1) The décor in a boutique is a large part of what makes it unique. People love to browse the merchandise and admire the furniture, rugs, and art. Even though these things may not be for sale, they still show the customers what type of style you have and how much you care about creating a boutique that caters to shoppers like them. The more you can feed this desire to be somewhere beautiful and unique, the more your shoppers will enjoy their experiences there.

2) Many boutiques take it a step further and use furniture around the shop to encourage customers to hang out, have coffee and cookies, or simply relax when they are tired of shopping. Not only does it encourage people to shop longer, but it gives you another way to make the customer feel like you care about their comfort. Vintage or upscale furniture pieces are like works of art that customers can appreciate and admire, adding to the mood experience of the boutique.

3) Another form of décor in your boutique is the lighting. Imagine the difference between a shop lit with fluorescent bulbs and one with soft spot lights, natural light, track lighting, and unique chandeliers. You want to encourage your shoppers to use all of their senses while they’re in your store. You want them to have a “whole body” experience and open their minds to new ideas, products and even price categories. Using creative lighting will help to put them into the mood to do just that.

4) Your displays should also all be interesting and easy to access. Don’t overfill your garment racks, making it difficult for shoppers to see what you have. A neatly organized garment rack is much more attractive. Use open pieces of furniture, like an armoire, to create displays. Hanging things facing out towards the center of the store also helps to entice customers to browse. Use mannequins or hanging forms to show customers how pieces look when worn because sometimes you can’t tell how appealing something is when it’s simply on a hanger.

Use these ideas and come up with more of your own to have your boutique décor represent you and give the customers what they’re there for, a unique shopping experience.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Big department stores and retail chains are very limited in what they can do with their image. Everything is driven by marketing firms and the goal is to appeal to the masses. Everything in a store contributes something to the image. The types of tags that you use, the style of lighting, the color of the clothing racks, the smell in the air, and the attitude of the staff. The goal when you are creating your brand is to be consistent in enough areas that customers know exactly what your store is all about.

Getting customers to feel something for you requires some inventive measures. You’re not really tricking the customer, but rather giving them a certain experience. If you play club dance music in your store, customers are likely to buy things that they would wear when they went out on the town. If you play folk music, they are more likely to buy organic cotton casual wear.

Use your personality and taste to bring the customer into the feeling that you get when you are in your store. Many boutiques adopt the “controlled chaos” decorating scheme where nothing seems to go together, and therefore it does. It’s deliberately chaotic. This can work really well when you want to continually add odds and ends into your collection.

Really, that is a great way to do it. Shop antique stores, garage sales, estate sales, and online auctions to find truly unique furniture and store fixtures. Think outside of the box. You can use a mannequin to display clothing and accessories, this is true. But you could also screw hooks all into a mannequin’s body and use it to display your necklaces or hats. A chair could be just a chair, or it could be discretely hung from the ceiling in a corner for an eye-catching piece of art.

The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to decorating a boutique, but be careful not to go overboard. Cluttered is not necessarily your goal, because it can distract a customer from buying anything. If it seems like a lot of work to sift through clothing racks and displays, then most people will skip it. Our eyes are drawn to order. So, even if your store is filled with knick-knacks, a clothing rack can still remain orderly and easy to sift through.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

1) The décor in a boutique is a large part of what makes it unique. People love to browse the merchandise and admire the furniture, rugs, and art. Even though these things may not be for sale, they still show the customers what type of style you have and how much you care about creating a boutique that caters to shoppers like them. The more you can feed this desire to be somewhere beautiful and unique, the more your shoppers will enjoy their experiences there.

2) Many boutiques take it a step further and use furniture around the shop to encourage customers to hang out, have coffee and cookies, or simply relax when they are tired of shopping. Not only does it encourage people to shop longer, but it gives you another way to make the customer feel like you care about their comfort. Vintage or upscale furniture pieces are like works of art that customers can appreciate and admire, adding to the mood experience of the boutique.

3) Another form of décor in your boutique is the lighting. Imagine the difference between a shop lit with fluorescent bulbs and one with soft spot lights, natural light, track lighting, and unique chandeliers. You want to encourage your shoppers to use all of their senses while they’re in your store. You want them to have a “whole body” experience and open their minds to new ideas, products and even price categories. Using creative lighting will help to put them into the mood to do just that.

4) Your displays should also all be interesting and easy to access. Don’t overfill your garment racks, making it difficult for shoppers to see what you have. A neatly organized garment rack is much more attractive. Use open pieces of furniture, like an armoire, to create displays. Hanging things facing out towards the center of the store also helps to entice customers to browse. Use mannequins or hanging forms to show customers how pieces look when worn because sometimes you can’t tell how appealing something is when it’s simply on a hanger.

Use these ideas and come up with more of your own to have your boutique décor represent you and give the customers what they’re there for, a unique shopping experience.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Department stores and other retail chains are very limited in what they can do. They are controlled by a corporate vision that they must strictly adhere to. Everything in a store contributes to its image. The types of hangers that they use, the style of garment racks, the color of the wood trim, the volume of the music, and more. The goal when you are creating your brand is to be consistent in enough areas that customers know exactly how your store makes them feel.

Getting customers to feel something for you requires some inventive measures. You’re not really tricking the customer, but rather giving them a certain experience. If you play club dance music in your store, customers are likely to buy things that they would wear when they went out on the town. If you play folk music, they are more likely to buy organic cotton casual wear.

Use your personality and taste to bring the customer into the feeling that you get when you are in your store. Many boutiques adopt the “controlled chaos” decorating scheme where nothing seems to go together, and therefore it does. It’s deliberately chaotic. This can work really well when you want to continually add odds and ends into your collection.

Really, that is a great way to do it. Shop antique stores, garage sales, estate sales, and online auctions to find truly unique furniture and store fixtures. Think outside of the box. You can use a mannequin to display clothing and accessories, this is true. But you could also screw hooks all into a mannequin’s body and use it to display your necklaces or hats. A chair could be just a chair, or it could be discretely hung from the ceiling in a corner for an eye-catching piece of art.

The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to decorating a boutique, but be careful not to go overboard. Cluttered is not necessarily your goal, because it can distract a customer from buying anything. If it looks like work to sift through a garment rack or table display, then most people will skip it. Our eyes are drawn to order. So, even if your store is filled with knick-knacks, your clothing racks can still remain orderly and easy to sift through.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.