Great products come with a good reputation. That is usually established after many years of good reviews, consistent sales, and profit. While digital shopping is making every transaction easy and quick, there’s nothing more reassuring for your money’s worth than actually walking into the stores, touching the product you want and doing a test run by trying it on. Therefore, the value of having a retail store is more relevant than ever.
But how do we make these retail stores appealing, and appeal to a person who has a short attention span? Not to mention, in a world of people who prefer to do their shopping online. How can we make them come down and check it out? By designing a beautiful retail store window, of course! It can be as easy as building some welded mesh panels to hang clothes on – and as advanced a custom-designed window decorations.
Here’s how to create a stunning design for a retail store window:
- Get familiar with your target audience.
Demographic sales data may help you figure this out. It matters when you know whether a great number of sales are generated from a certain gender then perhaps, a play of colour or décor could favour that majority. If you aim for your brand to remain unisex, focus more on figuring out what your brand stands up for. Whether your theme is to honour a national day, or to represent an icon, or to match the latest season, consider the types of people by age and trending preferences. How would they benefit from your products? These are some of the questions that may lead you to a final plan.
- Allocate the resources properly.
There is magic in each retail window décor. May it be the storytelling, the products that speak for themselves or the unique concept it emulates, figuring out a design for your retail store could be draining. The easiest way to do it is by starting with metal display stands and working on the design after that. It’s alright if it’s your creative juices that would get used up, but there’s no need for your wallet to get dried up too in the process. It could be more Instagrammable if you’d be using recycled materials since sustainability is the name of the game in the business industry nowadays.
On the other hand, there are retail store windows that get less than 1 second only facing the road where cars pass by briefly. Adding text to your window conveys clear messages of what you offer so don’t hesitate to do so. Just make sure it is neatly written.
- Showcase your products at eye level.
Perspective is subjective. And while you want to share your vision with your customers, consider their perspective from the outside in decorating your retail store window. Sophie Darling, community manager of WeddingDresse.com and formerly owned a bridal shop, advised on the following questions to ask yourself as a guide for decorating a retail window: What would you like them to see? Where did you want them to look at first? How can you lure them in going inside to try it on? This is an opportunity to flaunt your prime products efficiently. But don’t forget to lock it on an eye level. Otherwise, it would not have as much impact as expected. Retail stores for shoes often do this by displaying new arrivals elevated from the other shoes and stays in the middle. Book shops practice this by doing the same with best sellers.
- Tell a story but avoid clichés.
Use your window by featuring stories rather than the usual display of products. It earns more attention and gets retained by people that pass by. It stirs curiosity and encourages them to check out what’s inside the store. Skip usage of cliched designs such as mannequins that stands as a family, or a car window that doesn’t have a rotating platform for the cars to be shown as a whole and of course, the usual stacking of the clothes and shoes outside the store because it’s on sale. It’s just so tacky. It makes your store look cheap and trashy from the outside perspective. Refer to the importance of the third step.
- Avoid making a mess out of your display.
A few displays make your products seen more. If you plan to show everything nice and new in the window display, it won’t be as effective since it may be perceived as full of clutter. And this reduces the value of your brand and merchandise.
It would be helpful if you choose three hues that go together. Leave as much space as you can because space stands for luxury. Don’t put too many things or decorative accessories with your featured ones to keep the impact on your key products intact and solid. Prevent pedestrians from thinking about your window as unworthy of a glance because it feels too crowded in it.
Creativity is something innate in man as it denotes communication. Creating something is like breathing onto your imagination because there are times when words aren’t enough to express your idea. Don’t forget, a retail window is like a billboard, go create something cool and communicate with it.
