Clothing Boutique Blog » retail design

Retail Pricing and Displays

admin — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:39:07 +0000

The displays in your store are an important piece of the retail puzzle. Customers’ opinions are affected by everything that they see. You want to control what the customer thinks as much as possible. Here we will discuss some of the dos and don’ts of retail displays. Following these guidelines will help your customers to feel like your prices are fair and hopefully increase your sales.

The first rule is pretty basic. You don’t want your store to look like a mess when customers come inside. Using too many tables and shelves for displays can make your store look disorganized, because customers will invariably need to rummage through folded stacks of clothes to find their size. Even if you have sizes separated by shelf, customers will still have to unfold to get a good look at the garment and will put it back on whichever shelf is most convenient.

Use wall space and display systems like slatwall to keep the store looking neater. You can use garment racks to hang extra clothing and keep the store looking neat. Be careful not to crowd garment racks. You do want the customers to have plenty of space for maneuvering about the store. They don’t want to be back-to-back with other customers or staff.

Also, using too many garment racks can make the store look crowded and bland. If the customer can’t see what you have without sifting through, then they’re not likely to look around for long. Make sure that you utilize three dimensional displays to keep the customer interested. Hanging mannequin forms are great for creating feature displays on garment racks and slatwall displays. You can also display hanging outfits on top of your garment racks. Customers that can see how clothes look and stay interested as they make their way through the store.

Another thing to keep in mind is that customers tend to shop at eye level. Make sure that the focal points of your garment rack and shelving displays are where they will get customers’ attention. Every display should have a point of focus and should be designed to make the customer want to slow down and investigate. The longer a customer spends at your garment racks or feature displays, the more likely they are to spend extra money.

People associate the quality of an item with the way that it is displayed. Cheap, plastic displays communicate discounted, lower quality merchandise. People expect sunglasses on a checkout rack to be a lot cheaper than sunglasses in a glass display case in the same location. Price things according to the display quality and you should increase your sales and minimize the amount of merchandise that you have to clearance out.

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.

What are Point of Purchase Displays?

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:01:47 +0000

Point of purchase displays, or POP displays, are used in retail boutiques to increase awareness of a product and to increase the sale of a certain product. POP displays inform the customer about advantages of a product or point out details about the product or brand that may increase the customer’s desire to purchase it. POP displays are one of the most highly effective forms of merchandising that there are. Historically, their sales success is only trumped by mannequin displays. However, that could change as customers are becoming savvy shoppers and are use more scrutiny when making purchases. Here are some tips on creating POP displays and making sure that they are as effective as possible in your boutique.

1) POP displays were originally designed to get the customer to make extra purchases at the checkout. These types are highly effective. Position them around your register or where customers will have to look at them while they’re waiting in line. Countertop and impulse buy displays should display a product and also have some sort of logo, graphic, or information about the product. This is your chance to really convince the customer to increase their purchases because they actually have time to read the details about the product or brand. When a customer feels informed, they are more comfortable making the decision to buy.

2) You can use POP displays around your store, too. They are effective around mirrors, dressing rooms, outside of major departments, and at the ends of aisles. They are great for drawing attention to certain areas of the store. They draw the eye and can help you to control what the customer looks at next while shopping. Our inclination is to read something when we see words, so take that into consideration when you set up your display. You might want to keep it brief so that the amount of reading is not overwhelming. A simple name brand, logo, or tag line that gives a person the gist of what the product is about is sufficient. Once they’re drawn over, you can go into more detail about how the product is made in the USA, uses only organic materials, or donates a certain portion of their sales to charities.

3) People choose boutiques over giant department stores for specific reasons. Keep these reasons in mind so that you can tailor the display to your target market. Uniqueness is one reason that some people shop at boutiques. They enjoy the “off the beaten path” brands and designs, so make sure that they are aware of the brands that you carry by using POP displays. Sometimes companies will even provide you with a free display if you ask so that they can promote their brand as well.

4) Keep your boutique easy to shop in by leaving space between your garment racks or the garment rack and the wall. You don’t want to crowd your customers with numerous POP displays and clothing racks. You can use a POP display, even a small one, as the only display of that particular product. Just make sure that you keep it fully stocked so that people don’t think that they won’t be able to find what they need in other areas of the store.

The Influence of Store Design

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:58:23 +0000

When setting up a retail store or boutique, you need to think about a lot more than “where everything will fit”. The arrangement of your products, brands, and aisles can have a big influence on what your customers buy. If everyone entered your store, found exactly what they came in for, bought it, and left, you would not be very successful. It is up to you to entice people to shop longer and buy more than what they originally planned. There are a few ways to do this that we will discuss here.

1) Make sure that basics are not at the front of the store or at the ends of your aisles. If someone is coming in for jeans, a black t-shirt, or some other common wardrobe essential, you want to lure them deeper into the store. Try to ensure that they will pass a lot of other enticing items as they make their way back to the basics.

2) You should also arrange your brands with this concept in mind. If your boutique sells a lot of a certain name brand of shoes, then customers should have to weave around all of the other shoe displays to get to them. If you have aisles, put the most popular name brands in the center of the aisles. You don’t want people to be able to easily avoid your other products by being able to grab what they need from the end of the aisle.

3) Surround or pair items that you know to be basics with other items that you want to promote. If you know that people are coming in for that new style of jeans, then you should create interesting displays coordinating those jeans with other items. Mannequin displays are perfect for this cause. Dress the mannequin in a top that goes great with the jeans, and then also load it up with accessories, like purses, sunglasses, hats, shoes and jewelry. Use a sign or other form of communication to make sure that your shoppers are aware that you have the popular item, but don’t promote it out on its own.

4) If you use a lot of bright lighting, obtrusive music, or other “in your face” themes, you’re not really encouraging the customer to relax and shop. Make sure that your retail design incorporates things that make people want to spend time in your store. Displaying samples is a good way to make sure that people spend time on your cosmetics aisles. Putting your shoe inventory our where people can try on shoes without having to ask an employee is a good way to keep them there longer. You can even use scented air filters, incense, candles and air fresheners to induce relaxation.

5) Make sure that your shoppers are comfortable and that everything is easy to access. Don’t crowd your displays. Clothing racks, garment racks, shelves and other displays should not be placed close together. No one wants to be looking through a clothing rack for their size and be backed up to another customer. Narrow aisles discourage people from browsing and taking the time to find the items that they’re interested in.

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.

Dream Boutique Layout

admin — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:30:58 +0000

Retail Design and Boutique Arrangement

admin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:02:41 +0000

The design of your retail store can have a lot of bearing on your sales. Building a loyal customer base is so important in today’s world on cyber shopping and big department stores. Boutiques have a certain charm when they’re designed well and this can give your customers a reason to make a special trip to your store. The goal, of course is to make more money. To do that, you need to carefully plan the “path” of your boutique so that customers have the experience that you plan for them.

1) Think about what you want customers to immediately feel when they approach your store. You’re in luck if you have front windows in which to display your favorite merchandise. Using mannequins has been long since proven to encourage people to buy. This is not only because you can show them what clothes look like when worn, or because you can showcase many garments and accessories at once. It’s because you can actually answer a lot of the questions that need to be answered in a person’s mind before they buy at a single glance.

2) Think about what someone might be asking themselves as they consider shopping in your store and answer those questions either in your window displays or as soon as they come in. One, if someone is interested in a boutique, they probably want to find unique items or brands. Make sure that they immediately see that within the first second or two of laying eyes on your store. Sidewalk or outside displays are a great way to do this.

3) The next question on their mind may be price. Does your store front and displays match your prices? You don’t want someone to get excited about something they see only to be immediately disappointed by the price. Try to communicate the price through the décor and arrangement of your boutique.

4) Now, the next question on a person’s mind will be something like, “how will this garment make me feel?” Communicate as much feeling as possible, either with your mannequins’ poses or the décor surrounding your items. A snowy scene with a campfire communicates coziness, a city scene may communicate cutting edge fashion, and so on.

5) The next thing people want to feel when they shop in a boutique is that it will be interesting to shop around. People avoid department stores and visit boutiques to have a pleasurable and enlightening shopping experience. Make sure that you have unique items scattered around the store. Have things arranged in a “path” that leads the person from one interesting item to the next. Avoid crowding your clothing racks close together so that people stay comfortable, even if the store has a lot of shoppers. A clothing rack should not be overfilled, either, so that people can easily see what you have to offer without having to work to dig through too many items.

Boutique POP Displays

admin — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:15:13 +0000

Retail Design and its Influence

admin — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:00:39 +0000

Ideas Behind Retail Design

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:47:38 +0000

Store themes span everything from all white high-end minimalist designs to dark and neon snowboarder themes. You’d better believe that there is rhyme and reason to the placement of every light, every clothing rack, every shelf, and every accessory. Retail design is a great way to brand your image and attract specific target groups. Using this information, you can begin to decide how to update or set up your retail store to lure in the best customers and make a name for yourself in this competitive business.

Retail design plans are generally rigid and set in stone, so to speak. However, you can come up with a solid display arrangement that is flexible enough to accommodate promotions, inventory fluctuations, and seasonal changes if you do your planning. Figure out a way to achieve your goals by creating a basic list of key points to adhere to.

Let’s say that your retail store constantly has new designs coming in. Of course, you will want to promote them and feature them. You can work a staging area into your store design, where new items will always go before they get thrown in the mix. A good way to grab attention when something is new is to use it on your mannequins.

Mannequins allow you to display something as it will look after purchase. People love to see this cut and dry display because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of whether or not they’ll like it. If something catches their eye, you want to make sure that you have it displayed on a table or special clothing rack as soon as they come in the door. You don’t want to distract them with something else, immediately, because if they don’t like the other item as much, then they won’t look long before they just leave.

Use clothing racks that face the clothes outward if possible. Rolling clothing racks are great for rearranging things as needed to accommodate your inventory. If you’re low on inventory, you can easily roll a clothing rack into storage so that your store still looks fully stocked. Racks that turn the clothes outward make shopping a breeze. But, there is actually more to it than that.

People are willing to pay more for clothes that face outward. The reason is simple. They have been conditioned to believe that round racks are for deeply discounted and clearance items. If things are neatly arranged so that it’s not a lot of work to look through them, then they are automatically going to assume that they should have to pay more for that item.

Lights, signage, the amount of space between your clothing racks, and attention grabbing items should all be considered every time you change something in your store. After deciding which way to go to achieve the look you’re going for, always ask yourself if you are following the rule. Even if your store makes drastic changes, your customers will still identify your store with the things that they like about you if your design stays the same.