Your shop fittings, while creating the desired look and feel within the retail arena should shy away from becoming the centre of attention themselves.

Every single thing within your shop should be looked at to see what part it plays and whether it could be improved.

Shop Signage

Shop signage plays a massive part in directing customers around your unit and creating separate areas (Junior/Adult, Men/Women etc). A lack of signage can leave customers lost and wandering aimlessly before making a hasty retreat.

Product Displays

Display the product instead of storing the product. This is mostly prevalent during January sales and mainly within the fashion sector. A good clothing display should showcase the product while having a selection of colours and sizes close at hand. During heavy sales the product display seems to be reduced while storage is the at the forefront in importance – don’t make this mistake unless you have the footfall and price structure which attracts this type of setup.

Transition Zone

Creating a welcoming transition zone will help to entice customers further into your shop rather than turn around and walk straight out. While in the transition zone your customer will be deciding whether this is the right shop for them. They will be influenced by the lighting, music, signage and what they can see. If you relate this to a supermarket the tall aisles never start right at the front door, this area is usually very empty, allowing you to adjust to the shop before continuing with shopping.

Creating Impulse Purchases

Encouraging impulse buys is a great way of increasing the spend of your current customer base and maximizing the value of all future customers. This can be achieved through a display counter, showing handy accessories and low cost items or a unit to be browsed when queuing.

Create Personal Touches

Adding personal touches is a great way to interact with the customer. One very popular chain of bookstores does this by getting the staff to handwrite personal recommendations for books and displaying them next to that particular book.

Having great merchandise to sell and having a great location for your retail outlet are an excellent start when opening your shop but sometimes that is not enough on it’s own. A lot of purchases are made subconsciously based on emotion and first impressions, all of which can be affected by the layout of your store and shop fittings.

While slatwall panels are fantastic for outer-perimeter wall- lining and displays some mid-floor shop fittings are too industrial looking, bulky and are difficult to manoeuvre when altering displays.

It is fantastic then to reveal the benefits of slatted panel gondola units. Made from slatwall, with the same principle and mechanism as the traditional wall displays these complimentary  freestanding units, finished in the same colour as your existing slatwall, can be easily manoeuvred and accessorised to display whichever products you wish while also directing traffic through your store to your feature areas and finally the checkout counter.

Slatted Gondolas can also be merchandised to make displays of their own, popular choices include sale items, latest, accessories and also impulse when situated close to the checkout or along the queuing area.

The wide range of slatwall accessories which can be used with all of the gondolas as well as bespoke items such as taped wooden and glass shelving  mean changing the use of the gondolas to display a different range of products is very quick and exceptionally easy. Metal, wood and plastic are used and each fixing has a different purpose, some to store, some to display and some offering both functions.

Several different designs and layouts including a choice of finish, edging and colour of inserts means there is a huge choice available. The largest H shape gondola is perfect for creating aisles through a shop while offering promotions on the end panel, smaller slatted gondolas such as the tower or four way unit work well as impulse units and can be placed where people are stationery such as close to the checkout or if in a clothes shop, outside the waiting rooms. Further additions such as spinning functionality can be added so the units can be quickly moved around or in limited space rotated to display all products.

Getting the placement of these units correct is imperative in the design of your retail store. Bad layout can dramatically lower sales and a perfect layout can show a massive increase over a standard shop layout.  Shop gondolas can be moved and tested, moved and tested until you find the layout that works best for your retail unit.

Larger companies bring in professionals to design shop layouts as different concepts can bring in dramatically different results, while for a small retail outlet this isn’t really necessary it is definitely worthwhile reading up and experimenting with your own shop fittings.

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.

Every shop needs to make the most of the available space and display their goods to maximum effect, and to do this you have to have a good selection of shop fittings. Having this would do so much for your shop and would give you and your customers loads of benefits. With the right shop fittings, you will encourage customers to come in your shop, have a look, and buy.

How you set up your shop would definitely draw people to check out your shop. The way you design your shop would communicate to your customers what your shop is all about. Deciding on how you display and present your merchandise is essential.

 It would help your customers to see what they want, and move about inside your shop with ease.  You should choose the right equipment and the right style in order to make it easier for your customers to see and find your products. Once you get the best layout for your shop, customers will not hesitate to come in since even while they are outside looking in, they would be able to have a glimpse of how your store looks like inside and the quality and range of your products. The moment the customers step inside your store, they would feel that they are indeed in the right place.

 The right shop fitting will be able to help you maximize the selling area that your store has, ensuring best use of shelf space. More products equal more sales, as long as they are displayed well. To ensure that you have the right equipment, check out the products that shopfitDIRECT.co.uk has available for you.

 Our Store has a wide array of products for your shop fitting needs – from display counters to greeting card racks, through to the smallest accessory, we have it all! You have the freedom to choose the colours and the finish you want for a lot of our  products to match the atmosphere you want your shop to have. This would be beneficial for you since it will help you achieve the look that you desire for your shop.

ShopfitDIRECT does not only have stunning pieces for your shop, the quality that we offer is outstanding since we understand the importance of having high-quality products. But what’s even better than having great quality stuff? It’s getting it at an affordable price. Whoever said that you can’t have premium items without having to pay a large amount? Well, shopfitDirect proves them wrong because we use the finest materials for our products to ensure that you get only the best. 

Most of our products also come with free nationwide delivery.

So, take your time and have a look at the variety of equipment we have. Also feel free to call our free phone 0800 118 5050 to talk with our friendly staff to discuss the products further.

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