Whilst many shops will employ a professional window dresser, they do come at a price so many prefer to go it alone. It is possible to create a dynamic and exciting window display by yourself as long as you remember to follow a few key pointers.

Themes

It is essential that your shop has a theme, such as a boutique style or olde worlde sweet shoppe and no matter what time of year it is, you must not detract too much from this central theme that ideally will run through the whole of your shop. Your theme will also form part of your unique selling point so it’s something you will have decided upon very early on in setting up your business.

Less is More

There is nothing worse than seeing a cluttered window display. If you have too much going on at once then nothing stands out, there is nothing to catch the shopper’s eye. This example of a charity shop window tells you everything that you should avoid. There is no theme, no real clues as to what kind of shop it is and no central focal point. Keep it simple. It’s far better to have just one large, bright object than lots of small ones fighting for space.

Bright Lights

Good window lighting should focus on the objects being displayed rather than pointing outwards towards the shopper. A single spotlight can be effective in displaying just one object whereas accentuated lighting can help with a theme, such as reds for brazen and bold statements and soft lighting for a more muted tone.

Stack it up

Use boxes and steps to create stacks or pyramids so that your display isn’t just all on one level but different eye levels so that the shopper’s interest is held for longer and the overall display is more attractive and interesting.

Background or not?

Shops in large shopping centres tend to have open-back windows that allow the customer to see right into the store. It is essential to keep these window displays simple and follow the theme you have through the rest of the shop. High street shops are more likely to have closed windows – these can be very effective as you can really make the most of your display and have themed background displays for special times such as Christmas, Easter and Halloween. If you don’t have a closed window you can add a large curtain in a neutral colour that will look striking to the casual passer-by.

Be Creative!

No really, let your imagination run wild! Some of the most successful window displays have been surreal pieces of artwork that have drawn the customer in and provided a topic for discussion. There is nothing worse that all your hard work going generally unnoticed by the shopper, so make sure that it provides a talking point, even if that talking point is a little controversial. Remember, it’s better to be talked about than not at all. This simple display by Harvey Nicholls shows just how effective a window display can be.

Products

Use your best products and make sure you show them off to their full advantage. A shoe shop could have a beach theme and have different shoes arranged on a sandy beach with a sea backdrop and shells, buckets and spades as props. Put your merchandise in a situation where people can imagine them being used.

Still need help?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help if your creative skills leave a lot to be desired. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a professional window dresser, just approach your local college or university and ask if any of their designers would do it for you. They come at half the price and are more than happy to notch up some experience for their portfolio.

You may not get it right the first time, but keep trying. View your window from all angles to see how effective it is and don’t be afraid to ask customers what they think, after all the more opinions you get the more you learn about what works and what doesn’t.

Have you any window dressing tips to share? Leave us your comments about what has worked for you and what you consider to be the most important factors when creating an effective shop window display.

Many new shops and those who just need a revamp cannot afford to spend money on professional shop fitters or designers. If you can find the extra cash, then many shops will say that it’s money well spent, but if you can’t then a few small ideas can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your shop.

The key is to keep it simple. Don’t spend too much time focusing on the displays inside your shop when your attention could be put to better use on a fantastic window display or sprucing up the outside of the shop. Once inside, keep it spacious, simple and focused. There are a few tricks of the trade you could employ to make the most of your interior shop fittings:

• Chevroning: Once you have your customer in through the door you want them to be able to see as much of your stock as possible. Many shops make the mistake of cluttering the shop front so that customers can’t see beyond the first couple of displays. If you do this then you might as well screen the back of your shop behind a giant curtain for all the attention it will get! One simple solution that many shop designers now encourage is chevroning. This is where displays and shop fittings are turned to a 45 degree angle, thereby creating a pathway leading towards the back of the shop and allowing the customer to take in all the displays.
• Sale items: By putting most of your promotional and sales items towards the back of the shop you are encouraging customers to walk past the rest of the stock to get there. This is a good way to pick up a few casual sales.
• Central focus points: If you have the space, a centrepiece is a good way of drawing customers in and showing off your stock at its best. A large table place in the centre of the shop with a few relevant accessories and some showcase pieces can mark your shop out from the rest. This example is in Selfridges, London where shoppers’ attention is captured by the large tree sculpture in the centre of the store.
• Back Wall: Don’t just have a bare back wall. If customers’ eyes are lead through the shop to the back they will need something to focus on other than a bare wall. Make the most of this space in your shop to create an interesting display. Slatwall panels are a good way to display stock, but if you have slatwall panels around the side walls, do something different to make the back wall stand out.
• Shop Front: Don’t clutter up the front of your shop. It’s all very well having a few displays near the doors to entice customers in, but not if it blocks access for others. Make sure that customers can enter easily and have a large space directly in front of them. It is no coincidence that many big department stores will often have wide open spaces at the entrance of the shop to allow customers easy navigation and avoid any congestion at the doors.

All of this is to ensure that the customer’s attention is not just focused on one or two displays at the front of the shop, but they take in the whole of the shop and for that you need to make the most of your floor space whilst keeping things simple and minimal.

Have a wander around your shop. Can you easily manoeuvre a large pram around without bumping into displays? Is your line of vision obscured? Now take a look in similar shops and note their shop layout – what works for them and what can be improved upon? Visit popular shops at peak shopping times to see how they cope with congestion.

None of the above involves spending a lot of money, it just takes a little time and planning and trying to see your shop from the perspective of a customer rather than a shop owner. If you have good friends you can ask them to visit your shop and be honest with you about its downfalls. A little time and effort put into your shop layout now will pay dividends in the future.

Now depending on your merchandise some cabinets will suit more than others. For instance you are hardly going to display jeans in a glass cabinet! So let’s take a look at some of the cabinets and shelving on offer and explore how they could affect your sales.

Gondolas

No, not the boats! Gondolas are free-standing mid-floor fixtures that usually have shelving all around suitable for displaying household items. If you are using a gondola it is essential that you follow the simple rule of stacking the smaller items on the top shelves with the larger items below so that the smaller products don’t look ‘lost’.

The gondola can come in wood or glass shelving – glass shelving is particularly effective when light is shone directly down onto the display and this works well with crockery, cakes, vases etc. Ideally a gondola should be mobile, like the one shown on the left, so that it can be moved around the shop and used to display different items. The great thing about the one below is that the shelves are at a great height level, so the customer doesn’t have to stoop and the drawers can store additional stock. Many gondolas will also have a slat at the top for signs that tell the customer what is on display.

Slatwalls

For permanent wall fixtures go for slatwalls, which are cheap and easy to use. They consist of a panel that is set with tracks from which you can hang shelves, brackets, hooks and so on. In this way you can make the walls of your shop part of your display as many prominent clothes shops such as Top Shop and Selfridges do. When displaying your goods on slatwalls however, do take care that you do not place anything over 5ft so as not to exclude your shorter customers!

Tables

Free standing tables are also great for displays, especially stacking tables. If you have a slat wall display then large stacking tables can be positioned to lead the customer towards the walls.

Be careful of placing folded clothes onto tables as these displays get messy very quickly and need someone staying constantly on top of them. The best way to use a table is as a central display that will lead customers into your shop. Make the display as eye-catching and as stunning as you can – some good feature lighting above it will also help draw people’s attention to the display.

Not all cabinets and shelving have to be used to sell products, some merely complement the design of the building. For instance a clothes shop in a seaside resort may use slat wall shelving to display fossils and other items connected with the beach and the sea. This gives the shop a welcoming feel and a little character that may set it apart from other clothes shops on the same street.

Don’t be afraid to experiment in the early days until you have it just right. Just remember that less is more, don’t clutter up the shop with rails, cabinets and tables as this only confuses the customer. Fill up your gondolas and tables to their maximum potential and leave enough floor space to allow for easy navigation. Make sure that cabinets are well lit and not hidden away in a corner of the shop. If you are proud of what you are selling then you will find that displaying them at their best comes naturally, just as it does at home!

Window Lighting

The first thing your customers will notice about your shop is your window. Take some time to study the lighting arrangements here and make sure that the light beams are directed into the shop and not outwards at the customer, blinding them. Swan neck lights are very attractive and have the added advantage of being flexible, so they can be directed either upwards towards your shop sign, or downwards to illuminate your window.

Take note too, of which position your window faces. A bright sunlit window will need more light to make it stand out whereas a window in the shade will need less light to mark it out from the dark shadows around it.

Flood fittings will light up the entire window, which can be an effective illumination especially on dark days and in the evenings whilst spot lighting can highlight individual products or mannequins. Be aware of your products however, small items such as jewellery will only need a low wattage bulb, whereas a wedding cake or a mannequin will need a much brighter light to illuminate a larger area.

Accent Lighting

Once inside the shop you want customers to notice the products you are trying to sell. Internal lights can illuminate cabinets whilst downlighters in the ceiling can highlight tables, racks and wall displays. Experiment with colour and hues to discover which lighting will pick out the subtle tones and colours of your products – this is especially vital for fashion and home furnishings.

Ambient lighting

Ideally the lighting should draw customers around the store and to assist further with this many shops will pick out their walkways with tiny lights rather like those of an airport runway, to ‘guide’ the customer along. A ceiling trough can also be a focal point in illuminating the length of the shop right to the back, encouraging customers to move in this direction.

Feature Lighting

You may want to make a feature of your lighting to highlight the activity below. So for example you may have a prominent display in the centre of your store and want an impressive chandelier to draw attention to it, or you could choose different lighting designs to highlight the cash tills so that customers know exactly where they are – useful in large department stores.

It may be worth visiting different shops to see how lighting is used in large stores and smaller boutiques. Pop into successful High Street shops and take notes on the kind of lighting used, what it is used for and where it is. This way you can generate some ideas of your own. Don’t be afraid to copy someone else’s plan, if it works for them then it can work for you too!

Having a logical layout and well-defined departments is instrumental in guiding your customers, but what else can you do?

Create an aspiration display

Actually taking your products out of their packaging and displaying them in a natural pose with other complimentary products is great for setting the scene and giving the customers how they could utilise the product, see it in it’s full glory and picture how it can make a difference to their lives.

Take for example a kitchen or bathroom company, they don’t just line up all the toilets, the baths and the shower cubicles then let the customers wander around. The kitchen companies don’t just have rack after rack of cupboard doors and worktops, they both have highly thought-out, superbly finished product showcases where the customer can see exactly how the new kitchen would look  together with cupboard doors, worktops, tiles and taps. Seeing the finished product allows them to visualise it more easily and as a result increases sales.

As a retailer your job is to increase sales and creating lifelike product displays is just one of the ways that can help you do that. Whether you are selling clothing, furniture or food well thought out product displays help to increase sales.

There are companies out there that deal solely in retail dressing that retail groups hire to come in and help them with their displays as they know it increases their sales. We’re not saying you have to employ anyone to do this for you but do give it a go yourself and see what results you get.

We would recommend you treat this display as a focal point to bring customers deep inside the shop, not in a doorway.

We would suggest you keep it away from the modern shop counters as this can cause congestion, small impulse units are better situated here.

Try different displays and see how your customers react, also ask them what they think.

Hopefully by trying this you will see your customers interacting more with your stock and also see your sales increase.