As a shop owner your windows are your first impression for your customers. They are the image you portray, a summary of the products you sell and a fantastic tool to entice new customers , from your selected demographic, into your shop and way from your competitors.

All good shop displays should be based around  a theme. Whether this is a specific day e.g. Christmas Day, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or a certain period of time such as Back to School, New Autumn Collection, New Year Sales etc.

The window display will attract attention from your target market. While the phrase ‘Never judge a book by it’s cover’ is true, it most certain isn’t for retail outlets. The window should give a sneak peak of what is in-store for the customer and leave your target customer wanting to come inside and see more of the same. The window display, while showcasing your products, will also give the customer information without them knowing, such as what kind of products are available, what scope of range, style and also an indication of price. While it may not necessarily be a great idea to display the prices of all your products in the shop window display the display itself will indicate the price. Minimalistic displays showcasing only a few high-quality products will give a subconscious message that a more exclusive range with a higher price-point is being sold.

Here are eleven top tips to help you create a great display in your shop window:

#1 – Clean the window and display area. Cleaning the glass both inside and out, removing any marks or sticky patches from previous displays, then dust and vacuum will give you a great blank canvas with which to start your shop advertisement.

#2 – When deciding on props for your display, pick two colours from the range you are currently promoting and base your display, any more and it could look messy or less-focussed.

#3 – Focus attention on the products you wish to sell. While you are using your shop window to attract attention, you want the attention to be focused on the products, not overshadowed by your display props.

#4 – Backing papers, fabrics and banners can look fantastic and are also great at helping to fill a window.

#5 – Be creative with your displays. This can mean using out of the ordinary display props or materials which are available locally or composing it from free or recyclable products. One of the most popular and effective is using logs and leaves for Autumn/Winter based scenes.

#6 – Recover old display materials. A fresh look on old props can be cheap and effective way of changing a display to compliment current fashion and trends. One of our customers recently wallpapered raw slatwall to create a funky and unique display backdrop.

#7 – Light your shop window. Accentuating products with good lighting during the day and also at night will spotlight your display and also attract attention even when you are closed.

#8 – Advertise what you are trying to sell. The shop should promote from outside what you are actually selling inside and the theme should been continuous. It is no good promoting high class, exclusive products if once the customer comes inside they can only buy low cost, inexpensive items.

#9 – Use your shop front in conjunction with your internal shop fittings. If your shop is visible through the window the gondolas, tables etc should be at a low level and build up towards the rear of the store so the customer can see right through the shop and new products as the display goes further away.

#10 – Grab attention. A tried and tested way of grabbing attention is using shop window stickers on the front, especially during a sale but also to promote new ranges, new products etc.

#11 – Have lots of stock of the products you are promoting – hopefully your new display will entice lots of new customers wanting to buy your products – don’t let all that effort go to waste.

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