HOW CONSUMERS WALK A STORE
EB’s monthly take on looks and trends that will build business and your image
Editor: Stephanie K. De Long
FEBRUARY 2015 |
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Welcome to the second issue of the LOOK, offering visual merchandising tips on how to draw consumers in, focus their attention, and turn them into purchasers of product and proponents of your practice. This month we look at tried-and-true retail rules for how consumers walk a store, and how you can use that information to increase sales.
TALK TO US Send us pix of problem areas, solutions you’re proud of, or questions about merchandising. We’d love to share them in our course “Visual Merchandising Problems & Solutions” at VEE on March 21, or we’d welcome the chance to chat with you anytime via Facebook or email. |
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 Credit: Safeway |
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Travis J. Reed, president of Creative Visionary, Inc., in Chicago, tells you how to walk your store…and other businesses, too. 1. “Before looking at your own store, look at outside retail. You’ll see, as in the photo above, that they display colors vertically. Try it in some of your displays.” 2. Borrow retail’s ideas…and product, too. “See what area retailers you love are doing. Can you use a mannequin with fashions or accessories from a local business?” 3. “You and your team should exit the office and re-enter as though you’ve never seen the space before. Ask yourselves what is most appealing about the design and what is most bothersome. Make a list of what needs updating and then prioritize.” 4. Look for a wall that’s not doing its job. “Put prints provided by your vendors in frames that are all the same size and finish, and hang them at the same height.” |
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Marjorie J. Knotts, O.D. shares some advice following the redesign of her Indianapolis-based, Vision Source practice. COMFORT ZONE: “Hire the best you can afford, and don’t be afraid to try something new. Going outside my comfort zone was difficult, but well worth it in the end.” MULTIPLE GOALS: One of her goals was “to maximize [her] position as a Vision Source practice, while also giving the location a look that was completely its own.” RETAIL SOLUTION: “By blending tactile materials like woods and ceramics and introducing warmer tones,” recalls project architect Jeff Echols, “we created a series of spaces that are comfortable for her most traditional patients while edgy enough for her most progressive customers.” FUTURE INVESTMENT: “This is an investment in the future, to bring more revenue, build your brand, and also increase value when you’re ready to sell,” says Travis Reed, president of Creative Visionary, Inc., who was involved throughout the redesign. |
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SILHOUETTE SOLUTIONS “Finding optimal real estate for merchandising is often challenging as there is great variation within point-of-sale plans and displays. It’s important to be knowledgeable of your display options and where to best position them for accessibility and awareness. In this and future issues of the LOOK, we’ll show you how.”— Kristen McLaughlin, Silhouette Optical, Ltd. |
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EXPERT ADVICE Paco Underhill is an environmental psychologist and the expert on the science of shopping. We interviewed him for The Consumer Connection (Feb. EB), and here he talks about how to walk the walk and what to look out for in your location.√ THE BUTT BRUSH…“We are a posterially sensitive species. The more likely we are to be brushed, the less likely we are to convert from watcher to buyer. Wide aisles help.” √ MIX IT UP… “Make sure you have varied aisle designs and sizes. They encourage people to slow down and stop in places they feel they have a bit of privacy.” √ THE PACE…“Slow the pace as they enter by putting a table in their path that they should walk around.” √ TURN RIGHT... “People invariably walk toward the right when they enter, so the front right of any store is prime real estate.” |
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