1) Use a gridwall or slatwall system for your displays. These systems are sturdy, inexpensive, and last a long time. They could be one of your greatest investments. Display systems such as these allow you to hang your merchandise on the wall as far up as the ceiling. With just a few inexpensive accessories, you can display your merchandise, jewelry, handbags, and other products without using any floor space. Additional benefits include being able to keep an eye on shoppers, controlling what goes into the fitting rooms, and customers can see what all you have to offer without having to dig around.

2) Utilize sneaky ways to store your inventory. If you use furniture to decorate, choose chairs, couches and chests that open up to reveal storage. You can use tall tables with a table cloth to cover the stored items underneath. Use your imagination and create storage in places that you may not have originally considered.

3) Don’t forget about the ceiling. If you have a storage room or office, you may be able to install a ceiling rack. These normally come as a wire grate that hangs from the ceiling. This is a really good way to create storage for your mannequins, hangers, bags, inventory, or anything else that you don’t need right away.

4) Shelving systems are great for storing items up to the ceiling in your office or storage room. Using adjustable shelves will let you maximize the little bit of space that you have. You may even consider using shelves on casters so that you can roll them. If you have a few in a back room, you can push them together for storage, then simply slide them apart when you need to get to something.

5) Use rolling garment racks or clothing racks for inventory that needs to be hung. A rolling garment rack is great for storage. It keeps your clothing from getting wrinkled and damaged. You can steam out wrinkles from garments directly on the clothing rack right out of the box. Then, when you’re ready to put them out, simply roll the rack out to the sales floor.

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.

It may be surprising to find out that smaller retail stores and boutiques actually have a tougher time doing inventory than big department stores. This is generally because boutiques try to inventory everything at once with only one or two employees working on it. Department stores categorize everything, creating smaller and smaller categories, and then put one person in charge of a tiny section of the store. The employees are not overwhelmed and generally give an accurate count of the section that they are responsible for.

Boutiques and smaller retail stores should take the big department stores’ advice to heart. Delegate the responsibility by dividing your store into different categories and subcategories. Hire an inventory specialist team if you don’t have the employees or the time to do it right.

If you are having your employees take responsibility for each section, offer a reward for accuracy. If you have managers and supervisors, you may want to have them go in behind the lower level employee and double check. If you warn the first person that their count will be checked, they are less likely to make mistakes.

Consider doing your inventory counts outside of your regular business hours so that there aren’t customers there to distract the counters. This will also keep your boutique or retail store looking nice and neat when you’re making that all-important first impression on your customers. You may need to motivate the employees to show up when it is normally their time off. Many companies make inventory count participation mandatory.

You can make it mandatory, but you may risk losing employees that have other obligations, other jobs, college classes, or trips that were planned in advance. Instead, consider offering rewards, like bonus money for participating. Play music, order pizza, and make it fun. You could give people with accurate counts longer breaks or lunches during business hours, or even a deeper discount on their next purchase.

Make sure that everyone has equal responsibilities. People that finish first should help you get the store back in order. Have them straighten the clothing racks so that the store is ready for opening time. A messy clothing rack or window display can make a bad impression and negatively impact the effort that was put forth to accomplish this task outside of your business hours.

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.

Some promotions and displays should be rotated regularly into your schedule, rather it be seasonally or annually. Promotions that come around regularly are called cyclical promotions. When a season or holiday is approaching, you can prepare by figuring out the best way to promote your products. Get visual ideas or inspiration from other stores, art, or online displays. If you can make your store’s display unique, it is sure to attract attention and help people to remember you when the promotion is over.

You will need to adequately inform your customers of your promotions when they come around. Try to collect e-mail addresses or physical addresses throughout the year. Send out newsletters and special offers periodically so that your customers will be aware and look forward to your events. Use signs and your staff to communicate promotions to your in-store customers or people passing by.

There can be many opportunities year round to have a promotion. Local sporting events or other celebrations can be used to draw attention to supporting your local organization. You can donate money to different local causes and gain attention for yourself as a valuable local business. Offer discounts or early bird specials to local college students, or people that donate to your charity. Feature local artists’ work in your store and bring community awareness to your door. You can collaborate with other businesses in your district or area to offer block parties, sidewalk sales, and other promotions that get attention.

Lowering your prices isn’t always the best idea. Find ways to make people see the value in the items that you offer, rather than making them think that something must be wrong with the merchandise for it to be so cheap. You might make some money in the short term, but you’ll make people want to wait for your big sales to shop at your store. Or worse, you’ll make them think that you are normally overcharging, and lower their impression of your entire business.

Keep things changing by rearranging your clothing racks and displays on a regular basis. Choose an interesting garment rack that people don’t see in every store. Breaking up the monotony of shopping is the easiest way to start making your store unique. Most stores use garment racks with function in mind, but if you choose ones that are functional as well as unique, you will stand out from the competition.

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.

Your brand will make or break you in any economy. If you’re concerned that the economy is negatively affecting your business, then you’re not thinking in the forward manner that you should be. Consider a down economy the time when you should be more competitive. People are out there spending money, they just need to come to you to spend it. Taking business from your competition is job #1. Get excited and innovative to take advantage of a time when customers are only buying from those that they believe in.

Branding has a lot to do with trust. When customers are skeptical because of the economy, who do you think they’re going to spend their money with? Retailers that they know and trust. They don’t want to risk spending money on something that may not deliver. They are going to go with brands whose image they are familiar with. They want to know that what they are getting is a high enough quality that they won’t be throwing their money away.

Building trust with your customers should be first and foremost on your mind. Use every aspect of your retail business to build that trust. Your web site, your social media efforts, your mailings, even your store displays has an effect on people’s impression of you.

Start by thinking about how to build trust while reinforcing your image. A down economy doesn’t mean that you have to lower your prices. It makes people think that you are just trying too hard to get their money, and lowering prices, if not done carefully, can instill that seed of doubt that you want to avoid.

Everything about your store, catalog, or web site is a promise to the customers. If you have a lot of high quality images, then they perceive you as a high end retailer. If you skimp on something, they may perceive you and your brand as a lower quality outfit. At any step in the process of making a purchase, you could betray the trust that you’ve begun to establish. Be careful to pay attention to all the details of the shopping experience.

Inside your store, make sure that your displays are tidy and neat, your staff is courteous and respectful, and that your garment racks are fully stocked. If people see a garment rack that is lacking in sizes, they will not trust that you will have what they need when they find what they want, and may leave. Keep everything streamlined, from the moment someone enters the store to the moment they leave or need to make a return. Make check-out on your web site easy to manage. Make ordering from your catalog as easy as possible. With your customers’ trust, your business could flourish, despite fluctuations in the economy.

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.

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.

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.

Boutique owners are under great pressure to offer these exclusive customers a unique product. They have to constantly update their offerings to keep the interest of these whimsical shoppers. Finding new and exciting products to offer can be a lot of fun, but it certainly isn’t the only aspect of the business. Boutique owners often find themselves becoming their own shop fitters, creating interesting and effective displays, one right after another.

The displays inside of a boutique need to work with the theme. You can use lighting to spotlight areas of interest in your boutique. Think outside the box. Use things that aren’t normally used for displays while you arrange your inventory. Your garment racks can help you here.

There are clothing racks designed specifically for boutiques. They don’t hold as many items at once, helping you keep that exclusive feel in your store. You don’t want it to look like there are many items available like the one you’re promoting, even if you have boxes full of inventory in storage. People are willing to pay more for items that they think will not always be available. They want to feel like they made a rare find. They want to be the one that discovered this unique item.

Arranging your boutique to encourage people to feel this way is essential. There is a difference in an exclusive offer and something looking sold out. No one wants to get excited about an item only to find that you don’t have their size. Make sure that the garment racks that you do have are fully stocked. This is why boutique racks are so effective. They don’t have a lot on them, but they do look full.

Customers will want to know more details about boutique offerings than they will about run-of-the-mill retail store brands. Make sure that you and your staff are well trained on product knowledge. This is the number one complaint when it comes to customer service. People want to know about the product they are investing in. Boutique shoppers are especially keen on details.

Keep your unique customers happy. Invest in a boutique garment rack. Your clothing racks can be a great asset when it comes to controlling how customers feel. Work on presentation, inventory, and customer service skills to make your boutique a success.

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 clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

If you are not in a position to hire your own visual merchandiser or visual merchandising team, then you will want to do some research before you attempt to do it yourself. You don’t want to neglect certain areas of need.

The first step is to go over your business plan. What is your theme? Does your store look like you envisioned it? Does it communicate to the customer the types of messages that you wanted it to? This is the first step because the look and feel of your store can make a huge impact on a customer’s decision to buy, enter your store, or return for repeat business. Keeping the visual displays in your store congruent with your vision is important for branding your image.

Work on window displays and keep them up to date with promotions and the seasons. A window display that changes often is eye catching and keeps customers interested. Make sure that your signage also conveys the message that you want. Large signs with big fonts communicate discount deals while smaller signs give you a more subtle approach and prepare customers for spending more money. You don’t want to lure in people looking for cheap deals and then surprise them with your pricey merchandise. It’s ineffective and can hurt your store’s image.

Even the arrangement of your clothing racks can have an impact on the visual feeling that your store portrays. Garment racks that are close together give the store a busier feel. A garment rack that is packed with merchandise makes people think that the items are cheaper, like clearance items. Leaving space between one clothing rack and the next gives people room to leisurely shop. Having space between the clothing on the rack subliminally prepares customers for a higher price tag.

Keep all of your displays arranged in alignment with your prices and the message that you want to portray. Visual merchandising is all about making the customer feel how you want them to feel. Identify your target market, figure out how they want to feel when they make a purchase, and go from there. If they want to feel unique, make sure that you don’t put out too many of one item. Make them feel like they are one of the only people that will buy this item. Take all of these tips and work them into your displays and you will be building the brand image that you want in no time.

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 clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.