It’s 2016! A new year; a new state of mind. Retailers are probably still exhausted from a crazy holiday schedule filled with even crazier customers. Perhaps the last thing on their minds is also the most important: setting the sales floor for more sales.
It’s no secret that shopping today is all about the experience – consumers can buy what you sell in any number of competing places so it’s crucial to get it right and ready. A sales floor and its displays require constant reinvention so that shoppers don’t get bored and go somewhere else.
Every sales floor benefits from a little reinvention and there’s no better time than the start of a new year. What follows here is a look at areas that typically need attention but don’t panic – they’re an easy fix.
Store Windows
Store windows should entice a customer who hadn’t intended on stopping to come in and buy. Fill windows with ideas and inspiration but be careful of going overboard and thinking, “I can add this and this ... and this!” Adding too much makes it harder for products to stand out.
Don’t forget to complement any display with signage. A high-end retailer that prides itself on high-quality product must follow through with quality signage, so choose a theme that complements the display. Unless handwritten signage is part of the business’ branding – think Starbucks and Lush – it has no place in window or store displays.
Implement a general rule for 2016 that window displays should be changed every other week – yes, that means every two weeks. Do it less often and regular customers will get bored and stop noticing the windows. Changing windows on the same day every other week will build anticipation and train customers to watch for new displays.
The Decompression Zone
Just inside a store’s front door is a space of about a metre and a half that is a ‘no man’s land’ called ‘the decompression zone’. It’s known as no man’s land because customers breeze right through it without stopping, never seeing anything that is placed there. For example, retailers may wonder why no one is enquiring about the free gift with purchase promotion. After all, there’s a big sign right inside the door. This is the problem: people are not focused on buying yet so they don’t really see anything until they are at least five feet inside the front door. This means anything retailers place in the decompression zone is essentially invisible.
Plenty of stores seem to have important product in the decompression zone and it just doesn’t sell; however, once it’s moved further inside the store, it suddenly gets noticed. This isn’t an opinion – it’s a cold, hard retail fact. The next time you’re at a shopping centre, check out the front end of your favourite chain stores. You will see an empty area that gives shoppers a space to breathe before being surrounded by merchandise. Every retailer should respect the decompression zone.
First Impressions
Customers entering a store make a value judgment about it in 10 seconds or less. In that time, they are determining whether or not it’s a good place to be. What does your store say in those first 10 seconds? Do customers immediately know what you sell? Is the sales floor interesting? Do the displays invite shoppers to play with the product? Stand inside your front door and take an objective look because you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Customer Direction
Did you know that 50 per cent of the sales floor is typically never seen by customers? This is madness but you can change it. Once consumers are on the sales floor, where they go next is up to you. If you are like most retailers, you probably utilise a Free Flow layout because it offers unlimited opportunities to highlight merchandise and create display vignettes. This type of layout has no aisles. Instead, consumers roam the sales floor freely, influenced by the placement of fixtures. Avoid straight lines where possible and angle fixtures so that shoppers are unconsciously directed through the store. The more they see, the more opportunities they have to buy.
Create a schematic diagram of the sales floor, devoid of fixtures. If you have a blueprint, even better. Mount this to a piece of foam board and overlay it with tissue paper. Now you can merchandise and re-merchandise your sales floor on paper before you ever touch a fixture.
Lake-front Property
Another proven fact is that the majority of people enter a store and look or turn to the right. This means this area is prime real estate or, as we like to call it, ‘lake-front property’. Too many retailers use this area as just another space to house merchandise or, worse, they position a counter here. Checkouts belong on the left side of the store, which is the natural end of the shopping experience. If the physical nature of the store makes it impossible to achieve this, just reverse the flow, making the left side of the store the lake-front property. Special lighting can help to lure people to the left. Use the lake-front property to feature new items, tell product stories and display high-demand, high-profit items.
Speed Bumps
Just beyond the decompression zone is the area to place the ‘speed bump’ display. The speed bump’s job is to slow down consumers and refocus them on the task at hand. Speed bumps are also used to set the flavour of what customers can expect to see throughout the rest of the store. Use a single small table or cluster a few together for a bigger impact. Add product from different departments to create fun, must-have displays. Change speed bumps at least once a week, whether they need it or not, and remember that this display is a big part of the store’s ambiance.
Merchandising
Merchandising complementary product collectively helps consumers visualise how the items will work together so cross-merchandise wherever possible. This also encourages add-on sales. Cross-merchandise items on speed bump displays, end features, j-hooks and clip-strips throughout the store.
Hitting The Notes
In-store music isn’t played just for pleasure; it has a job to do. Music does more than just entertain shoppers; it provides a psychological lift that encourages them to buy. Companies like American background-music distribution service Muzak employ audio architects to create the right mix of tunes to keep consumers shopping ... and it works. Disco, for example, is the sound of money. Young or old, it makes all customers smile.
Before cranking up the tunes, retailers need to familiarise themselves with licensing regulations. According to the Australian Performing Right Association (APRA), every retail space in Australia needs a licence to use music. This is a requirement under Australian law via the Copyright Act 1968. Most retailers need to complete an agreement with the APRA AMCOS and Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA). Visit apraamcos.com.au and ppca.com.au for more information.
Following The Scent
Take a good whiff on the sales floor. What do you smell? If the answer is “nothing” then perhaps some aromacology can help increase sales. Remember that old retail adage, “If it smells, it sells”? Turns out it’s true! Aromacology is the science of scents and pleasant-smelling environments have a positive effect on how people shop – the scent of grapefruit energises consumers, vanilla calms them, and cinnamon is said to attract money. Put out the pot-pourri or purchase scent diffusers and place them throughout the store. Visit scentair.com for even more ‘scent-sational’ ideas.
Fresh Is Best
Vow to keep the sales floor fresh by following these tips:
- Get a blank calendar and plan your merchandising moves
- Check the 10-second impression daily
- Change speed bump displays at least once a week
- Tweak the store’s lake-front property once a month
- Update window displays every two weeks
- Change music and aromas to fit special events or the season
- Refresh the entire sales floor at least once every quarter, making amendments to customer flow as necessary
- Most importantly, have fun!
ON DISPLAY