Five New Retail Visual Merchandising Ideas to Help Boost Sales

If you’re looking for some retail visual merchandising ideas that will help revitalize your store and increase profits, you’re already on the right track. It’s crucial for retailers to stay on their toes and on the lookout for new ways to keep customers coming in, staying for longer and, most importantly, making purchases. The way your merchandise appears to customers is a huge part of this, as research has shown that people often decide whether they want to get in and out or stick around and browse within the first 10 seconds of walking into a store.

Ideally, your visual merchandising strategies should attract return customers and inspire higher-ticket purchases. This all takes time, creativity and smart decision-making, though, which is why you’re here. The following five ideas should help your ongoing efforts to stay fresh, keep up with consumer trends and inspire your customers to spend more—all without making it obvious that you’re doing anything at all.

1. Make the first impression count. From the moment people see your store from the street or sidewalk, they should feel welcomed and invited. This means keeping the area around the entrance clean and well-maintained, showing off merchandise in eye-catching ways and paying special attention to visual elements such as signs and window displays.
2. Don’t make it hard to see and purchase merchandise. There are surely items in your store that you want customers to buy more than others. High-ticket merchandise and products that are frequently replaced should be shelved between the eyes and waist level of an average-height customer to make sure they’re easily seen and picked up.
3. Don’t wait until spring for cleaning and maintenance. Your store, and all the fixtures in it, should be clean and well-maintained throughout the year to keep customers impressed. It won’t matter how amazing your products or prices are if people are bombarded by spaces and fixtures that are old, filthy, damaged or broken.
4. Keep it Organized. This may sound obvious, but we’ve all been in stores where items are disorganized or dirty. Remember that products should be kept clean and orderly, displays should be evenly spaced to avoid a feeling of clutter and merchandising designs should be fresh and up to date.
5. Use Pricing to Your Advantage. Although some retailers try to keep pricing out of the way or otherwise make it difficult for people to know what they’re going to pay, this will almost never work to your advantage. People want to know what they’re getting into before they arrive at the register. Even if something costs a lot, a creative display can help customers forget the price and make an impulse-buy. If they need to ask about the price, though, they might change their mind before they find an associate.

Remember, the way you set up your store and displays makes a big impact on customers’ buying decisions. Hopefully these five simple ideas can help you make the most of what you’ve got.