. The hand forms are available in three sizes a 8″ horizontal, 8″ upright and a 14″ upright hand. 

These Hand Forms will be great for any display from inside a Glass Showcase, or on a Glass Display .  The designs are endless with these Fashion Hand Forms.  Make a statement with your products and your products will fly off the shelves.