Streets in commercial areas are typically lined with dozens of stores, each vying with the other to draw in customers and engage them. The fancier the window looks, the better it is able to appeal to passersby. Dressing up shop windows to appeal to customers and entice them to walk in is known as visual merchandising. Visual merchandising and use of digital signages are the best ways to engage and entice the customers.
Visual Merchandising
A smart retailer will always keep on changing the visuals and products on display in the shop windows in order to grab attention of the prospective buyers.
Your store environment makes a difference by contributing to impulse buying and visual merchandising. Retain a visual merchandising designer to dress up windows each week or month, if possible, not just the four seasons.
Lighting and separation of key elements is also crucial. Lighting must be arranged to light up products with a nice warm glow, not a cold blue-white light. Color temperature of lights in the range of 3500 to 4500 Kelvin plays a positive role in influencing the minds.
You may be tempted to use a number of props. However, as your designer will tell you, props can detract from the product so keeping it simple and standout is better, using key props that create associations in the mind.
Elements of design are important just as making the product stand out with the choice of the right background. Your designer will mix and match colors, shapes and textures to draw the eye towards the product displayed.
It is a good idea to complement this effort with printed materials and takeaways so that some prospective buyers retain the impact and return. Including freebies or discount offers with coupons in such printed materials serves as an inducement.
In this digital interactive age, you can go a step further to boost impact of visual merchandising with digital signages and displays. It is a static approach.
Digital Signage for Digital Engagement
Digital engagement is overtaking static displays. The advantages are obvious. It allows delivery of dynamic content comprising of video, audio, graphics, text and images that can inform educate and persuade far better than simple static forms. Further, displays make it even better in helping persuade would be buyers.
One of its commonest forms is a touch screen LCD monitor of appropriate size that allows would be buyers to interact. The front end display can be driven by back end computer based system and allow full interactivity. A prospective buyer can view catalogues of products, pick a specific one, view its features and specifications and even view a video of how it works. Digital can be more convincing than the salesman.
One step up in delivery of digital content is programming according to time of the day or the season and overlay it with special offers. Digital content does not cost much to create, can be modified with ease and programmed to display at specific times to target specific buyers or showcase products or features.
A retail unit can have its own computer and large touchscreen screen digital display with local content. Product manufacturers or retail chains can distribute from a central location, use the cloud or Wi-Fi networks reducing cost of advertising yet achieving higher impact and better returns.
It is also possible for retail stores and advertising companies to gather statistics and compile data about users through digital engagement and use the numbers for better ROIs and a great customer experience.
For retail units, distributors and manufacturers, a service provider offering visual merchandising displays and digital engagement mechanisms is the best solution for maximized sales and revenues.
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