The way in which you display products in your store can affect how many sales you get. This post takes a look at some of the different ways of displaying products and their benefits.
Shelving
Shelves are the most basic way of displaying products. You can mount shelves on walls, or you can opt for freestanding shelving units such as these Lozier gondola systems. At what height you display products matters. Shelving at eye level should be reserved for your most profitable products – this is where customers will look first. Less profitable ‘budget’ products tend to be placed on the bottom shelf where they are still accessible but not immediately noticeable.
Display tables
Product display tables are ideal for drawing attention to products. A book store might place its most popular books on a display table in the middle opposed to on a shelf. Display tables are also a good option for bulkier high value products like designer handbags, laptops and toy sets.
Mannequins
Mannequins are typically dressed with clothes so that customers can visualise how these clothing items look when worn. Many clothing stores also use mannequins to help piece together outfits – encouraging customers to buy items together. Mannequins can also be used to sell a lifestyle by adding props and backdrops to create mannequin displays. On top of full body mannequins, you can buy mannequins of specific body parts such as heads for displaying hats and hands for displaying gloves. You can even buy dog mannequins for displaying dog clothing.
Sidekick displays
Also known as power wings, these are cardboard displays that can be hung off shelves or counters. They can allow you to maximise space for displaying products. Sidekick displays are typically only suitable for small lightweight products. They are often used to display impulse purchase products like snacks or accessories.
Dump bins
Dump bins are large round barrel containers or cages into which lots of products are dumped. They are commonly used for products that don’t sit neatly on shelves like footballs and fruit. Heavily discounted products are also sometimes stored in bump bins (commonly known as ‘bargain bins’) which customers can enjoy rummaging through. They should not be used for displaying premium items or fragile items.
Window displays
Window displays are perhaps the most important displays within a store. They are used to attract people into a shop and so tend to be reserved for a store’s most enticing products. Just what types of products are suitable for a shop window? You could display products that are heavily discounted, or you could take the opposite approach and display your most luxurious products in order to turn heads. You could even use a window display to feature your weirdest and most unusual products. By using signs, mannequins, lighting and backdrops you can help to make these displays even more eye-catching.
Checkout displays
You can also display products on and around your checkout counter. These displays are best reserved for popular last minute purchases such as snacks, batteries and lighters. Meanwhile, items that are age restricted are often worth placing behind the counter (items like cigarettes have to be placed here by law in most countries).