Keep in mind the following general guidelines when creating effective, eye catching points of sale displays for your store.

The assembled visual elements of your display should balance and integrate with the imaginative use of products, colors and visual props elsewhere in the store interior. If the products are to be touched or viewed close at hand it is important that your displays are sturdy enough to avoid accidents. A good display should also present merchandise at a variety of levels including table tops hanging racks and visual props so as to catch the eye wherever it may fall. Always remember it is important to find the balance – not to over saturate a display with products but to find the point where items can comprehend and interpreted at a glance.

Above all a visual display should be, if not memorable at least noticeable. The more fun and playful elements you are able to incorporate the more likely this will be.

The January 2010 edition of the National Jeweler Magazine featured a section on jewelry packaging and display in which it considered various aspects of branding and visual merchandising – a subject well worth emphasizing. (Particularly as we at Subastral Inc had our own wrought iron bracelet display prominently featured!)

The most accomplished merchants have long used the compelling power of visual display to attract customers. Regardless of whether they are selling at a craft fair or an exclusive Beverly Hills boutique; they know that utilizing the appropriate jewelry display can exert a powerful influence on the customers buying habits. Simply having the great merchandise in a competitive market is not enough if you fail to attract attention you will not communicate this fact effectively and sales opportunities will be lost.

Most commercial jewelry displays will do an adequate job in organizing jewelry so the differentiation lies in how they do this and the quality of the materials used. After all, a display should respect the merchandise and reflect its quality. In addition, the style of a display should be determined by the market niche, Jewelry displays should correlate with the quality of the merchandise being displayed.

White leather risers may perhaps be appropriate for fine jewelry but are not ideal for chunky Southwestern jewelry!

Dress form displays from $144 – $360 available at subastralinc.com

Good quality dress forms are purpose-made displays for attractively merchandising clothing. The body of the display is a molded form covered with a neutral pinnable cloth or linen fabric. The form displays from the neck, ending at the thigh area and is set on a pole atop of a decorative base. The great advantage of using a dress form is that it gives the consumer a greater sense of how an outfit will look in the round  when worn – including the way the fabric hangs etc. Dress forms really are the first choice for merchandising apparel and can be used to promote a wide range of items including tops, suits, pants and skirts.

The front-line in the battle for the retail dollar is the shop window. Here a dynamic approach to visual presentation using drama, comedy and shock value is the key to making your store standout in the ever more competitive marketplace. The lines between fashion, celebrity and entertainment are becoming ever more entwined in the fashion apparel industry so an opportunity to indulge in a bit of theatrical showmanship should be relished.

Let loose with a bit of humor, be risque and if you are looking for inspiration read the newspaper. Displays that reflect our times will be more significant and memorable than the run-of-the-mill marketplace generics we are accustomed to.

When creating a window display it is useful to measure the dimensions of the display area and sketch out some provisional ideas then assemble the props and fixtures you intend to use and experiment with alternative configurations. A bit of creativity and a lot of trial and error will ultimately win the day!

Celebrities photographed wearing the latest and most obscure luxury brands send consumers clamoring to get their hands on the same.  From low rise to high rise, from studded to uniquely decorated, jeans have become a major part of today’s fashion culture.  To reflect its enhanced status, denim should be merchandised with a little more consideration than the factory outlet pile-em-high approach. With expanded options from so many designers, displaying denim can become a challenge.  Stacking, rolling or hanging jeans in combination with an attractive fixture and appealing setting should aim to present this essentially mundane item as an elevated object of desire.

As the market for this item continues to evolve be sure to take advantage of its potential.  If your store only carries a limited amount of jeans experiment with creative ways to merchandise them, create vignettes using vintage props and clothing displays, be quirky and make yourself memorable if you are to compete with major retailers successfully.

Clothing Displays $130 – $375 at subastralinc.com

Stage regular themed events and always seek out opportunities – perhaps in today’s economic climate a rescessionista display and sale would be very apropos. Perhaps it could feature affordable trends and celebrity looks supplemented with clippings from magazines that feature the celebrity fashions and the affordable ways to create the same and similar looks.  Events like this can breathe fresh commercial life into a boutique during these non seasonal sales months.

Look for ways to promote products based on current events and if you can raise a wry smile in the process your business will become memorable. A local (and rather eccentric) boutique here in Los Angeles staged an After-Shock Earthquake Sale within 24 hours after a very minor tremor now that’s grasping an opportunity!

Small business owners of every description are anxiously looking for a revival in the economy and facing the same problem – how to deal with the serious decline in business?  The dilemma the business person faces is how to market a business when cash-flow is uncertain and resources already strained.  Spending scarce dollars on ineffective advertising can make a bad situation worse for a business.

One simple and low cost tool that may provide a solution is the internet.  You’re looking at it, this has become a part of our daily lives.  Today there are many ways for the small boutique owner to promote their store with virtually no advertising revenue using this powerful medium.  Until the internet, access to the masses was the reserve of the big corporations.  The most successful retailers had the largest AD budgets and local word of mouth following was an avenue of limited value.

With the popularity of social networking sites like FaceBook, MySpace and Twitter and blogging platforms such as BlogSpot and Wordpress etc., a click of the button can turn a little boutique in a small town, into the online hot-spot to find the latest trends. Setting up one or more social networking accounts for your business can be done with little effort and for no cost and this will allow you to connect with current and potential customers for your business.

OK, this is the fuzzy bit everyone says Twitter, Facebook and blogging can work wonders for your business but how you turn these avenues to your advantage. With millions online trying to grab the limelight, how do you compete and set yourself apart?   Of course it will require effort and a bit of creative thinking, but if no one is walking through your shop door right now you should afford the time.

Firstly, promoting your bricks and mortar business online is, in reality, good old fashion PR but with you in control of the information release. It will require online and offline approach that you can use to generate interest and loyalty.  To throw out a few examples of how some boutiques have built a following, include; promoting give-aways, trunk shows, social/cultural events, flash-sales and fund raisers for worthy causes.  Any of these can be leveraged into some good press coverage which in-turn can promote the retail boutique on and off-line.  A perfect example of this is Kogi Taco Wagon here in Los Angeles.  I had seen it a few times in the neighborhood and was always amazed at the crowds it attracted.  It specializes in Korean/Mexican/American fusion (imagine Korean barbeque Short rib tacos and Kimchi topped Hot-Dogs for example) It is just about quirky enough to attract anyone’s attention and sure enough it has.  It has been featured on local TV and had its food praised in Food and Wine magazine.  It now uses Twitter to announce to its devoted following where it will be parked and when.

In today’s competitive retail world stores need to be ever more conscious of
creating an inviting and well projected character if they are to survive and
thrive where others fail.

Shopping in the US today is considered by many to be a leisure activity and as
such the store owner needs to consider how their store is to be experienced by
the recreational shopper. Is the customer going to be stimulated by and enjoy
your store or be bored, will they leave never to return or become familiar faces
who in turn beckon their friends to visit your store?

Display cases heighten the experience that the merchandise contained within is
valuable and rare where in reality the contents may be reasonably priced and
commonplace.

Presenting well selected, moderately priced merchandise in richly equipped
display cabinets will convey outstanding value for money that will appeal to
both affluent spenders and price conscious consumers alike.

Merchandise featured items along with complementary accessories, additions and upgrades within a well focused retail area. The display you present should visualize and inspire with multiple combination’s and suggested options. Always allow room for the customer to further explore and find coordinates even though, in reality, what you have assembled are all potentially winning formulas. If the prospective customer is able to participate successfully in this exercise their degree of involvement brings with it a greater likelihood of a sale.

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