Visual Merchandising principles and examples for small retailers

1. Silent Selling: Visual Merchandising for Small Retailers Debra Templar: Retail Check ups, Tune Ups & Makeovers....It’s in the bag!

2. VISUAL MERCHANDISING Supports sales Communicates with Customers Supports Selling by: Communicating the latest trends Assisting the customer in making a buying decision, and Creating an exciting environment within the shop/centre

3. IMPACT OF THE VISUAL 83%Sight 11% Hearing 3.5% Smell 1.5% Touch 1% Taste

4. FIRST IMPRESSIONS First Impressions are formed within the first 10 seconds. Customers remember vividly the worst impression, not the best impression.

5. PREMISES: EXTERNAL Street Numbers Signage Entry Opening Hours

6. CRABTREE & EVELYN

9. L’OCCITAINE Broadway

11. Light windows, in evening #win

12. Way too busy!!! #fail

13. Would you get your hair cut here? #fail

14. No shop signs for pedestrian recognition of Businesses. #fail

17. WINDOWS If eyes are the windows to the soul Then shop windows are just as revealing. They reveal the soul of the shop…

19. BODYSHOP Broadway

20. BLOWFLIES #fail

21. Too much, too busy. #fail

22. Do not stick anything on glass doors or windows with BLUTAK. It looks TACKY! #fail

23. Booooring. Says nothing! #fail

24. Far more interesting. Shows personality! #win

26. CUSTOMERS + TRAFFIC FLOW

27. Every square metre of space in a retail store costs money – all areas should pay their way. Useful points: On entering store, most customers skirt around the cash desk. Beware of what merchandise you place in an Adjustment Space. Customers don’t see it. Most customers avoid badly lit, neglected or cluttered areas.

28. Open sight lines are important. Negative signs on displays about terms of sale deter customers from returning. Stock left in aisles and pathways can seriously damage your traffic flow. Friendly staff are important.

29. Remember, your people are part of your visual appeal. A friendly face or a sourpuss... You choose. #win

30. “BUTT’’ BRUSHPaco Underhill

32. People will brush up against product three times before they get the “heebies” and leave.

34. Point of Sale and Entry to store in same place. Too difficult to enter the store. Too hard to pay. #fail

35. Butt Brush to the max. #fail

36. Supermarkets, big box retailers, newsagents, pharmacies...

41. Department Stores

43. FIXTURES & FITTINGS

44. Gondolas Best Positions: Eye/shoulder level and slightly below. Recognise that the average woman’s height is 5’2” (153 cm)... Worst Positions: Top shelf if well above eye level and the gondola base on either end is the next lease favoured Vertical Blocking: Most effective way of presenting merchandise. If sizes are applicable try to position the size you want to sell most of at eye/shoulder level.. Colourful Merchandise: colour block vertically + colour blend from light to dark – left to right usually within the colour families. In winter the reverse colour order is used.

46. Avoid wasting space and obvious gaps.

47. Levels shelves are usually preferable to sloping shelves.

49. Inconsistent, grubby ticketing, not ordered. #fail

50. NO STOCK IS TO EVER HAVE A BIRTHDAY IN YOUR SHOP!!

51. DUMP BINS + SPECIALS TABLES + RACKS

53. Locate in your racetrack and use it to give the impression that it is a price-motivated promotion.

54. Allocate one product type per bin and display the products as if it were just dumped into the bin.

55. Always have a price sign to highlight the special price.

56. Life of a dump bin: Maximum of 1 month. Preferably, 1 week.

58. Colour Sells Colour is what customers see first. More than anything else, colour makes people stop and look. For many customers colour is more important than the size or the style of the product.

61. Notice how each colour in rows 2 through 5 corresponds to the colour above it. For example, pink, in the pastels, corresponds to the bright red in the top row; peach to bright orange, and so on.

62. The round rack in the correct example features colours from just one colour group, brights, for a harmonious colour arrangement. The incorrect example features colours from two colour groups, brights and pastels, which don’t blend together in a harmonious way.

63. The four-way fixture in the correct example features from just one colour group, brights, combined with neutrals. The incorrect example features colours from two colour groups, brights and pastels, which don’t blend together.

65. Create points of interest

66. Use contrasts of colour and form

67. Aim at variety

72. SIGNAGE AND TICKETING Corporate Signs: Branding signs Product Category Signs: Direct consumers to specific categories Promotional Signage: Highlight specific promotions, have short life span, based on the stockturn of the promotion Information Signage: Identify service + service policies within your business Product Signs: These educate customers about the specific product

74. The customer should be able to enter your shop and clearly see where the major departments are situated.

75. Keep the sign simple so it can be easily read.

78. Give the promotion a lifespan and keep to it (customers don’t want to see dated, faded and ripped signs);

79. Use promotional material in an exciting way. Rather than just hang up posters around your shop, group them to catch the customer’s eye.

83. Floor signs

84. TICKETING

86. Price Tickets

87. Hard Sell/Soft Sell

88. Known Value

91. Hard sell tickets (yellow + red)

93. Way too wordy. #fail Here conversational copy has been rendered in a formally balanced layout

94. This is a bullet-point copy in an informally balanced layout

96. Known Value Lines Products that are purchased on price rather than their benefits as the consumer perceives they know the exact price of these products. Even a 5% increase in price is criticised by consumers but the reverse is that a 5% reduction in price an result in a buying frenzy, eg. cigarettes, petrol, milk, bread…

97. Don’t be cheaper than anyone else on KV Lines. It will not help your bottom line. You can match your competition, but don’t go cheaper. Consumers will judge your whole product price strategy based on a few KV lines. Make sure you are aware of the price structure adopted by your competition on these lines. If you are more than 10% more expensive than the price leader, you will be perceived as being too expensive in your whole product. Placement of KV tickets is important.

98. Product Signage: KV Lines Bananas $6.50kg One third of sign Two thirds of sign When merchandising KV products, you need your product signage to give the right message

99. Non-Known Value Lines Includes 98% of products you sell where the consumer doesn’t know the exact price. They will have some perception of price bands, but they will not argue over the cents. These products will reflect your image and should be of the highest quality. Rely on non-known value lines to promote your business (Box retailers rely on kv lines to promote their image). Promote non-known value lines when doing product-driven promotions.

100. Non Known Value Lines Pre-shaped Hamburgers Perfect bun size Easy storage Fast defrost & microwave 6 for $2.50 Great for BBQ’s Name of Product 3 Benefits Price of Product Closing Motivator

101. A 12 foot planogram presenting cookware

103. Explain hidden benefits

104. Indicate value & price

105. Highlight new trends & products

106. Explain difference between look-a-likes

107. Remind customers to purchase

108. Clarify policies

112. Step your products to provide variation.

113. Use a pyramid to sell more product.

114. Try radiating displays.

119. Disordered Pyramid #fail

120. Ordered Pyramid #win

122. BEST SELLERS Located within their own classification in a PRIMEposition exposed to maximum traffic flow. THEY MUST BE IN STOCK.

123. ADVERTISED AND SELL UP LINES Must be clearly identified and located in the spot directly related to the sale you want from the advertised line. Always located within their own merchandise classification. In a PRIME SPOT if you aim to sell the line in quantity, or If only being used to generate traffic – at the rear of the classification area to pull people through.

124. IMPULSE LINES Close to the advertised line in PRIME location or in a high waiting area (eg. Close to cash desk). Must be clearly visible & in a position on the way to the cash desk, not where it can’t be seen until main transaction has been completed. Merchandise attractively displayed at the aisle line helps promote impulse sales.

125. SEASONAL AND TREND ITEMS Understand when seasonal items will sell and merchandise accordingly. Give them every opportunity to sell at the right time. Use trend items to develop your competitive edge. Be the first with a new idea, if you believe in it. Locate the stock within its own classification & current seasonal or trend classifications which would be at the front of your store or dept.

126. BROWSE ITEMS Items which customers don’t make a quick decision about. Browse items need time and above all, space. Never place near high traffic areas, narrow or busy area or in hot spots near cash register. If you do, it will deter customers from stopping and the goods won’t sell very well.

127. HOT SPOTS

128. HOT SPOTS Traditionally found on ends of gondolas, shelves where traffic is heavy and in the main view points around the store. Most impulse sales will be made from these spots. It is essential that hot spots are identified and known to all salespeople.

130. CREATING HOT SPOTS Areas within a store to move aged, surplus stock or specials. Normally located in high traffic areas WITHIN their own merchandise category. Eliminate Dead Spots by using strong ticketing and good displays rather than placing top sellers in the spot.

131. INTERESTING STATISTIC Research shows a well planned hot spot can increase sales by: 229%

133. Must have enough product for display to look FULL and to provide impact.

134. ALWAYS have a sign or you won’t maximise your return per sq. metre.

136. Hot spot displays need to be managed – product level NEVER to go BELOW half full.

137. Display must be shoppable in the eyes of the customer.

140. Poor lighting

141. Merchandise out of reach

142. Merchandise above or below eye level

143. Too wide a display

144. Too long a shelf(Tip: If your staff keep saying “down the back” it is probably a dead or cold spot)

146. The product is in season.

147. The item is featuring in the media.

148. It is being promoted by your store.

149. Suppliers are doing a major promotion.

150. Compile Planograms.

152. MANAGING COUNTER DISPLAYS See the counter as a profit centre. Sell 2 – 3 items from the counter only. Select the right products at the counter. Train the team to sell counter products. Do not clutter the counter. Look past the counter. Make somebody accountable. Introduce housekeeping standards at checkout.

159. One of Australia’s leading retailing experts, Debra Templar just hates bad customer service and stupid business practices. So… she’s on a mission to change them – one slideshow, presentation, book, or training session at a time: "I don't just want to improve how we do business for the customer’s sake but also that we, as business owners, sell more stuff, make lots more profit, and love our businesses back to life!“ E: debra@thetemplargroup.com.auMobile: 0417 532383Skype: debra.templar www.thetemplargroup.com.au www.twitter.com/DebraTemplar www.linkedin.com/DebraTemplar Pic Credits: http://www.istockphoto.com and http://shoppologist.blogspot.com and Debra Templar